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Ffestiniog Railway 26.6.24

27 June 2024 / admin

Merddin Emrys

We retrace our steps slightly this morning into Porthmadog and one major improvement is that the Ffestiniog Railway have implemented a parking area in a near by car park which is a few minutes walk – but obviates all the previous difficulties. I am not sure how I did not know about this as I do not recall it from the last visit 10 years ago – but we were then staying close by so walked to the station.

Jackie takes our seats in the rear observation car and I walk out to the front and onto the Cob to take photographs of trains moving around the railways. I just about see the departure of a Welsh Highland service to Caenarfon. However the railway seems busy this morning and again it is very warm. it is nice to be able to traverse the line about which I read far more than I ever see.

The journey to and from Blaenau Ffestiniog behind Merddin Emrys appears pretty trouble free – uphill we are a long way back to hear how hard the locomotive is working and of course the return journey is downhill. At Blaenau the sun is beating down and shade is limited. I manage to get some photographs of the locomotive before we return.

Merddin Emrys at Blaenau Ffestiniog

On our last trip (as mentioned 10 years ago) I was struck by the wide open spaces as there had been a lot of tree clearance, Views now are much less as the trees (or new ones) have grown back and so like many other trips these days the views do not seem as good – I particularly noticed this on the Heart of Wales line recently.

Once re-united with the car it is great to have the top down and finding the new much improved road bridge at Pont Briwet which is a complete transformation. I decide to take the coast road and almost miss one turning – it looked like we were supposed to go straight on and so we pass Harlech Castle – I have never previously driven down this route.

Further down the coast we use the unimproved Penmaenpool Toll Bridge as we are heading to Aberdyfi. The satnav does not think much of the cut off as it seems to neither reduce the distance or time for the journey. Our accommodation for the night is the Dovey Arms with dinner at Seabreeze which is a few minutes walk away. Dovey Arms is a Marston house and the rooms in this case seem great value for money – with an excellent breakfast the following morning. Dinner is reasonable too.

Puffins and more 25.6.24

26 June 2024 / admin

Puffin in flight

Today we head a little way along the Menai Strait to Beaumaris where we are going to catch a boat courtesy of Seacoast Safaris for a trip up to Priestholm (Ynys Lannog/Glannog in Welsh) but which now seems to be known by just about everyone as Puffin island. The island is uninhabited by humans but the numbers of birds are enormous. Careful management has ensured that bird numbers have been steadily growing for many years. It is situated off the north east corner of Anglesey, just at the end of the Menai Straits and the journey there takes about 20 minutes with entire trip planned to take around 90 minutes.

Luckily it is extremely calm as we head along the Strait and a little further so that we can slowly circumnavigate Puffin Island. There are birds everywhere and some seals on the far side of the island although we are too late to see them basking, largely shapes moving under the surface. Although named Puffin Island and we see a few they are heavily outnumbered by all of the other species.

We have an extended session as they ensure we see everything we can so it is early afternoon and we head over the Britannia Bridge and then along the coast to Portmeirion where we are staying tonight, arriving at Castell Deudraeth in time for a late sandwich for lunch.

Portmeirion was built over a period of nearly 50 years to the design of Clough Williams-Ellis in an Italianate style. We are staying in the main hotel on one of the hottest days of the year. We wander around most of the village and I take a large number of photos. I then decide to go and walk around the wooded area to see a little more of the estate heading down to the lighthouse. It first came to my attention with “The Prisoner”.

An excellent dinner is taken later in the dining room and tomorrow we will enjoy an excellent breakfast. There are many villas around the estate which can also be rented – and certainly our night here was very nice.

Snowdon Mountain & Llanberis Lake 24.6.24

25 June 2024 / admin

Snowdon Mountain Railway

We have had three previous attempts to visit the Snowdon Mountain Railway. 10 years ago the weather forecast for the following day was poor and we then drove past Snowdon in bright sunshine with the peak clearly visible! A couple of years ago we were returning from Ireland and the booked trip was cancelled ten days earlier as the railway had been unable to complete repairs to the track and the visitor centre.

The sunshine bodes well as we drive to Llanberis first thing on a Monday morning. Even the Ringgo app works first time to pay for the parking and we join the 09:30 departure. Like too many other railways the absence of a proper timetable is an annoyance. In particular I had originally wanted to book the afternoon steam train but it was sold out when I did book – which was fine as it was easy enough to book the morning train – as only one engine was in steam and the other workings are diesel.

