Part6

It was very nice to have Xavier join us for a weekend, we woke up early and proceeded to get ourselves organised for a trip to Newnham upon Severn a town near the Forest of Dean. We arrived at the Inn just on lunchtime, so of course we had to go in for a Cider and chips for lunch, well Paul has gone off Cider so he has a beer. After lunch we headed to the metropolis of Newnham upon Severn, we had a wander around the town and checked out the church and graveyard as you do. 

 

Newnham upon Severn

We then decided to head to the Forest of Dean for a look, our problem was finding somewhere to park the Motorhome. In New Zealand they tend to have parking areas next to notable scenic attractions, or pull off areas on the road overlooking a spectacular view, or wide verges so you can pull off the road to get that spectacular shot of "That Deer". Unfortunately in Britain these things are few and far between, they have lay-by's though which are great but they are generally surrounded by trees or about 200 metres past that spectacular view and you have a truck up your arse and only see the sign for it as you go past. So our trip to the Forest of Dean was full of trepidation, but low and behold we found a muddy, potholed pull off next to a forestry road, so off we went for a walk in the forest. It was beautiful, I have no idea what sort of trees they were, but they were deciduous, that I do know. The forest floor was carpeted with a layer of gold and russet leaves, the trees slender and robed in a winter coat of moss, this was not an ancient forest. The day had been foggy, and the mist still hung in the air, giving everything a softened look. We walked about, amongst the beauty of the autumn afternoon, watching for Squirrels and Badgers ( told they only come out at night) then headed back to the motorhome. Back at the Inn we went in for a drink and then retired home for dinner. Poor Xavier had to endure BBC Classic FM and his olds getting slightly tiddly. 

Forest of Dean

Sunday we got ourselves sorted and headed over to "Puzzlewood" in the Forest of Dean. Puzzlewood is a 14 acre section of forest that apparently inspired JRR Tolkien and others, and has been used for movie and TV shoots. We paid our entrance fee and headed in, it seemed a bit commercialised at first, but once we got into the forest it was enchanting. We spent an hour wandering around the maze of tracks and paths, winding in between limestone rock formations and  large deciduous trees. The moss and lichen, ferns and mushrooms all added to the atmosphere of a Fairy or Elvish forest. I was expecting Queen Maeve or Galadriel to turn up at any moment and cast a spell on us all. Even though it was a misty day it was magical, there were many families enjoying the witches hunt in the wood for Halloween, and many adults just enjoying being young again.

 

Xavier in Puzzlewood 

 

Xavier an I amongst the limestone at Puzzlewood 

We left the Puzzlewood and retraced our steps to Cheltenham, and the Briarfields Campsite. We spent the afternoon with Xavier before seeing him off on the train. Daylight savings ended this weekend, so now it gets dark at 5.30pm, sort of like mid winter at home, but it is only mid Autumn here, winter is looming on the horizon. We spent a quiet night after Xavier left, I was a bit sad about my baby leaving. He has his own life in London that he needs to live, and we will be seeing him in a few weeks hopefully.

Monday 31st we left Cheltenham after doing the usual campsite stuff and stocking up on supplies, we were heading to Wales. We only had to travel 60kms to reach Wales and our next stop, in the Village of Trellech/Trellick. Trellech is named after the 3 standing stones near the village, Tri meaning 3, and Lech meaning stone. These stones are believed to have been sited 3000 years ago, and latter settlements took the name from the stones. Trellech became the largest town in Wales between 1200 - 1300 but was reduced in size due to the Welsh wars. Today it is a small village with a 13th Century church and the remains of an old Motte or Fort, which we of course explored. We also found the Virtuous Well of St Anne, near the village. This was a pilgrimage site for people to come and use the waters to cure ailments, apparently it was well known for curing Woman's ailments, I had a go, asking for relief from my Menopause hot flushes...hasn't worked yet. We wandered back to the pub for a cider/beer, but we were a bit disappointed with the atmosphere of the place, so home for dinner and a sleep.

Standing stones at Trellech

 

The Virtuous Well

 

The well of St Anne.

This morning we decided to leave before the rush hour traffic to get past the very narrow road we had come through the day before, we then stopped to have breakfast at Monmouth before we continued on to the west of Wales. Our first stop was a little village called Llandovery were there was the remains of an old Fort on a motte which we climbed. As we arrived I had seen a craft centre so of we set to admire some true Welsh crafts.. we were sadly disappointed as it was mainly tacky Chinese replica iron work and ticky tacky tourist stuff. We walked around the village then hopped back in the motorhome and left. 

 

Ruined Castle Fort in Llandovery

We continued on to Carmarthen then had to leave the A40 for the A484, I hope never to drive that road again. It was a lovely river valley, we drove beside the Afon Druad for miles, the forest was golden and russet, sun filtering through the trees, little villages would pop up at regular intervals with their delightful stone cottages overhanging the road. We wove in and out on the picturesque narrow road, rock walls right to the edge of the seal, trucks bearing down on you, cars up your butt, speed limit of 60 mph, and me being very cautious after losing my wing mirror. Once through the valley the road widened, thank god and the rest of the drive was a doddle.

We reached Felindre Farchog by 3pm and decided to head off to the Iron Age Fort nearby for an explore, we decided to walk as it was only a couple of kms away. The small road we followed was beautiful with rock walls and a couple of old stone buildings decaying away under an overgrowth of ivy. The trees nearly leafless with their falling golden and russet leaves cascading down with the slight breeze that was blowing. As we walked the leaves crunched and rustled underfoot, making our progress well known to any animals or birds that might have been around.

 

Road to Fort at Felindre Farchog 

 We found the back entrance to the Fort but it was locked, so we climbed over the fence and made our way up the mound. You could see where the earth had been mounded up, similar in someways to the earthworks of Maori Pa sites. The archeologists had re-built what they thought were the type of dwellings used by the Iron Age occupants, round willow and mud daub walls topped by huge thatched roofs. The structures are held up by big branches/trees similar to a Indian Teepee. It was all very fascinating, but you do wonder if they have got it right. 

 

Iron Age settlement 

 

Our gruesome little find.

We left the Fort to the local pigs and sheep and headed back down the road, this time we noticed some standing stones in a paddock. I am a sucker of standing stones so off I trotted to check them out. They looked authentic so Paul came to take some photos, then he found beside one of the stones a rather bizarre sight, a child mannequin with its arms removed covered in a cloth right at the foot of one of the stones, it looked red around its mouth and creepy. As it was the day after Halloween we deduced it was something to do with that, so we left it be and buggered off. Halloween seems to be a really big thing here in England, I am quite shocked at how popular it is. I myself do not believe in the commercialised, American version of Halloween, but then again Christmas is another commercialised event that many people celebrate without really understanding what it is or why, end of rant.

We had an uneventful night and a nippy start to the day, but we had seen all that we wanted to see of Felindre Farchog. Cardigan was the next big town north so we set Helga, our gps and off we went.