Saturday, June 17 – in the morning, Liz and I went into Aubenas for the market which is held all through the streets and square of the centre of town. It was a typical Provencal style market with plenty of fresh produce and other stalls. We bought some excellent cherries and some wine. After lunch, Pascale took us for a drive up into the mountains onto the Massif Central which is a large elevated area covering 15% of France. It has been quite volcanic and the terrain and formations reflect this. The highlight was a walk to the Ray-pic waterfall which is quite high but interesting because it is surrounded by volcanic/lava formations hexagonal in shape like those at the giants causeway in Ireland and the organ pipes national park in Melbourne. The air was much cooler at the top and there were still many wild flowers on the meadows. On the way home we stopped in Val-les-Bains at a famous ice cream shop called Beatrix for some excellent indulgences.
 
Sunday, June 18 – On our last day in France, Pascale took us to a new tourist attraction called the Caverne du Pont d’Arc. It is a faithful recreation of a nearby cave found in 1994. The caves are famous for the quality and age of the art found inside. It is the oldest cave art found in Europe at 26,000 years. The reality of the reproduction is amazing with details such as straw stalactites, bones, footprints and of course the art looking like it is the real thing. We will find some pictures for our web site. We finished the dy with a nice lunch at a local restaurant in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. It was very hot so we came home to do a bit of washing and cool off. We weren’t prepared for the warm weather on most of the trip and particularly here. Our warm jackets haven’t left the case.
 
Tomorrow we drive back to Avignon, get the TGV to Charles de Gaulle airport and fly to Tokyo (all going well).

I have finally got time to report on our travels in England and Wales. We are currently on the Eurostar from London to Avignon, a trip which takes almost 6 hours. This was giving me motion sickness so continuing on Saturday from Pascale’s house in Bayzan in the Ardeche region.
 
Monday, June 5 – Our flight from Belfast to London was on time and we rented a Vauxhall Mokka. It had a sat nav but as it was set to avoid traffic and take the shortest route, we ended up lost on small back roads out of Heathrow. Using the sat nav on my phone plus Google maps got us back on track to Belper in Derbyshire. We stayed for 3 nights at Bridge Hill House B&B where we had stayed 2 years ago and is still the best B&B we have stayed in anywhere – great room and excellent breakfast. The town is also a good location for exploring the centre of England.
 
Tuesday, June 6 – Had a quiet day doing some washing. It rained so not much else to do.
 
Wednesday, June 7 – This was the day of the inaugural RHS flower show at Chatsworth House in the Peak District in Derbyshire. All of the guests and the owners of the B&B were going so after an early breakfast, we left in good time to arrive before the 10 AM opening – or so we thought. The traffic down the narrow roads into Chatsworth was backed up several kilometres so it took about 90 minutes extra to get in. Later people had waits of 2-3 hours! The show itself was very good although Chelsea was still better. Many of the exhibits and stands were the same. The location at Chatsworth was visually great but they will need to sort out the access problem in future. We did have a very nice 3 course lunch and tasted and bought some local gin.
 
Thursday, June 8 – We only had a short drive to Stoke-on-Trent that day but detoured into Wales to visit a woodworking shop to buy self-adhesive velvet Boris uses for jewellery boxes. It was less than 1/3 the price in Australia so 4 rolls are in the luggage – saved $280! Back to Stoke-on-Trent, we visited the brand new Wedgewood World which is a combination of factory tour, museum and shops for all things Wedgewood. The factory tour was extremely good as they have set up walkways all through the place and many of the staff were happy to talk to us. It was very informative and interesting. Some of the artists hand-painting items were extremely talented as was the guy making the white mouldings to apply to the traditional Jasperware.
 
Friday, June 9 – The weather was very good so on the way to our next stop we visited Powis Castle which is a red brick place set in extensive gardens and forest just inside Wales. We had a short visit 15 years ago but this time, spent a long time both in the house and all over the gardens. The yew hedges are a real highlight. On the way to our B&B we stopped in Aberystwyth to buy tickets for the Rheidol Railway the next day. We had 3 nights at a very good B&B near Aberaeron on Cardigan Bay on the Welsh central coast.
 
