Snippets / Memories / Photos of the day:



Ross Castle, Killarney.

• Waking to sunny skies even though there was some light rain.
• Forecasts of thunderstorms and flash flooding where we were heading.
• A beautifully manicured town.



Cantilever stairs to the guard’s tower at Ross Castle. These are very clever, with rock ¾’s of the stair width set in the wall so there is nothing needed underneath to support it.

• Dramatic leaden sky descending upon us as we viewed the castle.
• Beautiful leafy National Park on the edge of town.
• Seeing a sign ‘Irish Tidy Town Winner 2011’ on the way out of town. No surprise that one.



The Cathedral on the way out of Killarney…from the footpath, very handy!

• More lanes of red fuchsias and assorted flowers…we need to get the combination of somewhere safe to pull off, flowers and no rain. Has yet to happen!
• Magnificent vistas up the mountain edges to a crown of cloud on top.
• Countless farmers’ fields intersected by fuchsia hedgerows. The dramatic red against the green was awesome…still raining!
• Many picturesque areas of farming settlements.



Inch Beach which was full of would be surfers, instructors and tourists in crappy weather. Apparently the site of a famous movie in 1960 also has great coffee at the coffee shop in the sand dunes.

• Nice welcome at the Hotel when we dropped the bags.
• Scary steep stony road to the upper car-park.
• Quaint fishing village jam packed with holiday makers celebrating the Bank Holiday (on Monday).



Stonehouse Restaurant above the ancient Dunbeg Fort.

• Tramping down to the Dunbeg Fort which was interesting
• Dramatic views from the Fort site of the crumbling walls
• Small waterfalls pouring down over the cliff to the ocean
• Areas of rocky marshland with dense growth of heather and coarse grasses.



A view across to a rugged cliff face from the Dunbeg Fort site.

• Finding a flooded corner on a mountainous little road and getting across in one piece, phew!
• Finding more and more man hole covers in strategically awkward position on the road. Can be very slippery.
• Gratitude that we found a laundry which could wash and dry all our wet stuff and return in to the hotel tonight. Yay!

Bits and Bobs:

A PS to last night’s comment re moving the bikes because the ‘Boss’ was coming in later and they didn’t want to get the bikes damaged……well later the ‘Boss' came in ….that would be a Bus / Coach. Ha ha. Some of these Irish accents are almost indecipherable.

Last nights’ Accommodation:

Randles Court Hotel, Killarney, Ireland

This was a beautiful building with multiple restful and gracious spaces. Our room was wonderful, bathroom great and the lounge and bar beautiful to relax in and dining room wonderful to experience. The staff was terrific and I would love to return at a later date. Well done to all who work here because you do it very well! It also has a pool and health spa…shame we weren’t here for a longer period of time.



Randles Court Hotel

Fishing boats in the harbour at Castletownbere last night after dinner. The carnival was in the process of setting up behind us.

We have had a huge day getting on the bikes at 8.30am this morning and finally getting in after 3pm. The weather has been largely kind and the roads mostly dry. Our visual senses have been saturated! We started off having decided on specific sorts of photos we would stop for as the estimated travel time was 4hours 12minutes and we had barely set out when Norm pulled over and as I joined him he was digging the camera out of his pocket saying “It’s going to be a big day!’. Not many kilometres past there when we were just experiencing more and more incredible sights and experiences he pulled over again and as I caught up with him he said “I’m not taking a photo; I’m just catching my breath, WOW!!” And that folks is pretty much how the day has gone so I think I’ll let the pictures largely tell the story while apologising for not having as many as we would have liked due to weather challenges and for only catching such a small glimpse of what were hugely incredible vistas.’



