Le Tour de France - Grand dePart

Never did I think that the Tour de France would come to London and without doubt I never imagined my parents would be here to enjoy it with me.

Well today the unimaginable came true and I managed to convince my semi-keen cycling parents to join me to watch the opening prologue stage go through Hyde Park.

The 7.9km circuit cut through the inner city and fantastic venue to watch the worlds best cyclists sped past at up to 60mkm/h.

After almost four hours of standing and waiting finally the promotional floats came throu, then eventually the riders one by one at 30 sec intervals. It was a fantastic opportunity to get so close to the athletes but honestly I was all cycled out after all 196 riders went past.

The final result was; Fabian Canerllara (world champion) finished 13sec in front of Andreas Kloden and 23 sec ahead of George Hincapie with a time of 8min 50sec (Av: 53.7km/h).

All and all we had a great day.

Clink 'Play' button below for Julian Dean's Prologue.

Day 05

For the final day of this quick Wales / England road trip, we took the pace a bit slower. Following an eventful breakfast at a local cafe, we headed south-east down the motorways heading for Stratford upon Avon. http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/


After doing our best to avoid road works and Birmingham (who would believe how many turn-offs there are into Birmingham!) we arrived into Stratford for lunch.

Thankfully our lunch was far better than our breakfast as I was beginning to wish where’d stayed in Wales!

After lunch Mum & Dad decided to learn more about Shakespeare and chose to do a tour of his Birth place while Grigoria and I discovered more of the town (and chatted to a Swan that seemed to be wondering around on dry land).

Then back into the car with ice creams / chocolate in hand, homeward bound back to London.

Day 04

Today we had another gem up our sleeve, well this was meant to be for Dad mostly but it seemed to satisfy everyone.

From Betws-y-Coed we headed due south to the once thriving slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog but today it’s only claim to fame is the Ffestiniog Railway. http://www.ffestiniograilway.co.uk/index.asp

The Ffestiniog Railway is the oldest independent railway company in the World - being founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832.

The railway was originally built as a gravity and horse drawn line to transport slate from the quarries in the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog.
As the slate industry flourished, so did the railway and the town of Porthmadog. Slates from Blaenau Ffestiniog were exported to ports all over the globe - many in ships built in Porthmadog.

In addition engineers from around the world came to study the Ffestiniog Railway and as a result, it has influenced the design and construction of railways in many countries.

Over the last fifty years, the Ffestiniog Railway has become a leader in railway preservation and provides a perfect platform to showcase the outstanding natural beauty of Snowdonia as they pass through areas inaccessible by road undisturbed by the sights and sounds of modern life.

As the small steam engine rolled up Dad was like a kid in a candy shop! Getting all excited, watching the driver pull in the engine in, stop, unlatch the carriages and return to the rear end for their anticipated trip back down the valley.

Meanwhile Mum found her seat and their 3rd class carriage and patiently waited, as the excitement grew and the driver was almost ready at the last moment Dad joined her before they rolled out.

Unfortunately Grigoria and I had to head off in the car to meet them 1hr 15mins later at Porthmadog.

As they pulled in, their smiles told the story; although a little shaken about from the wobbly carriages, the still loved it!

After grabbing some lunch we started heading back to England and our final destination, Shrewsbury (http://www.visitshrewsbury.com/).
We were hoping to pick a nice lunch spot on our way but the Welsh weather had other plans so we had to enjoy lunch in the car whilst listening to the rain outside!

The drive back to England was very scenic and Shrewsbury was easy to find. Getting to the hotel however was a different story. A million round-abouts later we finally got there in the pouring rain and checked in our, massive rooms at Albrighton Hall (http://www.mercure.com/mercure/fichehotel/gb/mer/6629/fiche_hotel.shtml)

A rest and a swim later we headed out for a quiet dinner.

Day 03 (Part 2)

Day 03 continued….

From Portmadog we headed for what would be the gem of this North Wales trip –Portmerion. We first discovered this place a few years back while watching a Billy Connelly ‘World Tour’ of England, Ireland & Wales series and decided that we just had to find it while in Wales.

The lovely, and rather magnificent, town of Portmeirion was designed by Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis (1883-1978), who studied at the Architectural Association School (London) and later went on to work in private practices in London and Merioneth.

Some years later he inherited Plas Brondanw, Merioneth and in 1925 he acquired the neighbouring site for what became Portmeirion. At only £5,000 it was described as "a neglected wilderness” but he believed it to be an ideal site, and engaged upon plans and models for the lay out of an entire small township.

He then spent the following 50 years proving how “the development of a naturally beautiful site need not lead to its ruining” and wanted to do much to shake the current notion that although houses must be designed with due care, towns may grow up by chance.

