Picture This > Holiday in Wales July 2008 (32)
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Entering Wales by train
The first station after we entered Wales -
Cardiff station
Cardiff is the largest city in Wales, and we stopped here for a few minutes on our way to our final destination. -
Arrival in Swansea
Swansea is the city were we staid, but we spent most of our time enjoying the surrounding countryside -
Gwen at "The Retreat"
The name of our host's home was "The Retreat", and it certainly lives up to it's name in the best of senses! We were able to really enjoy the beauty of this home and especially enjoyed the garden. -
Lighthouse - Swansea bay
The first day or so was a bit cloudy and rainy, but after that we had almost perfect weather. -
Oystermouth Castle
We stayed very close to the shore, and one of the areas close to where we stayed was called Oystermouth and there was an old castle of sorts here from days gone by. -
Mumbles
The little village just down the coast where we did most of our shopping and enjoyed a number of coffee breaks was called Mumbles. There is an ice cream shop there that sells the best ice cream I have ever tasted. It is called Joe's. If you can get there - enjoy! -
St Illtyds Church - Oxwich
One of several little churches we visited. We found the surrounding grave stones from the past several hundred years very interesting as well. -
Rhossili Bay
A beautiful panoramic view of the beach -
Welsh Sheep Grazing
There are a lot of sheep in Wales, but no whales. Strange, isn't it? -
That's us!
Enjoying the incredible beauty at Worm's Head at the tip of the Gower. -
Rhossili Bay Coast
Another shot of the coast -
Church of St Mary the Virgin - Rhossili
Another very old church -
Church Cemetery
The silent witness of those who have gone before us through the centuries -
Rothers Slade Area
We really enjoyed the hike along the coastal cliffs in this area -
Rothers Slade Area 2
More views along the coast -
Nearby bay
We reached a small bay with a few surfers enjoying the last few rays of sunshine -
Sunset and surfers
Gwen caught the light just right with this one! -
Carreg Cennen castle
We really enjoyed our outing to visit the Carreg Cennen Castle. Some historical info:
"Crowning a remote crag about 100 meters above the river Cennen in the Breacon Beacons National Park, Carreg Cennen is unmatchable as a wildly romantic Welsh fortress and the most dramatically sited. Sought out by generations of artists and visitors in search of the picturesque, its origin are lost in ancient obscurity. The naturally defensible site may even have been a prehistoric hillfort, and was certainly a stronghold of the Welsh princes."
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View from castle
"The present stone castle, however, dates from around 1300, when it was built as an English outpost by one of Edward I's barons. Ingeniously adapted to its rocky hilltop, its core is a high walled, strongly towered enclosure, protected by a succession of pits,drawbridges and gatehouses. Even the natural cave beneath the castle rock, perhaps a prehistoric refuge, is incorporated into the defenses via a gallery passage and can still be explored with torches (you can ask for by the farm at the foot of the hill)."
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Inside castle walls
"Despite its strength, Carreg Cennen fell to Owain Glyndwr's Welsh insurgents, and during the War of the Roses became a base for bandit Lancastrian, diehards who terrorized the country around. The castle was taken by the Yorkists in 1462, this "robbers den" was laboriously dismantled by 500 men with picks and crowbars. Yet much remains to be seen and the climb from the foot of the rocky hill is rewarded by breathtaking views on the spectacularly landscape of the Black Mountains and the chance to penetrate the intriguing cave beneath made of the visit at Carreg Cennen always an adventure!"
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More Carreg Cennen
Another inside view -
View from castle
A beautiful landscape of farmlands and pastures surround the castle -
That's us again!
Defending the ramparts!
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Surrounding landscape
More beautiful Welsh scenery -
Haverfordwest
We stopped here for tea -
St Davids City
The smallest city in the UK. Really just a quaint little village. -
St David's Cathedral
We very much enjoyed our visit to this very old cathedral named after the patron saint of Wales.
c.589/601 St David dies having founded a monastery at the current cathedral site.
645-1097 St Davids (Menevia) is attacked and destroyed many times
1181 Present cathedral begun -
St. Davids Cathedral Cemetery
The history of a place like this takes on new meaning when one contemplates all those who have lived and died here, carrying forward from one generation to the next a heritage of Christian faith.
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St. David's Cathedral 2
"The nave is the oldest surviving part of the cathedral. Construction of screen in the 12th century by Bishop Peter de Leia and Giraldus de Barri (Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald the Welshman).Bishop Peter and Gerald were excused from the Third Crusade in order to complete the cathedral.
Inadequate foundations and the effects of a 13th century earthquake have caused the walls at the west end of the nave to lean outwards, hence the wooden ceiling rather than a stone vault."
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Village house
Many old houses surround the cathedral -
A country stream
On our walk around St David's we came across a small country stream, a place of quiet reflection