On the road to Ballaghboy

Memories of the day:

• Roadside verges jam packed with flowers from the fine red fuchsias (some like small trees) and orange bulbs mixed with cream and yellow flowers and purple heather for good measure and not anywhere near farms or settlements
• Incredibly wild rugged rocks for miles and miles



Very little heather to be seen but room to pull over for a photo

• Shaggy rocks almost covered in long green grass making them look woolly and unkempt
• Heather, heather and more heather on the roadside, in the fields and crevices on the cliff faces
• Breathtaking views of safe harbours
• Swallows everywhere darting about around Ballaghboy
• Being grateful the wind was so fierce so I could decline the chance to go across the water in the cable car (being the only one that goes over sea water in Europe) but described by locals as precarious at best and it looked very much like a home-made vintage job!



And here it is

• Dramatic rugged rocky cliffs and promontories
• A cliff face covered in heather….and nowhere to stop for a photo!
• The smell of peat burning as we passed farmhouses
• Small winding roads rolling up and down and climbing around the cliff faces into and out of harbours. What sort of stubborn people built these?
• Scattered settlements of stone cottages standing firm against the elements



Around the Staigue area

• Sheep, sheep and more sheep oblivious to our passing
• A French motoring club (with an abiding hatred of the Irish) who are here in their cars in big numbers travelling at 40 – 60km on 100km roads to annoy the locals….and these two Australians. All up they (in several groups) added over an hour to our travel time today
• Rows of peat being dug up and stacked up for pick-up
• The ethereal sight of the spire of Killarney Cathedral as we rode into town
• Bustling villages with festivals in progress, my favourite title was the ‘Random acts of Kindness Festival’



Kenmar Village - a welcome coffee stop

• The lovely feeling of being enveloped in a quiet beautiful space as we checked in at our hotel. One beautiful space after another. Aaaahhhh



A lovely room and all the lounges are comfortable as well

• The Hotel Manager asking Norm to move the bikes from the parking spot they were in saying “the Hotel owner will be coming tonight and we don’t want them to get damaged”…..I kid you not! Don’t know what that says about his driving. Anyway they are safely parked under the hotel now

Bits and Bobs:

We heard on the news yesterday that the unemployment rate is 14% and after Norm had been lying on the bed for a bit he informed me that anyone on unemployment over here mustn’t be able to get a job because there’s no way they would stay home and willingly watch the crap that was on TV…could be right.

We had e delicious dinner at a Chinese Restaurant last night and I opened my fortune cookie and read ‘You are straightforward and honest’ and Norm nodded and read his (saying something a bit crass which I won’t repeat as if it was a quote). I took it off him and it read ‘Go on be naughty but nice’. Cracked us both up!

Last nights’ Accommodation:

Island View House B&B, Castletownbere, Ireland

A very nice building with great views out of the harbour to Bear Island. We had the front room which was the pick of the views. Nice comfortable bed and good shower. Comfortable sitting room and breakfast room and delicious breakfast. Obliging host but not in our face so appreciated that. Parked the bikes at the front door so appreciated that also. There were two very enthusiastic dogs in residence which were well trained and friendly but I found it off putting to go into the kitchen to pay this morning and find them well at home in the kitchen.



Island View House

Our first view of Timoleague across the mudflats of the estuary. The Abbey was an impressive sight when we moved further inland.

The morning started as another grand soft sort of day with wet slick roads and slow travelling. Kinsale was a bustling little fishing village but we were soon out of there and heading west and throughout the day enjoyed a variety of views from rolling green farmland, manicured towns with really pretty cottages and larger town houses as well as tiny (ancient) shops jammed in higgledy piggledy almost on top of each other rather than beside. I loved that there were rarely two shops the same colour and in some areas the houses as well in the villages which made for a colourful display.



A view to Baltimore.

We wound our way along the coastline and were rewarded with many spectacular views to both rugged wild and rocky coastlines with breakers smashing up the rocks to long estuaries with extensive mudflats at low tide this morning. Everywhere there were streams / rivers emptying into the water the flow was absolutely galloping so beautiful to see. As we headed for Baltimore we left a lot of the farmland behind and started coming across more rugged rocky outcrops amidst the farmland and this has increased as we have headed west.



Mizen Head, ferocious water wearing away at this cliff face.

