Solva and coastal views on a walk nearby

Solva is another pretty little village with a beautiful mooring for boats, being just off the coast in the mouth of the estuary of the River Solva. The village itself we did not explore but opted for a walk up to the top of the headlands (the Gribin) for the magnificent views. We were fortunate again to have a beautiful day for our walk.

So, some images of the area, starting with a couple of boats and, in the background, the lime kilns. Built in the late 18th or early 19th Century, of the original 12 lime kilns, seven remain. Lime, brought in by sea from Milford Haven, was used to enrich the poor local soil. These lime kilns - at the foot of the Gribin - were the last to be used, in 1900.

Boats at anchor in the estuary.

Thrush in a bush by the pathway, singing his little heart out!

Nearing the top of The Gribin and looking toward the sea.

And a similar view.

The looking down toward the town and the harbour.

Along the pathway nearby, you can see the Thrift which grows in abundance on these cliffs.

RAF Mountain Rescue team out training.

A great day in a beautiful area - I am sure we will return. (We did in 2015. My Blog )

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Pembrokeshire - St Davids` and on to Little Haven

Our first visit to Pembrokeshire started at St Davids, the smallest city in the UK in terms of geographical area and population. It is an important ecclesiastical site because of its many historic associations.

The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in 589. Between 645 and 1097, the community was attacked many times by raiders, including the Vikings. 

However, by 1115, with the area under Norman control, King Henry I of England appointed Bishop Bernard as Bishop of St Davids. He began to improve life within the community, and commenced construction of a new cathedral. In 1123, Pope Calixtus II granted Bishop Bernard's request to bestow a papal privilege upon St Davids, making it a centre of pilgrimage for the Western world, the Pope decreeing that "Two pilgrimages to St Davids is equal to one to Rome, and three pilgrimages to one to Jerusalem". The new cathedral was quickly constructed and Bishop Bernard consecrated it in 1131. Henry II of England's visit in 1171 saw the following of David increase and the need for a larger cathedral. 

The present cathedral was begun in 1181 and completed not long after. Problems beset the new building and the community in its infancy, the collapse of the new tower in 1220 and earthquake damage in 1247/48. 

St Davids Cathedral

Ruins of The Bishops Palace adjacent to St Davids Cathedral, now a picturesque ruin. 

The Bishops Palace has been described as the work of a series of 'builder bishops', with work carried out in the late 13th and 14th centuries.

In 1284, King Edward I visited St Davids on a pilgrimage and this visit may have inspired some earlier work because Bishop Thomas Bek, who served from 1280–93, was among his former statesmen. Bishop Bek was responsible for construction of the chapel in the south-west corner, the hall, the private apartments and the gate. 

The man responsible for much of the site that can be seen today was Bishop Henry de Gower (1328–47). He carried out major works in the cathedral itself, built the Great Hall with wheel window in the east gable, the distinctive arcaded parapet and the porch. Gower's main legacy is the two great ranges. The east range – the simpler of the two – was the first to be built. The much grander south range was built for entertaining. 

The beginning of the Reformation heralded the decline of the Bishops Palace. In 1536 Bishop William Barlow stripped the lead from the roof. Legend has it that he used the money to pay for the dowries of his five daughters. However, as he had no daughters at that time, and the first marriage of a daughter did not occur until about 25 years later, the story was probably fabricated by his many enemies. He made so much money from this that a sixteenth-century account said that more than twelve years revenue of the bishopric would have been needed to cover the cost of replacing it, and the building fell into disrepair. Bishops stayed less at St Davids and, by the middle of the 16th century, the chief episcopal residence had been relocated to Abergwili, Carmarthenshire. In 1616, Bishop Richard Milbourne applied for a licence to demolish some of the buildings. By 1678, when another licence for demolition was sought, the palace was considered beyond repair. 

One cheeky Jackdaw checks if we have dropped any food. I think he took up position where we had stopped for lunch - as they do!.

Drinker Moth Caterpillar. Seen in the grass along the path side.

Thrift growing in some profusion on the tops of the cliffs by the pathways - beautiful!

The coastline in Pembrokeshire is stunning and is one of my all time favourite places to visit. There are just miles and miles of beauty and solitude

Walkers on the Pembrokeshire Coastal path. Many people walk this beautiful area, and who can blame them?

So we arrive in Little Have which is our base for this holiday. First port of call, the coast!

One of the cave like depressions in the cliff side - Little Haven.

Another sweeping view of Little Haven beach.

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A view of Chester - Part 2 of 2

On our wander around Chester, not only the buildings were interesting, but also the people. Suddenly spotted this elderly lady with her elderly camera, standing in front to me, photographing something. Just had to take a picture of her! We had a conversation for a few minutes, and it turned out that she had several other old cameras in a carrier back in her hand!

