Wye River Levels and Blog links

21 Oct		1 washed away
22 Oct		2 Fluttering around
23 Oct		3 (a)round Ross-on-Wye
24 Oct		4 We are children again
25 Oct	No Picture Today	5 Hay-on-Wye
26 Oct		6 Castle, Cave, Mine
27 Oct		A missed visit and Stratford-upon-Avon

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 7 Stratford-upon-Avon

Day 7 (Sun 27)

Having run out of time yesterday, we decided to visit Arthur's Seat.  It is only a couple of miles according to Google Maps.  Having said goodbye to our hosts and thanked them for a lovely week, we took our last run up the ramp, and along the narrow roads.   The ninety degree turn proved difficult in the large car.  It took about a dozen turning manoeuvrers, and another similar turn proved even more difficult at the top of the hill.  Still, we made it round.  Onwards and very definitely upwards.  There were no signs, but I'd guess at 1 in 5 or steeper.  The road narrowed.  Now there was no space to open the car doors; the hedge touching the wing mirrors fairly frequently.  The road surface became less road and more farm track. Another 90 degree left turn although wider than the junctions proved difficult. The road got rougher and steeper.  The wheels began to lose grip, and my 'clever' car reduced the engine revs every time it happened.  We came to a house with a wide entrance and plenty of space on the drive.  The quest for Arthur's Seat was abandoned, a U-turn performed, and we descended; returning to the inn by a more direct route.  Perhaps we should have walked, but I doubt my knees would have survived the return (downward) journey.

Then off to Stratford-upon-Avon, which was slightly more out of the way than I thought, but mad for a pleasant day.  We initially parked in a short stay car park that was being actively managed.  Which was good, because the payment machine was out of order.  Further down the street was another, which has seen so much use over so long that all the buttons where dark grey.  Press the green button, the instruction said.  After a coffee and a comfort break, we moved the car to a long stay car park, then found some lunch.

After that, we visited Shakespeare's Birthplace, and were treated to an excerpt from Romeo & Juliet: the balcony scene, of course.  It's always good to see live theatre, even if it's only for 10 minutes.

4 statues around the Gower Monument

 We wandered around Stratford for a bit, enjoying the culture and the easy-going environment, it was a pleasant sunny day. We bought an ice cream from a barge, and ate it on the way back to the car.  All the while noting all the things we didn't have time for.  By now, the daylight was running out.The journey home was relatively uneventful, until we got closer to London, when the driving became mad, and we suffered a couple of near misses.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 6 Castle, Cave & Rock, but no seat

 Day 6 (Sat 26)

Goodrich Castle

Just down the road is Goodrich Castle.  Today is the first day of the half-term holidays, so we should expect it to be busy.  There is a good audio guide available, which proves very useful as we go around the castle.  There are also activities.  The witchfinders are there looking for witches.

Witchfinders

 

They tell a good story and later on are entertaining the large crowds with the grizzly tales.

There is a fantastic view from the castle:

Just not today.  Still, it always good to look around and learn a little of the life in the castle.  

There is also a very dark narrow stair way to ascend.  Dark narrow places are becoming the theme of the day.

This is an English Heritage property, so there are things in common with other English Heritage sites.  While the presentations are good, there is more that could be done.  there is also the fee for the car park - three pounds.  The machine was slow with its credit card approvals, so a queue developed.  I tried cash, but the cash slot is closed, so it has to be card.

After our visit we queued for a long time to order lunch.  The staff were working off pen and paper, instead of using the computer system that they clearly had.  They should have had more people and better organisation.  

After lunch it was off to the cave. 

Vertical chain ladder

 Clearwell Caves Ancient Iron Mines is a short distance away.  The entrance has dire warnings about appropriate shoes, slippery rocks and the dangers of falling.  All that is a little more than is needed.  It's OK in trainers, if you're careful.  The cave/mine is an interesting place.  Only by being there can you even hope to get a slight understanding of awful conditions the men worked in.  Perhaps the vertical chain ladder was the most awful.  Imagine climbing down that with a candle in you mouth and heavy tools on you shoulder.  Through out there are small plaques describing the condition of the men and boys. These are records from the time and insist that there are no long term health effects. There are also pieces of art work left by the miners and lots of used equipment.  A fascinating visit and well worth the effort.