From Baltimore we headed for Mizen Head and the countryside became more and more rugged. There seemed to be more exposed rock than anything else with pockets of lush grass, scrubby trees and in every nook and cranny of the rocks heather and ferns growing. It truly was spectacular. Every so often in the midst of this we would find a farm struggling along. The wind was ferocious as we headed towards the head which explained the absence of any decent trees except in little valleys where we often rode through green leafy tunnels. A magnificent contrast.



Heading back from Mizen Head another view complete with an Irish cottage and views into the bay.

We appreciated that the rain dried up for the most off the afternoon so we could take the waterproof jackets off but donned them about 30 minutes before we got in as there were some more scattered showers as we wound along the Beara Peninsula on our way here to Castletownbere where we found a large harbour with some sizeable ferries lined up as well as fishing boats and other watercraft.

To quote Norm ‘the views we’ve seen today were way too big to be captured in photos’ and he’s right. We could only capture small pieces of each and at times the view was dramatic because of the rain sweeping in across the mountains or water and we didn’t get those ones at all.

Bits and Bobs:

We have discovered that it is exceedingly difficult to find public toilets in Ireland. Many of the servos don’t have them or tell you they’re out of order and go somewhere else and they seem to be well hidden or absent in towns. Not helpful for the travelling public either locals or tourists and it isn’t just us, every time we have been trying to track them down others have been equally frustrated with the set up as well.

Last nights’ Accommodation:

The White Lady Hotel, Kinsale Ireland

A combination of two buildings clinging to the cliff face on a narrow little street just above the harbour. It has had a reasonable sort of refurbishment program and the young people running it are establishing a lot of different offerings including a night club (where we parked our bikes for the night….really). Our room was an adequate family room with a desk as well. The food was delicious and service great but a little more focus on routine maintenance is needed with a number of blown light globes and dusty venetians. I hope they make a go of it they are trying hard.



The White Lady Hotel, we were in the 3 story part at the top of the stairs! The entry to the Nightclub is to the left on the side out of the shot.

The first view of the Rock of Cashel as we approached Cashel yesterday. They have a major restoration project underway to conserve and restore a chapel which is deteriorating rapidly from the effect of moisture. Hardly surprising without a roof after all.

The Rock of Cashel rises majestically from the encircling plain of Golden Vale. This limestone outcrop has the most complete Romanesque church in Ireland, (must be some big wrecks about then) a 13th century Gothic cathedral, a 12th century round tower and an exquisitely restored 15th century Vicars choral. It is here that the original St. Patricks cross can be seen. The Rock of Cashel is a unique heritage site and it is universally recognised as having one of the world’s greatest collections of medieval architecture and Celtic art. (From the reverse of the town map we received from the hotel….except for my comment).



A view through the gravestones at the Rock of Cashel to the fields below and yet another ruin of a church. As you can see the day is to quote our Hotelier “a grand soft day’ which in our terms means soft drizzly rain to rainy drizzle and back again….which it has been all day…or close to it.

In spite of the weather we have had a comfortably warm ride. Not as far today and the travel was not particularly fast as a good bit of it was on country roads which had a reasonable amount of mud on them. (Norm is out with the bucket and rag as I type to get some of the grime off the exhaust pipes at least).



The back of the Cashel Palace, the front is much more impressive but we were in the wrong place to get that..…and by the time we got out we were drenched so take our word for it that this is the ‘birthplace of Guinness’….or so the sign said and so far we haven’t seen anywhere else claim that title..yet anyway.

The countryside has been much more what I’ve expected to see since arriving in Ireland. We have seen lots of gently rolling hills of green well-manicured fields with harvest in varying degrees of completion. Probably more noticeable is the fact that there have been very few fields with rampant weed growth and no properties that have the appearance of being abandoned and being engulfed with weeds and encroaching scrubby tree growth which we have seen a reasonable amount of over the last couple of days.



