Saturday 17 January 2015

Once more unto the breach

We went on a bit of a magical mystery tour this afternoon.  Showers were forecast, but we needed to get out, so we set off with no destination in mind.  We saw a bridge and went over it to Wales.  Then  we headed up the beautiful Wye valley.


A glimpse of Tintern Abbey, a Cistercian monastery, built between 1131 and 1536.



And we found ourselves in Monmouth, a small town with a big history.


If you head round the back of Iceland (for those of you not familiar with Iceland, it's a frozen food shop, not the country - the kind of place you go if you want a party pack of eighty sausage rolls and a bag of turkey dinosaurs), you find a castle.






The tower above is thought to be the birthplace of Henry V in 1386.  Not bad for round the back of Iceland, eh?

We made valiant attempts to impart a little history lesson to the children.  Five years of fighting the troublesome Welsh rebels, defeating the French at Agincourt, blah, blah, blah.  They'd spotted a canon and a couple of tanks outside the nearby army reserve, the Royal Monmouth Royal Engineers though, and took in absolutely none of it.




A little something for you lovers of colour, a blue house.  Very blue.


Monmouth has a lovely little free museum, where we spent a while wandering around their Nelson collection.  We gave up on imparting knowledge and just let them explore the children's bit.  The littlest boy was happy with the dressing up things, oh how he loves to dress up.  He found a selection of excellent hats and wandered round whipping them on and off and bowing.

I took photos of an amazing embroidery of a Monmouth street.  Some 900 hours of work went into it.




On the way out, someone had put together this table of seasonal greenery.  It makes me think I should go for a wander and see what I can gather.  Although at a glance it all looks quite drab in the countryside at the moment there is always something pretty to be found.



It was nice to visit somewhere we don't often go.  I'm sure we'll return again in the summer, with a picnic, and spend some time wandering along the banks of the two rivers here, the Monnow and the Wye.

I'm down to just one lot of football tomorrow now, what with all the rain and soggy grass and mud.  The happy band of brothers will have to be exercised in some other way, which will no doubt still involve mud, but hopefully not too much in the way of blood.  Wishing you all a very good Sunday.

41 comments:

  1. A gorgeous day out CJ. Thank you for sharing it.
    I really enjoyed your words and photos.
    Jacquie x

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  2. I have lovely memories of a coach trip, riding along in the spring sunshine down a road that runs along the edge of the Wye, under a canopy of trees just budding their green leaves. Stopping at Tintern Abbey, then later afternoon tea at Chepstow. The Wye valley is so beautiful. You live a lot closer to it than me.I'm in Derby. Love to go again.

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  3. This looks to be such a great day out, and the weather looks a bit better than what we have been having. The embroidery is simply stunning! I love especially the photo you have taken of the window (no. 7), I had to look a couple of times to see if it was a reflection or just looking through. Have a wonderful Sunday x

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  4. I've not been to Monmouth for years. It looks like you all had a great time. Enjoy your Sunday. X

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  5. You certainly do live where you can see some wonderful things! :-) I'd love to take a walk in that first photo.

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  6. Your wanderings are always a delight! That first shot won my heart! And free museums are always on the top of my list as it is a great way to explore and save! A win win! Wishing you a lovely day of football....hopefully there won't be too much mud!!! Nicole xoxo

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  7. Wow you have so much history and such beautiful scenery on your doorstep. we have a lot of water trees, mountains and sky! Such a great way to spend a day. Good luck tomorrow- we haven't seen our grass since early December and our ground is frozen rock hard!

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  8. Sounds like a wonderful day out. A bit of history and some fantastic embroidery - what could be better? Although I can see that tanks and canons would appeal more to little boys! Have fun in the mud today. x

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  9. You are SO lucky to have such history about your. America is really such a new country.. for us European immigrants.. the Native Indians were here way before but none of their homes were made of stone. The oldest structures still intact here are the cliff dwellings SW USA. I want to visit them someday. Have fun with the boys tomorrow!! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  10. That looks like a lovely place. I like the random greenery display too, and of course that incredible embroidery.
    We went to Hay on Wye once and it was such a great place to stay. I doubt perusing all those book shops would be an option these days with a toddler in tow!
    Beautiful part of the world :)
    S x

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  11. It was a good day for getting out yesterday, wasn't it? (I spontaneously went to RHS Wisley - lots of winter colour there) I haven't been to Monmouth but used to take my boy camping in the Forest of Dean (going via Chepstow and A48) - the forest trail there is great and we always managed to find ponds and dragonflies in the summer (plus they filmed part of Harry Potter there, take your wizarding wands!) I think you've taken the boys to Symonds Yat before? Looks like you found the perfect boy-centric location for letting off a bit of steam and I'm in awe of that embroidery - I think I'd have given up after one cottage! Bit damp here in London today, perfect for a bit of blogging! Enjoy your day. Caro xx

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  12. wonderful exploring and love that display of green. Iceland in our house is referred to as "food you can't rust" which is what happens if you insert an apostrophe into their tagline!