Our next visit relied on the mist having burnt off.  The view from Symonds Yat Rock are amazing, the plaque says that you can see seven counties; we haven't worked out all seven yet.

The river Wye from Symonds Yat Rock

The car park is in the woods on the opposite side of the road; a wooden bridge provides access.  This location claims to be the birthplace of British Tourism - I can see why.

We spent quite a while on the rock, taking in the different views and comparing the size of the sheep in the fields below to help judge the relative distances.  As you can see, it was a bright and sunny by the time we got there, close to the end of the day.

Our last destination was to have been Arthurs Seat, a cave somewhere above Symonds Yat, but the light was going, so we headed back to the inn for another amazing dinner as we prepared to leave.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 5 Hay

 Day 5 (Fri 25)

Sitting at breakfast this morning, there was a small, bright blue bird on the rails around the decking next to the river.  I tried to get a picture, but my camera app on my phone chose this moment to crash - 3 times.  It then flew across the river quite fast.  At least we have seen one.

World's First Book Town

Our destination today is Hay-on-Wye, the self proclaimed "World's first book town".  It's a long, very pretty drive through winding country lanes, labelled as 'A' roads.  We were particularly lucky to be in the car while the heavy rain fell. The area is very rural, so there is plenty of mud on the roads, and too much of it finds its way on to the car, which will need a wash when we get back.

Hay has some interesting sculptures.  The light and the tree in the background made getting a picture of the dragon quite difficult.  It is beautifully carved. I'm not so sure about the bear, which is made in at least 2 parts; it certainly makes a noticeable land mark. 

To the left of the bear in the picture, behind Jo, is an old cinema, which is now a bookshop. There are aisles and aisles of them on two floors.  I could easily spend hours in here, and did.  I bought a few books and a couple of LPs from the local record shop.

We had lunch in a tiny cafe in an alley way - a bowl of home-made soup and a bread roll - which was plenty for us, as we are still eating far too much.  It was lovely.

We also visited the castle, which has some lovely views of the area from a viewing platform. It also has some history of Hay-on-Wye.

"In 1977, Richard Booth declared himself "king" of Hay-on-Wye in order to save the Welsh border town from economic ruin. Now, the famed spot is celebrating his legacy."

(from https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220815-the-uks-eccentric-book-loving-kingdom)

There was a weaving exhibition in the castle, which was very interesting.  The ladies were quite happy talking to my wife, but less interested in talking to me.  We left the castle and bought a locally produced ice-cream, which we ate under the old town hall.  Then went for a walk along the river.  Here there is much more information about the river and riverbanks.  This is one of a few similar plaques.

We had spoken to an angler on the river the other day and couldn't remember the fish he was after, looking at this, I think it was Barbel and Chub.  We walked back past a waterfall, and through the town for the long drive back to the inn.

We discussed where to eat on the way and decided to try The Old Court Hotel.  It is on the road into Symonds Yat, we've past it several times.  They were quite busy, but fitted us in a little alcove.  We had a nice meal and returned to the inn.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 4 We are Children again

  Day 4 (Wed 24)

After another big breakfast we leave the inn and escape up the ramp without incident today.

Perrygrove Railway Entrance Board

Perrygrove is meant for small(ish) children.  As this was not quite half term, that means mainly under fives.  They have a narrow gauge railway as the main feature on their site.  There are 4 or 5 engines, some are steam, but today it is their oldest locomotive - a diesel.  Still, we rode on the train as is looped around the site and across to go up the hill.

 

We are waiting to get on the first train of the day; there are so many visitors that they have decided to add another carriage, so we have to wait a little longer.  There are stops on the way.  At each stop there are different play areas.  At the top the engine is moved to the other end and the train reverses it's course.  Up and down, we went, without leaving the carriage.  Then into the buffet.  It is spartan, and reminds me of a British Railway station buffet from the 1980's.  Even the tea adds to the memory.  

We are still talking about trying to get tickets to the Savoy Theatre.  So, while we are drinking the tea, I try on their website.  We already have agreement from the inn that someone will stay there until we get back, if we can get tickets.  Fortunately, there are just 2 tickets left, so with almost no data signal, and absolutely no Wi-Fi, I book the tickets.  