Our first decent view of Blarney Castle. The cantilevered window was the bedroom of the Earl apparently. Bit of a show off by the look of it. As a young girl having spent many school holidays trying with my sister Maureen to put together a 1,000 + piece jig saw puzzle of the palace with much surrounding foliage and stonework (and never quite managing that)it was a satisfying view to see the thing intact!

Blarney House.

We have travelled through parts of Tipperary, Limerick and Cork Counties today and we have also noticed fewer new build houses, especially on farmland and while I don’t like sweeping generalisations I am about to make a HUGE one. Perhaps the farmers in these counties (on the roads we have travelled) have had a greater concentration on the farming side of things with their EU money than on building houses. Having said that of course, any farmer worth his salt who has a wife who says ‘if you spend your Euro money on the farm instead of giving me a decent house to live in I’m walking out the door’ would build a house. So, win, win however you look at it. What the hell do I know? I’m enjoying it all from the bike seat.



One of the medium sized trees in the gardens….I kid you not. When we say we plant trees for future generations we are not kidding! We have seen many examples of trees from all over the world which would have been gifts from important dignitaries saying they had confidence in the longevity of the Irish Family / Clan resident on sight no doubt.

We missed out on a tour of Blarney House by a small margin but it didn’t matter. We enjoyed our wander around the grounds and gardens between showers lunch and hot chocolate. What an immense area to maintain and pay for! Good luck to them.

Bits and Bobs:

As we were heading towards the gate at Blarney Castle an Irish Grandmother was explaining to her granddaughter (about 8 – 9 years old) what the difference was between ‘boloney’ and ‘blarney’ since there is the Blarney Stone to be kissed at Blarney Castle which apparently bestows the individual with great eloquence once they have kissed the stone.

Grandma said ”boloney is when you are talking rubbish but blarney is when you are being much smarter or cleverer than that” to which here granddaughter replied “it all sounds like boloney to me”….Out of the mouths of babes!

It may interest you to know that Norm didn’t quite understand what was being said until I explained to him that he is usually talking boloney and I am talking blarney..…not convinced he took that on-board.

Last nights’ Accommodation:
Baileys Hotel, Cashel Ireland

A lovely building (built in 1709) which has been lovingly looked after or restored and is a beautifully comfortable spot to have a break from travel. All the staff were welcoming and warm and friendly and we felt well taken care of. The rooms were spacious and the bathroom beautifully appointed and shower delicious with good temperature and water pressure. The bar and restaurant were beautiful spaces (food was delicious) and the library a welcome chill spot. So welcome after a few hours on the road. This would definitely be somewhere I could return to. Good value for money I thought.



Baileys Hotel, the gate to the right is where Norm pushed our bikes for a safe night.

A rather lovely memorial to an ancient old cemetery with graves going back to the 9th and 10th century. The surviving headstones line a walk into and around the Mortuary Chapel and give the village a restful little park. This was a project of the local Council with Youth workers in 1985. We were very impressed. We had to check out the village of Athlone because we have special friends (Bill and Kerry) who lived for a time in the little settlement of Athlone near Drouin in Victoria.

The day dawned sunny with big dark cloudy patches and has remained so all day. Thankfully we travelled more in the sun than cloud and managed to miss the rain entirely so Murphy a bit under par today. We donned the long johns to keep the legs a bit more comfortable which we were grateful of as when we were in the cloud it was decidedly chilly. Tomorrow is forecast to not be as friendly but we will see.



Part of the ruins of the Abbey at Clonmacnoise on the edge of the Shannon River. This was a site where pilgrims made their way to centuries ago. Still looks very peaceful.

We have travelled through lots of rolling green fields today criss-crossed by hedgerows and stone walls / fences separating crops from fields full of sheep and cattle. Less barley and harvested wheat visible today but much evidence of hay and silage. We have also noticed a huge number of new build houses all day both on farmland and in village allotments. These were particularly noticeable around the Athlone and Clonmacnoise areas. Interesting.