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  13. That river is high and the embroidery is brilliant As for the seasonal greenery it reminds me of a school nature table. <aybe your littlest is destined to be an actor

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  14. Sounds like a lovely day out :) and I see what you did there... Henry V, happy band of brothers. Have never been to Monmouth but it looks like a nice town for a visit.

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  15. Nice post CJ, found myself smirking at the thought of 'just nipping' behind Iceland through artic frozen waters.
    As a new comer to your blog (and Welsh rebel) I must say that it is most enjoyable.

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  16. I love those kind of mystery tours where you set off with nowhere in particular in mind, they usually make for good days out as you've demonstrated here. Who knew what lies at the back of Iceland. The embroidery is beautiful, there's so much detail in it, no wonder it took so many hours to complete. Hope you're having a good Sunday.

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  17. When I was a child we used to pass through Monmouth regularly, on our way from Bristol to a village near Hereford where my grandmother lived. It certainly is a lovely part of the country:).

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  18. That looks a fun drive. It's a lovely part of the country!

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  19. A great day out CJ with some lovely photos.. :o)

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  20. Love the embroidery- very impressive :o)

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  21. A most enjoyable post and wonderful photos. I don't think that I've ever been to Monmouth, although I may I've driven through it a long time ago.
    I hope that you've had a good, and not too muddy, Sunday. Flighty xx

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  22. What a great day out you all had. Isn't that embroidery fabulous! You've given me an idea to replace a rather large Christmas ornament smashed several years ago.

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  23. What a nice outing! I love the blue house. And that embroidery is amazing!! The detail is incredible, and no wonder if 900 hours of work went into it.

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  24. I sat an exam for a scholarship to go to the school in Monmouth back in the 50's but none of us passed and we were all pleased as it would have meant leaving all our friends behind! Much better to go to the grammar school in Cinderford with them all!

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  25. I'm so impressed with that embroidery, whoa. And to think this is all sitting behind Iceland (which I would also enjoy visiting sometime). It looks like a great day out. I hope the boys were able to wear themselves out there.

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  26. Thanks for the ramble in the British (Welsh) countryside. I'm trying to not spend money on unnecessary things like British Country Living magazine (my fav mag for daydreaming), so I'm glad you're providing some pretty pictures for free!

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  27. We need a day out too we've been stuck inside all week. Might not involve going abroad though. That camouflage jacket works well in the castle grounds.

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  28. I quite fancy living in this blue house. So much better than mud coloured pebble dash. Hope the footie was not too muddy. We've had a dry day but no doubt this will change 5 minutes after typing this. Have a lovely week. x

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  29. We've spent a few summers around Monmouth, it's a lovely area for walks and picnics. I also have good memories of a walk from Tintern Abbey. The boys had great fun stepping from England to Wales and back on a bridge there... Sounds like you had a great day!

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  30. What a fantastic day out!! I love the collection of greenery and the embroidery is wonderful isn't it. I had no idea about the Icelandic dinosaurs though!! xx

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  31. Never mind the castle, that embroidery!! Wow. I spent a long time staring at the beautiful detail in the work. I love stuff like that, and it reminds me of this gorgeous book Bella has called The High Street by the illustrator Alice Melvin, and each page has the same kind of detail in it.Here's the link if you fancy a look.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-High-Street-Lift-Flap/dp/1854379437
    Oh CJ I want to get embroidering again now! But my local high street isn't that charming, sadly, which is probably just as well... xx

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  32. I think it is amazing you can go for a drive and find yourself in Wales. The history where you live is so amazing, you must never be bored with all the fabulous things there are to see and learn. Hugs to you,
    Meredith

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  33. Hope your Sunday turned out to be not too muddy. I like your idea of jumping in the car and heading off to see what you can find... not something we do very often here, as getting two teenagers out of the house at the same time just seems like to much effort!

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  34. Wales is lovely - we've only been a couple of times but were really impressed . We would like to go back for longer.

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  35. I love Monmouth and Chepstow and the Wye Valley and I totally love that embroidery! How wonderful. We live at the northern end of the Welsh borders. I do love places on the edge. They are quite different from the heartland, of either Wales or England, and have a strong identity all their own.

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  36. Wow that embroidery is amazing! 900 hours...can you imagine?!!!!

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  37. Monmouth looks a great place to explore, I hope the football wasn't too muddy. We've had more snow here, it was snowball fights and sledging here all the way yesterday. Have a good week CJ xx

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  38. We always enjoying visiting Monmouth and Tintern. There is a lovely walk beside the river near Tintern Abbey when the weather is better! Sarah x

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  39. I remember taking my small people to Monmouth ... one got stung by a wasp and one fell in a puddle, if memory serves. Presumably the other two survived unscathed as I have no recollection of anything else happening. I also cycled the length of the Wye Valley once, with my sister, after my A'levels. And we actually cycled through Bristol to meet up with my Dad in Bath. No helmets then. We must have been mad!

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  40. That grey weather is beautiful, I have to say. It sounds like the perfect day spent in it as well. The color of that blue door makes me smile.

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