Which would be well and good but on arrival there is a second steam engine in steam and which took a steam service up the mountain at a time which was not advertised for booking and would have permitted a leisurely breakfast.

We are pushed to the summit by No 5 Moel Siabod, the locomotive dating back to 1896. Along the way the number of walkers seem high – but it is a bright sunny day – and at the summit itself reaching the top is not easy. It is not just the slightly uneven steps but building works continue eliminating some of the route and the numbers at the top soon fill the available space!

From the top the view is pretty good – we can see northwards but to the south of the peak there is cloud – which is impenetrable! I do not envisage another visit – but at least to see some of the scenery is good. It does mean that the route for the trains is fairly clear and so the views can also be enjoyed on the train returning to the base of the mountain.

As already mentioned a second locomotive, No 6 Padarn which is of the later 1922 batch of locomotives, is also in service today. This is the only one of the later batch of steam locomotives now remaining in service with the other two requiring replacement boilers and therefore now laid aside.

These days, unlike a previous visit many years ago, you now simply walk across the road to the Llanberis Lake Railway which extended here some years. It is quite a contrast – the line must be nearly flat as it progresses along the side of the Lake and passenger numbers are nothing like the Mountain Railway.

Llanberis Lake Railway

It runs down the back of the Welsh Slate Museum where it used to terminate in what is now the car parking area and then runs along the lake – the far end is not at a station, just a run round loop before returning to the picnic area – where it did not stop on the outward journey. The only extension since the previous visit is at the start as previously we had to go in via the Slate Museum (I think) rather than it being a stand alone attraction.

We now meander over to Anglesey where our progress is delayed by major work being undertaken on the Thomas Telford designed Menai Suspension Bridge – all of the suspension is being checked for the first time in many years – Michael Portillo mentioned it when he visited earlier in the year.

Once back at Chateau Rhianfa I seek assistance for the car. It takes a couple of hours before they reach us as their base is so far away. A faulty ABS sensor is likely and all should be well until we are home and it can be replaced.

Bodnant Gardens 23.6.24

24 June 2024 / admin

Bodnant Garden

Our journey is now into North Wales where we plan to spend the rest of the week. We soon gain motorways to leave Manchester behind and then the A55 along the North Wales coast. Much of the rest of the holiday is rail related but today we are visiting Bodnant Gardens which are a part of the National Trust therefore assisting to defray the membership cost previously mentioned.

2024 marks 150 years since Henry Davis Pochin purchased the Bodnant Estate. His wealth came from a process to use china clay to improve the quality of paper, owning South Wales coal pits plus Cornish clay pits which (much later) were acquired by English China Clays. Bodnant Gardens was effectively his retirement project and it subsequently passed to his daughter and her husband who were responsible for funding the travels of plant collectors bringing foreign plants, particularly rhododendrons and magnolias to the estate.

One of the first part of the gardens created was the Laburnum walk , which was part of Pochin garden, where we pause briefly before continuing around the gardens. It is of course a little late for most of the rhododendrons this year – but they were obviously magnificent. The roses are however blooming madly and there is a long walk through the wooded area which given the temperature is welcome.

We stay at the higher levels – it is possible to descend to river level for a better view of the waterfall – but all the paths are marked steeply graded and so we avoid those routes.

When we park I am quite a way up the hill in what appears to be “overflow” parking. When I return it is notable that cars have needed to park much further into the overflow area – so I would on that basis judge it to be a busy day at the Gardens but it never felt crowded or difficult to wander around.

Our destination is Chateau Rhianfa which is on Anglesey as it convenient for the next couple of days. Our bedroom has a view out over the Menai Strait which is the channel between Anglesey and the rest of Wales.

To reach Anglesey we pass over the Menai Bridge. The Menai Suspension Bridge is currently undergoing significant inspection works to ensure that all of the suspension cables and their securings remain safe – after all the bridge, designed by Thomas Telford, opened in 1826. It is Grade 1 listed and carries the local traffic as the main road now runs over the adjacent Britannia Bridge which was designed solely as a rail bridge by George Stephenson and re-engineered following a major fire in 1970 to the current double deck structure.

Coronation Street 22.6.24

23 June 2024 / admin

Weatherfield Precinct

This is our third visit to Coronation Street and our second to Media City having previously visited the earlier set at the Quays. It is our first visit since the most recent set extension covering the famous Weatherfield Precinct and playground which was added to the set about two years ago.