Saturday, June 10 – Despite a bit of rain, the steam train trip from Aberystwyth to Devils Bridge was very interesting with great scenery. The trip is an hour each way plus an hour at Devils Bridge for lunch and a walk. The train line is very narrow gauge at 1’11½“ to cope with the winding way up the mountain. It was originally to transport freight and ore for the lead mines and was the last steam operated line still running under British Rail. The engines, line and stations have all been renovated and are in excellent condition. The highlight of the destination is a bridge over a very narrow gorge and waterfall. Over the years, 3 bridges were built, each one higher than the last and they are all intact. They date from 11th century, 1798 and 1901. On the way back we had a look at an old national trust home called Llanerchaeron. It was notable for being redesigned by John Nash, a famous architect.
 
Sunday, June 11 – As we had joined the National Trust, we sought out a few properties in Southwest Wales. We started with a locality called Mwnt which was a beach surrounded by rugged cliffs. We then went down to St David’s where we were surprised by the size and good condition of the cathedral and the ruins of the bishop’s palace. It was founded by St David, the patron saint of Wales around 600 and the current cathedral was started in 1131 and partially destroyed and rebuilt over the years. Previously mentioned John Nash built one section in 1793. The inside was notable for many wood carvings including the entire ceiling. Nearby, we went down more very narrow roads to Abereiddy where there is a feature called the blue lagoon. It was formed by the sea breaking in to an abandoned slate mine and has some interesting colours. The coast around it is again very rugged being near the end of Cardigan Bay and looking at the Atlantic Ocean. People were surfing at the small beach and also engaging in “coasteering”, a new activity which seems to involve jumping, climbing and swimming around rocky coasts.
 
Monday, June 12 – On the way from Aberaeron to Swansea and our last 3 nights in Wales, we stopped at 2 more ruined castles and the coastal town of Tenby. The south coast of Wales and England have some of the world’s largest tides so while we were there we saw the boats go from floating to resting on the sand with the water 100 metres away. For those who have seen Grand Designs on TV, the Tenby lifeboat station featured several years ago. A farmer left 3 million pounds which was used to buy a state of the art lifeboat and new building to go with it. The word lifeboat is a bit misleading as it is a large vessel capable of rescuing over 100 people. It is kept high and dry in the “shed” and launched in seconds down a ramp. It is worth searching on YouTube for videos of it. The old shed was converted to a home and shown on TV. Tenby has a lot of other history and is a very interesting and picturesque town. After fighting the traffic through Swansea we found our B&B in Mumbles in a very steep area near the sea and reputedly the best surf beach in Britain. It was run by a couple with 2 kids and they do a great job. The room was very good and the breakfasts great.

​Next Episode
 
Saturday, May 27 – Before and during breakfast in Ballymote, we did all of our washing at the local supermarket which was 3 minutes away. As we drove out, it was all dry. Also at the B&B we were given a book left by a previous guest called Back Roads Ireland which has 25 recommended drives. It proved invaluable and we followed parts of several drives in the next week. The first took us down some very narrow and winding roads in Mayo and Galway counties on our way to Barna near Galway. The views of various mountains, valleys and loughs (lakes) were amazing. We stayed for two nights at the Twelve Hotel which is a small hotel with one of the best restaurants in Ireland. We ate there one night and at the bistro the other. Both were very good.
 
Sunday, May 28 – We spent the day driving through some of the Connemara area which is on the wild west of Ireland in Galway county. We had 2 major stops. The first was a Aughnanure Castle which is well preserved vertical castle built in the time of Henry II. It is on several levels with one spiral staircase connecting each one. We saw quite a few others on our journey but this seemed to be the best preserved. Much of the rest of the day was spent at Kylemore Abbey and Garden. This was built in the 19th century as a home but bought by Benedictine nuns who ran a school here until recently. The house itself is quite good but the Victorian gardens are spectacular with a vast array of plants and styles. Part of it was decorative and part to grow produce for the family and then the school. We walked about 5 km there.
 
