We left off on the night before the trip to Wales. Now imagine if you will yet another early wet English morning heading to the tube at which we will meet our coaches. At least this time I was not heading there alone. Thank goodness for that fact. I actually managed to make it to the meeting place on time, thanks to the added company. In fact we arrived a little early. So we went to find snacks and the ever-needed coffee fix. We did get the snacks, though no sign of caffeine was to be found at 7:45am in this part of town on a Saturday. We boarded the bus, found nice seats near the rear and met up with another fellow Bunacer, an Australian named Scott who is quite a chatty fellow! (No.. seriously he's chatty. He'd drive even the infamous "Chatty Kathy" to beyond the brink.) A very nice guy to be sure, just chatty. Finally, almost on time this week, we revved the engines and set off. Well we didn't rev them, the drive rather calmly pulled out and set us on our way through the north of London, on through to Oxford where we were to pick up a few more people before we headed out Cheapstowe Castle, the oldest stone castle in the UK.
It is an amazing example of architecture that stands the test of time. Mary and I were in awe as we made our way around all over the grounds, starting with the latest buildings and working back to the oldest portion, the great hall (built circe 1067, a year after William the Conqueror was crowned King). We then went and had lunch and boarded the bus to go on to the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. Coming to the ruins of an abbey claimed to be one of the most incredible ruins in the country, Tintem Abbey. Apparently I was in agreement with this statement as I took several, many, dozens of pictures from every angle conceivable of this abbey (seen now on Ofoto.com ;). We were told that this place served as inspiration for many artists and writers including Turner (famous English landscape painter) and Wordsworth (Romantic poet). I could definitely see why. It was breathtaking the way the light landed on the hills around the Abbey and cast shadow among the ruins. Mary and I walked around talking about how much the place reminded us of Colorado (she's a big fan of Colorado, and has visited there several times). Finally after contented ourselves with the beauty of the valley and discussing possibilities of settling down and raising families in a place like this (obviously first, we'd both need to find husbands but minor detail really), we made our way back to the group to head off to Hay-on-Wye, my new favorite Welsh town.
You may wonder why a small Welsh town called Hey-on-Wye is my favorite place so far in all of Great Britain. Needless to say the name itself is quite a draw, and fun to say. But the real reason for my adoration of such a place is the fact that there are 39 (you heard it 39) second-hand bookstores all in about a two mile strip. Unfortunately due to our late leaving and other delaying events throughout the day, we only reached this great little town at about 5:00pm. Just about the time everyone was closing up shop. Therefore, we weren’t able to explore around as much as we would’ve liked but I hope to get back there another day so I can go in to every store. But for the time being we Mary, Scott the Aussie and I, ran into the few shops that were still open and searched for second hard British versions of Harry Potter. Then we had to leave this quaint town for the hostel. After getting lost in the dark, we managed to find our hostel for the night. A nice big manor house called Baskerville Hall. Apparently it was once the set of a film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous novel. It was a lovely place though the food service was quite a bit slow. They did have a pool, sauna, club, restaurant and bar (separate). The club services a lot of Welsh towns nearby, so there were some good times to be had hanging out with the locals. (Sidenote: The English are not great fans of the Welsh and I was warned off by my flatmate that they are basically the British version of rednecks known here as, pardon my British, “sheep-shaggers”.) Needless to say I didn’t enjoy the clubbing times as I was exhausted and went to bed early, which amazingly quite a few other people did too. The one seeming draw-back of the hostel was that for a 16-bed dorm filled with girls, they had one shower. Luckily it worked out better than I imagined. Only about half of us decided to even shower at all considering the next day would be spent on horses which would make us stinky again anyways. And those few who did shower used the one available in our room and another that was just outside the dorm room, down the hall a bit. After a night spent in relative warmth and comfort we awoke the next morning, hopped on the bus again for the drive to Breacon Beacons where the little ponies awaited us.
Now, remember from a while back I mentioned buying boots especially for this trip. Remember that the boots weren’t exactly hiking boots, but had a more stiletto like heel to them? Well here’s where they come into play. For those of us who didn’t have the proper footwear and weren’t able to procure it before we left our leader, Karen, was kind enough to purchase multiple sets of Wellington boots so that everyone could ride in safety. Assuming my boots fit the bill I told her I didn’t need any “Wellies”. Arriving at the riding ground, we all started to put on our boots. Karen noticed my boots and was very distraught – of course these couldn’t be used to ride the horses! I had to either find real boots with proper heels now or not ride. My heart sank… and my embarrassment soared! I was the jerk holding everyone else up because of my stupid, fashionable, pointy-toed, high-heeled, suede boots. Luckily another girl who had Wellingtons that were my size was kind enough to switch with me and wear her normal shoes. So finally things were settled, though I still couldn’t look any of my companions in the eyes for much of the journey home. After suiting up, including boots, helmet and breast plate, we had a bit of a training session on how to ride the horses, English style, then took them out for about a 2 hour run of it. Then we went to lunch at a local pub with good atmosphere and good food. The most fun of that was watching everyone attempt to sit down. We then ventured back for another 45 minute ride on another trial.
Having said that let me now say that it was the most gorgeous, awe-inspiring part of my stay here altogether. Unfortunately I have no pictures to back my claim that this was some of the more stunning countryside, as we weren’t allowed to bring anything but ourselves on the ride. But imagine if you will, rolling hills of green with trees just turning to yellow and orange. Sheep were everywhere – hence the not so polite epithet. Over the hills we went, under the trees, crossing a little waterfall – no, not to grandmother’s house we go – through the picturesque Welsh country. It is beyond my sad attempts to describe how beautiful the scene was. It simply filled me with awe and contentment.
After our horse-riding, we all got back on the bus and headed for London. We finished watching the rest of Matrix 2 and 3 (which I rather enjoyed to my surprise) on the way back. Returning once again to ISH (Int’l Student House) everyone scattered to the winds trying to get back to their respective homes. Let’s just say though the beauty and wonder of Wales will stay with me for a long time, it took a good three days before I could move and sit normally again. So there is the tale of Wales.
Next to come: Borough Market shopping spree, Mary leaves, Thanksgiving abroad and LOTR all the way!
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