Our tour today starts with the outside of the Tony Warren building – which contains many of the internal sets and externally has the signage associated with Weatherfield Hospital. We then join the main outside set via the Freshco car park – which merely consists of a trolley park these days! Originally filming in Freshco used a local Morrisons supermarket on Sundays.

We then move around to the Weatherfield Precinct and associated shops plus the flats above. One amusing feature is that all of the flats have external doors (with letter boxes) which are visible above the shops along the walkway – but visitors to the flats always enter from the rear of the flat – which appears to be completely impossible as the main door is at the front. Ours is not to reason why!

The playground equipment is made from recycled plastic but does look entirely new and unused – which is not surprising given the very rare appearances of many of the younger children in the programme – Glory, Aled, Bryn, Carys, Lilo, Harry, Bertie and Alfie! As ever access is limited and it is not possible to pass directly in front of the individual shops.

Our tour then moves onto the Police station and then into Victoria Street area which was relatively new on our last visit. The vegetation in Victoria Gardens is particularly verdant (our last visit was in late Autumn) preventing decent photographs of the memorial bench to Martyn Hett and those who lost lives in the Manchester bombing.

Seb Memorial Garden

A Sainsburys / Argos store is coming next door to Hays Travel with past incumbents in this area now being a distant memory. Seb’s memorial garden is a new addition but currently the entrance to the former gym and the builder’s yard are unused with the latter apparently now boarded up. Trim Up North appears closed.

Although Nuttall’s brewery is closed there are still abandoned barrels and no sign of any change whilst there were a couple of StreetCars outside the office. There are few changes obvious along Coronation Street itself since our last visit. Indeed it may even be the same menu outside the Bistro! A few cheeky shots were taken of the Platt garden and around the back of the factory.

The other major addition since our last visit is the internal exhibition which has various costumes on display plus display boards telling the stories of the families and characters past and present. In addition there are internal sets – mainly a mock up of the Rovers and Roys Rolls. Not mentioned in the literature is the Duckworth’s living room with bar – but I have a feeling this may not be as permanent.

Prior to visiting the above addition we also met Alan Halsall who briefly meets the visitors for a photo. He was particularly good with an individual on the tour to whom the Street is obviously a passion. And he is not very tall as he admitted!

Bistro Menu

Our travel to and from Media City was by tram – use the Imperial War Museum stop and it is a short walk past that Museum to the entrance. The return trips on the trams cost a total of £3.10 each – a bargain.

Congleton 21.6.24

22 June 2024 / admin

Little Moreton Hall

Friday 21.6.24

Our UK holiday this year started yesterday with a night at John’s House in Mountsorrel near Loughborough where we ate and stayed in one of the cottages. We enjoyed an excellent meal and the hospitality offered in the cottage was outstanding. I can recommend this as a suitable stopping point on journeys which need a break as well as a decent destination in its own right for dinner.

Today we are heading north towards Didsbury tonight but stopping off near Congleton at Little Moreton Hall. We have recently joined the National Trust as our plans on this holiday will mean that it almost pays for itself. Our onward holiday is to Manchester and then to North Wales and Anglesey for a couple of nights and somewhere along the line some railways.

However the highlight today is allegedly the “wonkiest house” in the country which is located a few miles south of Congleton and apart from encountering the A50 and the delays caused by the roundabouts (all of which need flyovers adding to ease traffic flow).

Construction of the Hall commenced before 1450 with William Moreton adding significantly from 1500 onwards. There were earlier buildings on the site. The family at this stage were growing in wealth and continually adding to their land estates and so whilst the house commenced small the family kept adding to it. The extensions were to build a larger house and then to form buildings on three sides of the small courtyard. Finally in common with other grand houses the family added a long gallery as a third floor running the length of the newer extension – but this gallery was not as wide as the floors below so the weight was not carried on the external walls. A slate roof added weight estimated at 32 tons to complete the structure. This was added in 1570-1580 marking a high water in the family fortunes.

A fuller description is held in the Official Listing.

Being on the wrong side in the Civil War cost the family the accumulated fortune and much of the estate was sold to buy the freedom of William Moreton III. In the early Twentieth Century attempts were made to stabilise the structure and to restore it and it passed to the National Trust in 1937 who have in recent years spent a small fortune to seek to prevent further movement.

From Little Moreton Hall we headed further north to Didsbury for a couple of nights. In the evening we dined at Adam Reid at the French – a restaurant inside the Midland Hotel. Absolutely stunning meal plus some good wines. The team here are young and very talented – and the service is excellent.