We return to the inn briefly and then go to the other side of the river (about 4 miles) for lunch at the Saracens Head.  Now we are in the heart of a water sports area on the  Wye.  The pub is a strange mixture of the old and new.  "Order food round the corner" the barman says, then walks around the corner and takes my order.  We both walk back and I order our drinks.  We sit at a table next to the river, and enjoyed our ploughmans. 

About 5pm we head into Monmouth and park in a car park that is behind the main road and closer to the theatre than the previous one.  It is closer, but only by a few hundred yards, we will still have most of the street to walk.  We are not hungry, but divert into the supermarket to get some salad for later.

The Bohemians (https://thebohemians.com/) put on a fantastic show.  They cover almost all the Queen songs I know.  Everything about the event works well, we both have a great time.

Afterwards, back at the car park, we exit to take the bypass road so that we don't have to go back through the traffic jam we have just walked past.  There are roadworks and diversions, the road I take is going in the wrong direction.  The next junction onto the trunk road is also closed.  Google maps estimates that we are now 29 minutes from our destination, twice as far as we should be.  It's a long and frustrating drive.  We return to the inn a little before midnight, and thank the lady who is waiting patiently for us.  Then in our room we eat the salad we bought earlier.  It's a very late night.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 3 (a)Round Ross

 Day 3 (Wed 23)

The Ross trail app

Today we decided to visit Ross-on-Wye - there's no real plan, we just want to look around.  It's only just up the road, and getting up to the road was a bit easier this time because I used a different line. 

Arriving in Ross-on-Wye, we found a free car park - an unusual thing in any British town.  As we were looking around, to check that we really didn't have to pay, we noticed a large sign, saying down load the App.  Ever sceptical, but always keen to be able to say "I told you so", I decided to give it a go.  The App has two routes around the town.  We followed the general one.  The app installed quickly on both our phones, and we were soon on our way.

There is plenty to see.  I love a 'Blue Plaque' as much as anyone, but I thought this was a little over the top. 

Lord Nelson walked here.

 

The view from the Market House (https://visitrossonwye.com/16th-century-market-house/) is amazing.  The doors are not usually open, specially in the winter half of the year, but the lady who was taking her turn to look after the shop happily opened them for us.  The photo, of course, does not do it justice, but gives you the general idea.

View from the Market House

I was quite surprised (I shouldn't have been) to learn there was once a railway in Ross.  Almost all the evidence is long gone, but there is a small area reserved so that visitors can see the old broad gauge railway tracks.  That is the real surprise, that the railway was broad gauge.  

The first of eight plaques telling the story of the railway.

There are 8 plaques explaining the history of the railway, and a couple of sections of tracks.

Broad vs. Regular gauge.

A kingfisher on the fence

One of the reasons for choosing to stay on the Wye was to see kingfishers.  We have been trying to see them for 20+ years. With the river being so high, our chances were not great.  Along a footpath, the corrugated iron fence has been decorated with some lovely paintings.  This was my favourite. 

There were many other things to see.  We had a lovely walk around the town.  We went back to the coffee shop where we had started the walk for lunch.  

Then into a park which had been disputed land and the townsfolk had rioted to get back, that provides great views of the river.

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After a while we left Ross-onWye and set off for the only Suspension foot bridge I have ever seen.

It looks a bit dangerous, but we were assured by the angler sitting next to it that plenty of people large than us had crossed safely.  It's on a recognised footpath that led us to St. Tysilio's Church, Sellack.  We looked around the church, appreciated the peace and quiet, then gathered up our courage to go back across the rickety-rockety bridge.  For a Grade II listed structure, it isn't looked after that well.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 2 fluttering around

Day 2 (Tue 22)

The first full day of any holiday starts with breakfast.  The inn gets its meat locally, as do so many independent hotels these days.  This is an excellent breakfast:

Now we leave to investigate the local attractions.  Walking away from Symonds Yat and toward the main road, there are no signs, but turn round to come back, and there it is, "The amazing hedge puzzle" (http://www.mazes.co.uk/).  There is also a butterfly farm, which we visit first as the weather looks a bit threatening.  I took loads of pictures, but most of them were terrible.  It is hard to get pictures of moving butterflies in a large very warm, very humid greenhouse.  The first problem is my glasses, which were constantly fogging over, then there's movement of the butterflies, and the sweat that soon pours down my face.  On the other hand, sometimes they come to you.

