sea – My London+

Worthing, West Sussex

I am posting this blog a day early as tomorrow is the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, and out of respect, I will not post then.

It has been a difficult week, and sometimes I have just had to escape the media coverage of every minute of happenings since the Queen died. So, I escaped to the coast for the day on Monday. It felt like the last day of summer. It was hot and sunny, and this was also a walk down memory lane.

My parents used to bring my brother and me here as kids. We holidayed here and also came for day trips. So, I sought out the old haunts. But the first thing I did when I arrived was go on the beach! I sat there for a while, just listening to the waves pounding as they rolled in and sucking at the stones as they retreated.

From the beach I headed for the pier and walked to the end, stopping off at the Amusement Arcade where I lost my money many a time on the penny falls. I didn’t bother trying this time, and just walked through.

Back on the promenade, I walked towards West Worthing and to Marine Gardens where the putting green is. I used to worry my mum and dad everyday to play on here. It’s looking a little worse for wear since the heatwave. The cafe is still there where we drank cups of tea. It’s been modernised, but it’s not that different. I bought lunch here and then went to spend some time watching bowls, another thing we used to do.

A rather scrappy looking putting green in Marine Gardens

Next was to walk the short distance to where the hotel was where we used to stay. It was demolished some years ago now. In its place are luxury apartments but still overlooking the same green and the sea.

The snazzy apartments standing on the site of the former hotel

Then it was back to the beach. A different spot this time. I didn’t want to leave. The day was perfect. Eventually I packed up and headed back along the prom and then into town where I had a look around before grabbing a cup of tea and walking to the station.

Trains run from London Victoria to Worthing. The journey is short, about an hour and twenty minutes. I love it when the train gets to Hove and then Shoreham where you catch glimpses of the sea. I realised how much I need to be by the sea that day. Apart from one morning in Herne Bay during a gale in February, this was the first time I’d spent any quality time by the sea. How I’d missed it.

Chester & North Wales

Just back from a four night stay in Chester. We went with a tour company, making our own way to the hotel, and then coach tours out around North Wales. It’s been over thirty-five years since I was last in North Wales.

Travelling on a Sunday you always encounter engineering works on the train lines. Then it’s usually replacement buses. This time we had a replacement train from Crewe to Chester. It took us the pretty way round on a journey that lasted about an hour against the usual half an hour. But I wasn’t complaining with views like the one above.

Then it was a taxi from Chester to our hotel about three miles out of the city. It was raining when we arrived and continued to do so all night. By the morning it was damp but not raining. Our first port of call was the coach into Chester for a walk around. We’d been to Chester before a few years ago when we had walked the City walls, visited the old and new Cathedral, Roman Gardens and the Roman Amphitheatre. The Shropshire Union Canal and the River Dee run through the city, and there is a lovely park called Grosvenor Park. The shopping area is the most fascinating with its Town Hall and upper shopping levels. I believe this is pretty unique. However, like every town here in the UK many shops have closed down.

After the city walk we drove out to Llangollen for lunch. I had been here before and remember the River Dee and the steam railway, though this is not yet up and running. I believe it has been closed for some time – something to do with money and probably Covid. From there we drove to Froncysyllte where we boarded the Thomas Telford for a scenic two hour cruise along the canal back to Llangollen. When we went over the aqueduct, our coach driver, Mark, was up there filming us as we trundled across! He later sent us all copies of the film. During our trip, it rained on and off. We could hear it beating down on the roof of the boat, but we were lucky that it always stopped when we were outside, which was very generous of it.

The second day was a long and busy one. We left at 8am, having pushed down a breakfast I didn’t want but knew I should eat – my tummy isn’t awake to eat at 7am! We had an unscheduled stop in Snowdonia with enough time to get off the coach and take a few photos. We drove through Betws-y-Coed and Swallow Falls and later Llanberis Pass. We had a comfort stop at the Snowdonia Mountain Railway. I had been here before, and that time I went up to the top of the mountain on the train (hubby had been up the hard way….walking!). This time there wasn’t time for that. Instead we set off to Caernarfon. This was a lovely place. However, we didn’t want to waste a lovely day (which it was, with glorious sunshine) inside the castle. We walked along the promenade where the tide was out and sea calm. Absolutely beautiful. From there we went over the Menai Straits to Plas Newydd. The house there was being renovated so lots of the furniture had been removed. However, there were paintings by Rex Whistler. The highlight was the Italian Gardens over three terraces, with views across to the Menai Straits. This was a photographer’s paradise.

Our final stop was Beaumaris Castle. I was impressed as the castle still has a proper moat with water in it. As well as that, the castle boasts inner walls, which we walked around. I then had enough time to quickly walk around the main street for some photos of the old shops.

Looking towards the Menai Straits from Pas Newydd

On the last day there was an optional tour to Llandudno, Bodnant Gardens and Conwy Castle. However, we’d both been to Llandudno, and the coach the previous day did a quick pass by Conwy Castle (it did look impressive), so we decided to have a free day. My husband was born in Chester, so the morning was spent visiting the church he was baptised in and finding the house he lived in until he was two and half, when the family then moved away. We then walked on down into Chester and had lunch. We wandered around for a while and then made our way back to the hotel mid afternoon. That evening there was one last group meal in the hotel restaurant. So soon it was all over.

Conwy Castle – Impressive or what? Taken from the coach

Beaches and sea – NaBloPoMo – Day 21

Brighton Marina, Brighton, Sussex – 2016

At this time of year when I miss the sea and the sunshine, I thought it would be nice to revisit some of these places and bring back the old magic of summertime. Do you have a favourite season? I think you can guess mine!