Alberobello

21 April 2024 / admin

Trulli houses in Alberobello

Friday 19.4.24

Our trip today is by coach and it transpires that Alberobello is the town we could see from Locotorondo with the vast number of Trulli houses on the other side of the valley and our journey is therefore similar to last Sunday.

Today the weather has really turned and whilst we do not have the strong winds experienced earlier in the week the heavens have opened and it is rain through the most of the day. We have waterproof coats – but it is depressing if nothing else as we head towards the town.

Alberobello is a World Heritage Site and that has been taken seriously by the town who provide for coach parking quite a long way out of the town. It is particularly annoying that we pass a completely empty car park where the coaches could be turned about 50% of the way into the town,

Trulli houses in Alberobello

Once we reach the town centre we decide that to proceed further is not going to show us much more and I had spotted that by heading up the hill to a large group of houses we can walk through them and take photos and then return down the hill towards the coach dropping off point.

We pass one of the houses which is open for inspection – but there is already a significant crowd and we have no wish to get any wetter than we are already so we pass it by.

Trulli, Alberobello

Allegedly the reason for the construction (which appears to be limited to a relatively small area) is that removal of a single keystone collapses the roof, so in the event of a tax inspection the removal of the stone would collapse the roof and it was no longer a habitable dwelling so not taxable.

At the far end of the coach station we eventually find a coffee / wine bar which is open and partake of some coffee and once we have consumed that we move onto a glass of wine each – well it fills the morning up. It seems that many of the other travellers also visited similar establishments in the town centre – simply to stay out of the rain.

The return trip gets us back to the hotel in time for lunch.

This completes our sight seeing on this holiday and we have a relatively free afternoon and morning of the Saturday before our return to the UK. There was one outstanding moment on the Saturday. Jackie had reached the coach and was checking the bags to ensure they had been collected from outside our room and were loaded onto the coach. Of all the travellers and all the bags ours were not visible. Eventually the luggage men returned to our room, bags found and brought to the coach – probably the only time this week we have had a late departure and it was our fault. Well not ours – but very annoying. You would not believe how much counting and checking of bags was happening!

Matera

19 April 2024 / admin

Matera

Thursday 18.4.24

The trip here is solely by coach and we arrive at the top of the newer town. To me the route to Matera is interesting – there is an almost parallel narrow gauge railway (950 mm) – which tends to weave a little more around the countryside- and I watch it closely but do not see any passing trains, although as the service is about hourly I may have just been a little unlucky.

Palazzo del Sedile

On the higher level our attention is directed to the Palazzo del Sedile where the construction is not entirely straight but I cannot now recall the story behind the slightly wonky appearance

The newer town is along the top of the hillside but the older parts of the town are at lower levels with the dwellings carved out into the side of the hill. We have been warned in advance that once we leave the higher level we slowly descend using many steps and steep slopes to the lower levels so Jackie decides to remain at the higher level once we reach Piazza Duomo. Correctly as from that point it is all steps and slopes as we descend.

Matera was used at the start of the last Bond film – “No Time to Die” which brought to an end the Daniel Craig series of Bond films and potentially ended the entire series – we shall see. It is an amazing site and the views across the town are stunning.

Matera is believed to be the second longest continuously-inhabited settlement in history – the first is recorded as Petra where we shall visit later in the year. The Sassi houses were at one time regarded as very poor accommodation and much political and social pressure was applied during the Fifties with the area was regarded as a “National Shame“. Much money being devoted to convincing residents to relocate. By 1993 it was redesignated as a World Heritage Site and a few residents had never left.

Matera

The hillside across the river which we see as we commence the descent has some of the much earlier cave dwellings and that area was used in a couple of films – Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” and the Mel Gibson film “Passion of the Christ” – if I remember the briefing correctly. With added wooden crosses!

Having walked through the newer town we reach Piazza Duomo as already mentioned. From here Jackie returned through the town to a point where it is planned the main group will emerge from the lower town. I have subsequently attempted – by using online maps – to identify our route through the lower town but the guide led and we followed and whilst I am happy with the start point at the back of the Piazza the route was complex.

Inside a Sassi house

Much lower down we have a long wait to enter one of the preserved Sassi houses where we can see how it was organised by the residents with the family and animals all in the small space. Dome shaped inside and probably more space than it seems as the entire party manages to fit into the main room.