The bridge at Shannonbridge looking towards the ancient fort. This was no doubt a point of defence as well as management of trade by whoever inhabited the fort in times gone by. Great volume of water flowing and the quays each side of the river were in good repair with lots of modern boats of all sizes moored.

In an attempt to identify which County Cashel was in so we could find our accommodation we headed for another name on the map the GPS would recognise and ventured into the village of Roscrea which was a delightful combination of ancient and new buildings climbing up and down hills around waterways. We enjoyed a hot chocolate and discovered the Cashel we were looking for was in Tipperary County so set the GPS and headed off. The view of the Rock of Cashel (ancient castle) as we rounded the corner (almost into town) was a WOW moment and we look forward to exploring it before we head off in the morning. By the way we rode past two absolutely beautiful golf courses on our way to Cashel this afternoon.



A street view (from under a begonia pot) down a little street beside a small waterway in Roscrea.

Bits and Bobs:

The locals here seem to consider speed limits more a suggestion than anything else, particularly in the villages and at roadwork’s. As a result we tend to hold the traffic up in these areas as we aim to keep our noses clean in a foreign country.

Last nights’ Accommodation:
Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin Ireland

A very nice hotel, spacious rooms (loved the recliner chair) and sofa as well as plenty of room to do the blog and the best functioning shower we have found so far on our trek. The food in both the restaurant and Gasworks Bar was plentiful and good, we had undercover parking under the hotel and the staff throughout were cheerful and helpful.



Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin

Okay so the rain finally cleared and we decided ‘what the hell’ and we headed out for a very brisk walk to check out some of Dublin. A bit late for the hop on hop off tour so we just walked to St Stephens Green and past Trinity College (with a short break at an Irish Pub) back to the hotel. I am happy to report that we were away for 2 hours and walked very briskly for all that time (apart from the drink about half way through) and Norm’s back was the best it has been since before we came away. YAY!! We have been regularly applying some Deep Freeze gel with vigorous massage from yours truly and stretching from Norm. We’re trying not to get too enthusiastic…but it’s difficult not to.



A pretty street view outside St Stephens Green. Check out the size of the vine trunk on the building!



Enjoying the sights of St Stephens Green

We had a bit of a lie in this morning and woke to beautiful blue skies …… with huge billowing white grey and very black clouds strewn about at random. Looked very impressive though somewhat daunting considering we planned a ride to check our Slane Castle and a Megalithic Passage Tomb at Newgrange. We had a dry trip to the castle then it rained while we were inside so we donned the wet weather gear and rode on to the tunnels.



The front of Sloane Castle where we had a coffee then did the tour followed by lunch.

We arrived to view the tunnels at 1.30pm and were told we needed to return to Newgrange to purchase tickets and come back by coach for the 3.45pm tour. Hello! We planned to do the hop on and off tour in Dublin on our return so that was never going to fly. It was also some consolation that the sky behind us as we headed back to Dublin was as black as the ace of spades….especially since we had packed the wet weather gear away.



The front entry to the Megalithic Passage Tomb taken by Norm (standing on a mound of dirt over the fence).

Best laid plans and all that, shortly after we returned and before we even got changed ‘Murphy’ had realised we’d given him the slip at Newgrange and on the way back to the hotel, but he caught up and it started raining here. Not to worry, the umbrella I left behind in Marshside desperate for space was now gone and heavens above the hotel didn’t have one to borrow so the trek didn’t happen.

Bits and Bobs:

Yesterday as Norm was getting the cases off the bikes out the front of the hotel in the rain a cab pulled up behind the bikes (in view of the Australian sign) and the cabbie said to Norm "Fook the rain, why didn’t you bring the fooking sunshine?” I kid you not. Norm was so stunned he didn’t think to say “well it’s been sunny ever since we got here”. Ha, ha, you have to laugh.

