A Wee Tale for You: End of First Year Holiday

Easter Term in Cambridge officially ended a couple of weeks ago so we decided it was time for a much deserved holiday. The first year of a PhD is no joke – even if you’re not the one who actually has to do anything. Since we just wanted to take a few days, we decided to stay on the island and find someplace where we could do a bit of hiking. Wales was not really on our radar but I had seen some breath taking photos of Snowdonia – one of the three national parks in Wales. Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) at 1085 metres (3560 feet) is the highest mountain in Wales and England. It is also quite popular with tourists – so we were going to fit right in.

We hired a car, booked a room in dog friendly hostel, downloaded an audiobook and off we went.

I didn't get a picture of the car because it wasn't a fun colour like lime green - but this was our key!

The drive west would only take us 4 hours – but I have come to realize that 4 hours in the UK is more like 8 in the US. Because of that, we decided to take advantage of our Historic Scotland cards and visit our first English castle – Kenilworth Castle outside of Birmingham. The castle must have been stunning in its day. Today it is a ruin but you can still see much of the detail.

They have also restored the garden which Robert Dudley built in 1563 for Queen Elizabeth I. Luke and I have decided that wherever we end up that we want to build and English garden. There is something about them that just makes you feel at peace.

We had originally planned to make a second stop on our way but decided that we’d be cutting it close to make it by closing time and that we could instead stop by on our way home. So we headed for the hostel to get checked in and find a place for dinner.

Even if you miss the ‘Welcome to Wales’ sign, you’ll know as soon as you cross the border. All of the street signs are in both English and Welsh. It’s great – and I have no clue how to pronounce any of it.

We stopped at this little market to pick up some sandwich supplies. Fortunately even though the majority of the population speaks Welsh, they also speak English and can see a tourist from a mile away.

After checking in and getting settled, we headed down the road to the Elen’s Castle Hotel pub for dinner. I should have taken better pictures inside. It was the cosiest little pub I’ve ever seen. Split into two rooms with a total of probably 6 tables. The owner was great – probably because we were the only customers – and chatted for quite a while. And Luther-man got lots of love.

It’s no secret that we (Luke) like to take photos. Wales definitely did not disappoint in this area – but the obsession of the trip was stone bridges. And there was one just outside the hotel. So off we went in search of the perfect place to take a photo.