Monday, May 29 – On the way from Galway to Killarney, we had a stop to see the cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s most popular attractions. They are on the coast of County Clare and are up to 1,000 feet high. It was misty on arrival but cleared up as we walked around. The views are excellent. We continued on to our B&B via some more narrow back roads and a car ferry. Friars Glen B&B is at Muckross inside Killarney National Park and was one of the best we have stayed in. Killarney is a very popular area to do the drives around the ring of Kerry and the Dingle peninsular and this B&B is in a quiet area but close to the drives and several pubs and restaurants. The owners were very helpful with maps and tips about seeing the area.
 
Tuesday, May 30 – Fortunately we had mostly good weather to drive the Ring of Kerry and the Skellig Ring drive at the end of the peninsula. As buses must drive in an anticlockwise direction, we did the opposite and encountered very few buses. They are not allowed on the Skellig Drive or Valencia Island so by the time we finished there the buses had gone past. After starting with light rain and misty mountains, the day cleared to be warm and sunny so the views were amazing. We stopped at Staigue Fort which is a stone ring fort dating to 300-400 AD. It was a nice detour and well preserved. Some of the best views and narrowest roads were on the Skellig Ring drive and Valencia Island. On the way back, we followed the recommended route from our new book and drove over some very narrow roads across the Ballaghbeama Gap. This was one of the best drives we did with (luckily) very few other cars and excellent views. It is a wild, desolate area.
 
Wednesday, May 31 – The second “essential” drive in the south of Ireland is around the Dingle Peninsula. Again we followed our book and started with 2 passes as the weather was fine and clear in the morning. The pass of Caherconree was through some wild moor type country with almost no other traffic. We got views of the sea both north and south. The second pass was quite busy and narrow but no buses or large vehicles are allowed. It is the Connor Pass and leads to the town of Dingle. Again, the views were excellent both directions although the wind was ferocious. After coffee and a scone in Dingle, we drove around the end of the peninsula for some more breathtaking views.
 
Thursday, June 1 – Rain was the highlight of this day. Dublin was our destination but we started by doing washing at a Tesco Supermarket near Cork. They had a very nice coffee shop to sit in while we were waiting. On the way we stopped at the Rock of Cashel, another famous site. It was the seat of the Kings of Munster from the 4th century and then a religious centre before Cromwell’s army destroyed much of it. There are several well preserved buildings and we sat in on a guided tour for a bit of the history. It was rather wet so we didn’t linger too long. We managed to negotiate the winding and one-way roads of Dublin to our B&B Hotel which was only a 25 minute walk from the centre of the city.
 
Friday, June 2 – To get a taste of Dublin, we decided to do a historical walking tour. It was very good although quite long at about 2½ hours. We got a good history of Dublin and Ireland while visiting many of the historical sites. We also booked an evening event called the Musical Pub Crawl Dinner Show. We started at one pub and went to a second for a 45 minute session of Irish music. We were entertained and informed by a lady who played the violin and a bloke who sang and played guitar. They were both extremely good and had everyone singing along. We then went to a restaurant for our meal and more music and singing. They were joined by an Irish dancer who was also very good. The whole experience was great and good value at about A$65 each. As we had got tired out from the day’s walking, we worked out the bus system to get to and from the pub crawl.
 
Saturday, June 3 – It is reasonably short drive to Belfast from Dublin so we detoured around the coast to the southeast of Belfast. We found a great (and popular) coffee shop in a town called Kilkeel. We sat near a couple and struck up a conversation. The bloke was a local and very hard to understand. Even his girlfriend (they were in their 50s) who was English, had trouble! It was all good fun. As part of our membership of the RHS to go to the flower shows, we get free entry to a lot of gardens so we stopped at one on the way. It was Seaforde Gardens and quite a nice walk although most of the flowering plants were past their best. A highlight was the maze which was square on the outside and circular in the centre and quite difficult to get into. Getting into Belfast was also a little difficult although the GPS didn’t lead us astray and we found our B&B Hotel quite easily and were able to check in early.
 