Model animals in Sassi house

Once out I turn up the hill although others go a little further. Once I reach the top – even if not quite where planned I find Jackie outside a bar with a glass of wine- she has been sending messages but I am not sure there was much signal in the houses below.

We wander back through the main part of town and had a bite to eat before returning to the coach. Regrettable I did not manage to see a train on return journey either – simply timing I suppose.

Bari

18 April 2024 / admin

Palazzo Mincuzzi

Wednesday 17.4.23

Our excursion today works much the same as Monday – a swift coach ride – this time to our nearest station and then by train back towards Bari. Again we run roughly parallel with the coast heading in a north easterly direction this time – so the other way to the previous rail trip.

For those reading closely you may have noticed that there is no mention of Tuesday. That is the official free day on this trip and we repaired to the poolside post breakfast, until the weather started to break and there was indeed a bit of wind as well as no sunshine. We decide not to go out so spent most of the day in our room catching up on some reading.

The road to the old town of Bari from the station is the main shopping street and is bedecked by brand names. Along here is the magnificent Palazzo Mincuzzi which houses Benetton. It is a stylish traditional palazzo which stands out from the other architecture surrounding it.

Bari

We slowly wander around the old town with our guide. We wander along one side street where most of the residents appear to be making pasta in the shape of an ear – Orecchiette – which is peculiar to the local area – with colourful awnings and washing hung from the railings above.

Bari Cathedral

A little later we reach Bari Cathedral, again there is a vast decorated ceiling and wall paintings and also designs incorporated in the floor.

We are equipped with headsets but there is little to distinguish Bari from the towns we visited earlier in the week. It has for a long time been a major port and trading point dating back a very long time being under Greek influence, Roman, later Normandy and then Naples.

We had previously decided that we would eat out today rather than taking the packed lunch option and there were numerous restaurants around the end of the walk in the Piazza del Ferrarese – we inspect a couple and make a choice but it cannot be recommended. Whilst not overly busy when we arrived it felt as if the staff were newish, the season had perhaps only just commenced and the lack of experience was palpable – a bad choice this time around. It happens.

Lecce

16 April 2024 / admin

ETR 104 126

Monday 15.4.24

Our first formally guided tour is Lecce. Our coach takes us to Monopoli which is one station beyond Polignano a Mare, although quite why I am not sure as I think all trains stop at both. However we are soon on a train heading generally south east to the end of the line at Lecce. Unlike yesterday the town is on the flat and is therefore an easy walking tour. The station is a little way outside the old town which we enter and visit the outside of the Cathedral and central Plaza which is surrounded by government and other related buildings to the church.

Lecce Cathedral

Local stone has been used in the construction and is easy to carve and work. It is then hardened when exposed to milk – so that when the lactose soaks into the stone it gives a protective layer as explained here. It then becomes extremely resistant – so ensuring survival over a long period. Another feature of the town is that there are shops selling papier maché figures – along with invitations to test the samples from bakeries along the main street.

In the seventeenth century the city became very rich following the Battle of Lepanto which defeated the Ottoman empire and the area was no longer subject to raids and incursions so could develop as a key trading location and this era was when much of the area was rebuilt.

Chiesa di Sant’Irene

Chiesa di Sant’Irena allows us to rest for a few minutes out of the sunshine – which has continued from yesterday. Saint Irena was the original patron saint of the town but later displaced by Sant’Oronzo. The interior is lavishly decorated and so some photographs.

The Piazza Sant’Oronzo is the main public square and is over seen by a new statue of the Saint installed in the last year or so as a replacement for the older statue which was considered no longer safe following removal for restoration. There has been some controversy as the new statue is not considered to be such a good representation of the first Bishop of Lecce (who can say?).

At the side of the Piazza are the excavated remains of part of the Roman amphitheatre which was uncovered around 100 years ago when there building work for a major bank. The amphitheatre could hold about 25000 – so apparently quite large – possibly because it been a trading centre for a long time prior to the Romans.

We have brought a packed lunch from the hotel today – so bread and ham and cheese – but then we are in Italy. it is again very warm and we sit in the park managing to find some shade before wandering back to the Piazza Sant’Oronzo. The recommended gelateri has no chairs so we sit outside another one and order a pistachio ice cream and unknown coffee. I am not sure I have ever previously come across such an adulterated coffee – I thought the Italians venerated good coffee. Never mind it is at least wet!

The return rail journey allows the usual opportunity for a snooze – well we saw the scenery on the outward journey.