We spent quite a while chasing butterflies, then left for the cafe across the site for water and tea. 

After this much needed refreshment we went to investigate the maze.  The man at the entrance started his introduction, it's a good story if you get the chance to hear it.  At this point the rain we had been trying to avoid started.  Fortunately, it only lasted a few minutes; then we were off, going in opposite directions as he had suggested to meet in the 'middle'.  The maze was great, partly because there were so few people in it - just us! 

The next activity was a round of the local crazy golf, which, unusually, I won.

We now left the site and headed for St. Dubricious (Dew-brish-ius) Church (http://wyereaches.org/the-churches/st-dubricius-church/), where we met the church warden and chatted about many things, including the saint, the border lands and the height of the flood water at various times.  The most recent serious flood was 2020, when the water was half way up the pulpit.

We walked back to the Olde Ferrie, and after a short break took the car and headed to Monmouth.  I suffered a lot of wheel spin as I tried to get the car up the steep ramp to the road.  A second attempt was required, and we made it, adding to the tyre marks that were already there.  So, we left England, and spent a while in the lovely country of Wales.  In Monmouth we stopped for supplies on the main road, and then moved to a longer term car park.  It's now around 4pm, and we are getting peckish, so we get fish and chips and sit near the river Monnow (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Monnow).  It's a lovely bright afternoon.  Walking around town we visit St Mary's Priory Church and find the Savoy Theatre, and check out what's on.  Just as we are about to book for a 7:30pm performance, I remember the 10pm curfew at the Inn.  They have the Bohemians later in the week (Thursday), but it's sold out. 

Eventually we head back, and spend the later part of the evening in front of the 'smart' telly. There are no problems with the Wi-Fi.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 1 Washed Away?

Day 1 (Mon 21)

Today was a travel day.  No hurry as we cannot be in until 4pm.  We stopped at first services on M40, and ate our lunch, then had one more stop - a comfort break.  Unusually, there were no serious travel issues - only the predicted delays occurred.  We arrived minutes after 4pm.  Down the steep ramp and do a U-turn into the car park.  Inside we were greeted by a member of the staff, who helped us get our bags up the narrow stairs to our room.  

The Olde Ferrie Inn from a picture on the wall in the inn.

The Olde Ferrie Inn was founded in 1473.  The only issue we had was connecting to the Wi-Fi.  Take the phone outside the room and it connects OK, once connected the signal still works inside.  There is a 'Smart' TV, already connected, and with someone else's sign-in on BBC i‑Player.  

We went for a walk along the road past the inn.  Call it a path really.  We got to the next hand operated ferry which unsurprisingly was also closed.  We had already noticed that the Wye was running very fast and was quite high. The previous weekend, it had flooded the car park.  There was no danger of that this week though, as there is no rain forecast.

We also passed a disused lime kiln, which was vaguely familiar - perhaps I have been here before, or perhaps there are several sites like this,. 

Here's a rather jumpy video of the river and inn at our arrival:

We ate at the inn in the evening and had the first of our amazing meals.  While the menu is quite limited, the food is great and the portions are generous.

Flickr and marketing 'blackmail'

Since 2018 Flickr has been owned by SmugMug. I received an email containing the above threat.  I consider this to be a kind of blackmail.  When I put my pictures up for free, there was no mention of these restrictions, nor was it some sort of trial.  When Google did a similar thing, they drew a line in the sand and told me I had to 'pay' for additional pictures - that's alright because it didn't involve me in any work to keep my photos.

I can download my pictures 500 at a time, so more than 36 downloads are required. I can only select then by day, so far as I can tell.  Each .zip that they create takes over 10 minutes, + 2–3 minutes to download. Then there is the processing effort once I have them all, and the difficulties of classifying loads of pictures from decades ago.  Then after that, a few hours of deduplication processing.  It's horrendous, and I'm given about a month to do it!