We woke to a clear cool sunny morning and headed off for Waterford. We soon wished we had put on our long johns as it was very cool with sometimes strong winds and grey skies and rain in nearly every direction we looked but we fortunately managed to be heading in different directions than the grey cloud until we got to Waterford, the ‘Oldest city in Ireland’ (or so it said on one of the signs as we headed into town). I was impressed with how clean and tidy the town looked as we made our way to what turned out to be the now derelict Waterford Crystal factory (very sad to see) and then the new factory and shop in the town where we had a coffee and checked out the showroom. I had decided if I saw something I loved I would get it shipped home but nothing took my fancy. We came out in time for our first shower of the day and donned the wet weather gear which remained on for the rest of the day.



Parked on the forecourt at the Waterford Complex.

Then we headed for Kilkenny but as we headed for ‘the picturesque Medieval village’ (another sign) we were about to be caught up by the heavy rain cloud we had just ridden through so having seen a number of Medieval villages in a number of countries we decided to push on to Dunamaise where we sought out the ‘Rock of Dunamaise’ which was the sight of a castle / battlement since the 8th century and fought over by the Irish and the Vikings and eventually the Normans and over time (a lot of time) it was handed from one family to another and fell into disrepair (hugely so). We climbed up amongst the ruins and enjoyed the views of the surrounding countryside and figured the inhabitants must have been some sort of mountain goat just to have lived on this great ‘steep’ mound in the middle of the countryside.



The Rock of Dunamaise

The countryside we have travelled through today has been very reminiscent of the areas around the Dandenong’s, the Yarra Valley and some areas of Gippsland..…I guess they all have a similar climate…on the Australian side without most of the snow of course.



A view of the countryside from the Rock of Dunamaise

Bits and Bobs:

One thing we’ve discovered that England Wales and Ireland all have in common is that you don’t have to be far out of a town or village (sometimes not even) to smell the scent of intensive farming activities…..and I’m not talking about the fragrance of new mown hay!

On a more pleasant note…apparently all the convertible cars in England and Wales (haven’t seen any yet in Ireland) come out for the summer. We have been staggered at the number of them. I guess in Australia the summer is much hotter and people are sitting in air-conditioned comfort instead of baking in the sun….not that there’s been too much baking yet this year I suspect.

Last nights’ Accommodation:

Hotel Talbot, Wexford, Ireland

A large and partly refurbished hotel. The public spaces are lovely as was the food and the staff were very friendly. A nice welcome to Ireland. Our room had yet to be refurbished. We had been moved because there was to be a band in the bar for the night we were told. Would have been interested to see what the original room looked like.



Hotel Talbot, Wexford

Mainly photos again today. We had a great ride to catch the ferry mostly via small lanes and roads around the coast and have wound down into and climbed back out of heaps of little villages and inlets and everywhere there was a decent stretch of beach there were surfers and kayakers in evidence in wetsuits. Not many bathers which was understandable as even though there was no rain the sun came and went and the breeze was pretty chilly.

The ferry ride was 3.5 hours long and then a 20km ride to our hotel for the night in comfortable sunny conditions…and long may that continue.



One of the most intact Castle buildings we have seen in Wales
We were surprised to see the number of coastal ships travelling past us so the coastal shipping industry is obviously more healthy here than in Australia.



A view out across the cliff tops to the coastal shipping lanes between Marloes and St David on the west coast of Wales.

A number of the beaches we travelled through had substantial sea walls (often incorporating the road on it or beside it) so the waters can obviously get nasty when the weather is rough.



Some context for the size of some of the lanes we have been traversing. This pic of one of the larger lanes as we descended into Broadhaven (between St Brides and St David’s).



This one as we followed a farmer’s tractor and trailer of newly mown grass. This was also a larger lane than many we have travelled on but for the short distance a four wheel drive, car and large rigid truck had to reverse to intersections to let him (and happily us) pass.



We overshot the mark heading to the ferry and this is either a little inlet on the way to Cardigan, or its Cardigan. Pretty spot anyway.



Loading onto the Stena Line Ferry looks like it is a fair bit bigger than our Tassie Ferry. The trucks and coaches loaded into the nose of the ship where the doors were open then cars and us into the side.



