On Tuesday, June 16 we left Caernarfon, Wales
with the eventual destination of Chester, England.
Our first stop was Castell Conwy in the cute
riverside (and nearly seaside) town of Conwy. This was one of the best
preserved castles that we saw. Of course, we encountered our friend Owain
Glyndwr again.
Next we stopped at Bodnant Gardens which were
lovely and quite extensive. Before touring
the garden we had lunch at the garden’s café. We were able to walk quite a bit. There was a large rose garden and pretty walking paths.
We made a couple more quick side trips –
Dyserth Waterfall (just a quick climb to the viewpoint), and then the National Catholic Shrine of St. Winifred. St. Winifred was a Christian martyr from the
7th century who legend states was decapitated by a lecherous prince
when she resisted his advances but was then miraculously restored to life. A well of
water sprung up at the site where this occurred and the water was (and still is) believed to have healing powers. The
well has been a pilgrimage site since the 12th century. The chapel above the well was built in the 16th
century. The well has had some man-made help to continue flowing – in 1917 it
dried up due some nearby mining operations and a new underground source was
diverted to provide the water (but it reportedly still maintains its healing
powers!). When arranged in advance people are allowed bathe in the well. There
is an adjacent changing room for bathers and the tradition is to pass through the
water 3 times while reciting a decade of the rosary. On the day we visited we
were the only ones there except for one young man who looked like he had just
finished bathing. The well (below) is in the area through behind the 3 arched openings in the second picture.We arrived at the Mill Hotel and Spa in
Chester in late afternoon. There was an elevator but we very briefly were stuck
in it and Maureen declined to use it for the rest of our stay; we were only up
one flight and when we checked out, her luggage took the elevator but she did
not.
On Wednesday, June 17, we took the very
efficient train service from Chester into Liverpool where we saw many things
Beatles, including the Beatles Museum which houses a lot of memorabilia (almost
overwhelming). Near the riverfront (yes, the Mersey!, we didn’t ferry ‘cross)
there were larger than life bronze statues of the fab four (which Maureen had
to pose with).
While in Liverpool we visited St. Luke’s
Bombed Out Church. Only the outer walls and bits of stained glass remain after
an incendiary bomb fell on it in World War II. The photo is taken inside what remains of the church.In a sign of the times we came across this
emergency bleeding control kit. They are sponsored by a group called KnifeSavers
and contain supplies to help control bleeding in the event of a knife attack
while waiting for emergency services. When you call 999 you are given a code to
open the box.We had a nice lunch at Moi Bakeshop. As a side note – everywhere we went
for a meal we were asked if there were any allergies they should know about.
Turns out it’s a law in the UK.
While walking along the riverfront we
happened upon a memorial ceremony honoring those killed when a British ocean
liner called the Lancastria was sunk. It
had been requisitioned by the British
Government during WWII (seems this was common). Its’ home port was Liverpool
and it was returning from France after evacuating British troops and nationals.
It was bombed by the Germans and sunk on 17 June 1940 (so we were there on the
anniversary). It is estimated that between 4,000 and 7,000 people died in the sinking
— the largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history.
Upon returning to Chester we strolled about a
little along the Chester canal where there were a few canal boats.
Thursday, June 18, was a long day – we drove
back to Stansted Airport to return the rental car, took the Stansted
Express into London, then a taxi to the hotel. Our hotel was The Marble Arch and
it was very big and very busy. However, there were elevators, air conditioning,
and the room was very nice and spacious.
To be continued…