Sunday, June 4 – This was our last day in Ireland and rain was forecast after lunch so we headed out reasonably early and walked to the St George’s Market which is under cover and has a wide range of handicrafts and food. Good for quality souvenirs. We continued on to the Titanic Belfast exhibition which is very well done and showcases some of the history of Belfast as well as the building and sinking of the Titanic. It also includes a visit to the only White Star line vessel in existence. It is the SS Nomadic and was originally used as a tender for the large vessels in ports such as Cherbourg where they could not tie up. The whole experience was fascinating. As it was a long walk back and starting to rain, we caught a taxi back to the hotel. We fly back to London tomorrow for the next leg of our holiday.

​Sorry for the delay in starting a blog for this trip but time got away from us and things have been busy. We just arrived in Belfast today (Saturday, June 3) and were able to check in early and have some free time with no washing to do.
 
Just a note about washing in Ireland. We discovered a new laundromat chain called Revolution Laundrette who have over 100 locations all over Ireland. They are located at either service stations or supermarkets and are open 24/7. Each one has an 8 kg and an 18 kg washer and an 18 kg drier. Detergent is dispensed automatically and the results are very good. We did 2 large loads on our trip.
 
The trip started on Saturday, May 20 with a flight to Sydney and a night there. On Sunday we flew to Tokyo with Japan Airlines and spent a night before flying to Paris on Monday 22nd. On arrival, we caught the local train to Gare du Nord and the Eurostar to London where we spent 3 nights. We stayed at the Hotel Megaro which is right opposite Kings Cross St Pancras station and has easy access to both the Eurostar platforms and the underground direct to Heathrow. The rooms are quite large and moderate in price for London.
 
Tuesday, May 23 – We spent our free day in London going to the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is so vast that it will take several visits to see everything. We started on the top level with porcelain and ceramics where there was a huge array of items on display. We picked a few other areas at random and left before we got too tired.
 
Wednesday, May 24 – This was the big day with a visit to the famous Chelsea Flower Show. We had joined the Royal Horticultural Society and purchased tickets to one of the member days on the day they went on sale – 1 September, 2016. They were sold out next time we looked in February. Not being sure how bad the crowds would be, we arrived at the gate 40 minutes before the 8.00 AM opening time and were in the first dozen through the turnstiles. This meant we had great views of the show gardens which are the highlight of the show. The show as well worth attending with a diverse range of displays form landscaping to plants and flowers to garden ornaments and sculptures and various hardware and accessories. There were no Australian displays this year, only one company from Ocean Grove in Victoria showing and selling bronze bird baths. The day was warm and sunny which helped a lot. The week was actually almost record breaking for England with temperatures up to 30o C! By midday, we had seen everything and had a quick lunch and returned to our hotel. We were told the crowds were down because of the Manchester bombing. Apparently, 25% of people with tickets didn’t turn up on the Tuesday. By the time we left, it was quite busy but not unmanageable.
 
Thursday, May 25 – Today, we started our Ireland visit with a flight from Heathrow to Belfast City Airport on British Airways. We arrived early, picked up our rental car and headed straight for the Giants Causeway. This is on the North coast of Northern Ireland and is an amazing formation of rocks in hexagonal columns over quite a large area. It was quite hot and sunny so the long walk down to them was tiring but the views were excellent. The whole coast in the area has some great views. We stayed just one night at a very good B&B in Portstewart and had one of our best Irish meals at a pub called Shenanigans.
 
Friday, May 26 – The Wild Atlantic Way is a signposted route right down the west coast of Ireland from Londonderry in the north to Kinsale in the south. We followed parts of it over the next week and saw some great scenery. This day we detoured at Letterkenny up north to Fanad Head lighthouse seeing some good views along the way. The roads were quite narrow – as they are in much of the island – so it was slow going. We crossed into the Republic of Ireland later in the day and drove via Donegal and Sligo to our B&B in Ballymote, a small village in Sligo County. We had a nice dinner at the local pub and then had a late trip to see the Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery. It is in a rather inaccessible area 45 minutes away down some farm tracks. After getting lost walking around the area, we finally found 3  of the 20 tombs which are 5,800 years old and in amazingly good condition. The effort and time were well worth it.
 
To be continued.