His lifelong concern was with Architecture, Landscape Design, the protection of Rural Wales and Conservation generally, although critics were excessively sympathetic, modernism architects tended to ignore his achievements.

One notable fellow Architect; Frank Lloyd Wright was drawn to Portmeirion, who came in 1956 during his one and only visit to his ancestral country - Wales.

Today Portmeirion is a living town with actual residents, however it is owned by a Registered Charity called The Second Portmeirion Foundation and managed by Portmeirion Limited. It is also well know as being the set for the television program “The Prisoner”.

After several hours of exploring the buildings and gardens (in the lovely Welsh weather -rain) we headed back to Betws-y-Coed for a second night’s stay.

Day 03 (Part 1)

Day 03….we’re only just starting to relax and enjoy the great days ahead.

After hearty breakfast of cereal, yoghurt and the full ‘Walsh’ we headed south-west from Betwys-y-Coed across the rainy Snowdonia National Park via some very remote country lanes towards Caernarfon Castle http://www.castlewales.com/caernarf.html

As the primary driver and co-route planner, I decided that we should take-in the ‘real Snowdonia National Park’ views but in all honesty I hadn’t really expected such dramatic weather and scenery during the 1hr 15mins drive to Caernarfon.

Once arrived, we made our way through the old narrow streets towards the castle in the rain! despite that we enjoyed climbing up and around the castle towers and discovering the various advantage points down below.

Caernarfon Castle is architecturally one of the most impressive of all of the castles in Wales and as a symbol of past English dominance over the subdued Welsh.

In 1958 Caernarfon Castle was the location of the 18 year old Charles Prince of Wales Investiture but today the somewhat ruins are very much a tourist attraction.

After several hours and a visit of the museum / shops, it was time for a good warm ‘Walsh’ lunch.

Some considerably time and food later we left Caernarfon and headed south-west towards Portmadog which intended to revisit tomorrow, but today we planned to visit the fantastic place of Portmerion.

To be continued….

Day 02

Day 2 started with our host cooking a great full ‘Walsh’ breakfast and informing us on various attractions.





First up was the interesting place of Plas Newydd http://www.llangollen.com/plas.html the home of the Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, from 1780 – 1829.







The mock Tudor house is unique not just for its history, the Ladies of Llangollen were famous for their romantic friendship and had guests such as the Duke of Wellington visiting them, but also for its decoration.

The ladies were collectors of wooden carvings, originating anywhere from chests to bed posts, which they combined together to form elaborate wood patterns on the interior walls.



After our tour of Plas Newydd we left Llangollen and headed west across Wales towards the heart of Snowdonia. Our destination, and base for the next couple of days, was Betwys-y-Coed.
Betwys is an old Victorian tourist town which served as a base for travellers up mount Snowdon.




This is largely it’s purpose today, as witnessed by the 10 different outdoor equipment shops we came across but the complete lack of a butcher or a greengrocer shop!


A spot of lunch later and Blair’s Dad discovered the miniature railway and exhibition. The temptation was too high and Blair’s Mum had to join him for the ride!







Next up was the suspension bridge linking the village to the other side of the valley and our accommodation. Aberconwy house http://www.aberconwy-house.co.uk/

As Grigoria & I had expected, the accommodation was a very warm, homely Victoria house overlooking the valley’s tree covered hills.




A good rest later, we headed off to Tyn-y-Coed Hotel for a great Walsh meal, another great day of our Welsh experience…

Wales Road Trip Day 01

As a treat for Mum &Dad we decided that we’d take the opportunity of the summer weather and travel through Wales.








So to start the trip Grigoria & I took the train up to Chester with our secret trip itinerary leaflet enclosed to meet my parents for lunch in the historic stone walled old town.







After a nice lunch catching up on their recent Scotland trip, overlooking the Tudor styled high street, we strolled around the perimeter city wall to take in the sites.







At the southern end of the city and the end of the wall Mum pointed out the Recorder Hotel http://www.recorderhotel.co.uk/ where they stayed the night before….a great little place and nice view over the River Dee.






Then it was time to move on, leave England behind us and head west for Wales…….and it wasn’t long until we arrived into our first destination, the small (very small) village of Llangollen http://www.llangollen.org.uk/ at the GreenBank B&B http://www.greenbank.uk.com/

After a nice rest & leisurely walk through the streets, we met up with friends Leigh & Kylie who live in Malpas (England) for a great dinner at the Corn Mill Restaurant http://www.cornmill-llangollen.co.uk/ leaning over the (swollen) River Dee.

A great start to the trip with great friends, good food and beautiful Wales scenery ahead…