On our way into Wexford we saw a beautiful fine Church Spire and decided to find it after our dinner and here it is, St Brigidets.

Bits and Bobs:



A coffee stop in Broadhaven gave the locals a chance to check out the bikes. The Welsh appear less inhibited in regards to this as well as tooting and waving as they pass the bikes as well.

Last nights’ Accommodation:

The Giltar Hotel, Tenby, Wales UK

This hotel was a real treat! The public spaces were beautifully decorated and looked after and the rooms are undergoing a major refurbishment and we were fortunate to have one of the newly done rooms which was just lovely. Norm was really impressed that it was still old fashioned enough to have ‘hot’ water in the bathroom rather than just lukewarm as they often are at home these days for fear we burn ourselves….or something. Even better we had a room overlooking the Esplanade and big sandy beach from on top of quite a cliff down onto the shore. The food at the restaurant was brilliant, the entertainment good fun and the two best things of all were the terrific attitude and friendliness of the staff and the incredible care which has been taken of their garden which consists of multiple potted and hanging plants around doors, windows, down in the basement spaces in front of the building and creative topiary strategically placed in front of windows. My favourite being a child rejoicing with arms in the air. Well done all round!



The Giltar Hotel, Tenby



And another shot of the front door. The Hotel has won 1st prize in the ‘Tenby in Bloom’ show for 20009, 2010 and 2011 and should do so again this year (in our humble opinion).

Tintern Abbey from our hotel room

We have had a lovely days riding on some beautiful roads for bikes with lots of sweeping corners and spectacular views with an occasional Motorway or Highway to redirect us to where we want to go. We headed inland to Sennybridge initially and discovered countryside which I can only describe as more ‘wild’ than what we have seen previously as well as some examples of ruins of castles and battlements. The farms have opened out and given way to rugged Moors and forests with the occasional eagle prospecting for a meal. As we rode from the Post Office to the servo (to access Wi-Fi) a Hornet Jet (I think) flashed by overhead. Norm didn’t see it and wondered what on earth had flown to bits in the car passing him at the time the sound barrier reports reached us. It looked magnificent!

We continued from Sennybridge down through Swansea where we had lunch at a pub on a town square where the locals were laying on the grass looking at some Olympic elimination games on the big screen. From there we continued on into ‘The Mumbles’ which again we heard about from Neil Oliver’s ‘Coast’ Documentary. Cannot remember what it was known for but we wanted to get into our hotel today in good time so rode through town which was just beautiful and on to Bracelet Bay where we took a photo of the Mumbles Jetty then rode back through town and headed for Tenby where we stay tonight. The Mumbles is a beautiful seaside village with lovely green spaces between the beach and the road with well-established conifers as well as other green spaces. Obviously some good planning gone into it. The houses themselves are in good condition and not shabby. Lovely views all along the Esplanade and incredibly busy.



The Mumbles Jetty

Tenby is a treat! We followed along a big length of old village wall then turned a corner to the Esplanade and found our hotel shortly after. A lovely beach but our hotel has pots and hanging gardens of all description (multi begonia and succulent displays as well as joyous topiary exhibits) and is a must see. The inside is also a treat with lovely public spaces and nicely refurbished rooms. Feel really spoilt. A must see if you are in this neck of the woods.



A welcome entry tonight.

Bits and Bobs:

I passed Norm at a roundabout today and he got stuck at some lights…apparently didn’t appreciate the experience and took my photo…poor loser if you ask me!



Nola disappearing off into the wide blue yonder

Last nights’ Accommodation:

The Abbey Hotel, Tintern, Chepstow, Wales UK

A nice Hotel all round. The public spaces are in good condition and tastefully decorated but the room at best could be described as adequate and ageing. The spectacular view across the road to the ruins of Tintern Abbey made up for it. Lovely food at the Brassiere with very attentive staff. Really needed access to Wi-Fi but the Hotel is in the midst of changing carriers so no go. Bugger! Had to find an Inte



The Abbey Hotel, Tintern.