The Old Photographer

A bronze sculpture of a Elephant, unveiled on Tuesday 16th March 2010 opposite the Town Hall. It is called Janya, and is a baby Indian Asian calf. It was donated by Chester zoo. Next we moved onto Chester Cathedral.

The C7th Mercian King, Wulfhere, is reputed to have founded a timber church on this site dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, but it was his daughter, Werburgh, who really put Chester on the map. She renounced her royal status to become a nun at Ely Abbey. Many miracles were attributed to her during her lifetime, including restoring back to life a goose that had been stolen and eaten. 

She was buried in Staffordshire and her tomb rapidly became a place of pilgrimage. Following the threat of Danish raids in the C9th her relics were brought to Chester as a place of safety and were placed in the Church of St Peter and St Paul. Queen Ethelfleda, the grand daughter of Alfred the Great, founded a monastery in Chester and rededicated the church to St Werburgh. The new monastery continued to enjoy royal patronage and flourished. A splendid shrine was built in her honour. 

The Water of Life

I loved this statue in the Cathedral cloisters. The piece was designed for the Cloister Garden of Chester Cathedral in association with the 900th Anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the Benedictine Abbey of St Werburgh, on this site in 1092.

The water feature depicts (if you know the story) "the encounter between Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, showing their shared bowl overflowing with water. The theme of water also suggests a link to how the Benedictine monks water supply was at the centre of the cloister garden." 

Looking toward the great west window in Chester cathedral. It is Perpendicular Gothic with 20th-century stained glass by W. T. Carter Shapland (1961) as the Victorian stained glass was blown out by a bomb in 1941.The picture shows the massive space inside this building. 

And facing the other way toward the altar

The Gothic Chapter House 

Chester was the last English city to fall to the Normans in 1069. To bring the area firmly under Norman control, William I appointed his nephew, Hugh d’Avranches, as Earl of Chester. He built Chester Castle and transformed the Saxon Church into a large and well endowed Benedictine Monastery, with a Norman church around the shrine of St Werburgh. Building began at the east end where the monks held services and gradually extended west. Work began on the domestic buildings including the cloisters.

Elephant and castle bench ends - note the feet of a horse, demonstrating that the carver had learnt of elephants by word of mouth.

During the Commonwealth, the Puritans smashed all the stained glass and replaced with plain glass. The hands of the Greene monument (above) in the nave were removed because they were joined in prayer, which was regarded as a popish gesture. 

The space beneath the south west tower was set up as the Consistory court in 1636. The court dealt with all the legal work of the diocese, including handling wills and probate, issues of matrimony as well as heresy, blasphemy and slander. This is the only surviving court in England. The judge, called the Chancellor, sat at the canopied seat at the head of the table, with a clerk on either side. The other officers of the court sat round the table. The Apparitor was responsible for the smooth running of the court and sat in the high seat in the corner, where he could see everything going on.

Part of the Cloisters

A view of the Shropshire Union Canal from the City walls. 

The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie" is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales.

The canal lies in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west English Midlands. It links the canal system of the West Midlands, at Wolverhampton, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 66 miles (106 km) distant. It runs southeast from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction in Wolverhampton.

The canal was the last trunk narrow canal route to be built in England. It was not completed until 1835 and was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of Thomas Telford.

Chester Castle with some history, courtesy of English heritage.

Chester Castle was founded by William the Conqueror in 1070 and became the administrative centre of the earldom of Chester. The first earth and timber ‘motte-and-bailey’ castle probably only occupied the area of the inner bailey. In the 12th century it was rebuilt in stone and the outer bailey added.

I wondered what this meant so turned to Wikipedia and learnt `A motte-and-bailey castle is a fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to build with unskilled, often forced, labour, but still militarily formidable, these castles were built across northern Europe from the 10th century onwards, spreading from Normandy and Anjou in France, into the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century. The Normans introduced the design into England and Wales following their invasion in 1066. Motte-and-bailey castles were adopted in Scotland, Ireland, the Low Countries and Denmark in the 12th and 13th centuries. By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries` So now we know!

In 1237 the last earl died and the castle, with the earldom, was taken over by the king. In 1265, during the Barons’ War, it was held for ten weeks by supporters of Simon de Montfort against the men of Prince Edward, son of Henry III.

During the reigns of Henry III and Edward I the castle served as the military headquarters for the conquest of Wales and much building was carried out, especially in the outer bailey. In the later medieval period the monarch rarely stayed at the castle, but it continued to serve as the centre for county administration. We were limited in our time in the beautiful City of Chester so we only took this one image and did not explore the interior. perhaps another day.

Another view of Chester Cathedral, seen from our wall walk, 

On the Shropshire Union Canal we came across this step lock.

Watching people operating the lock and maneuvering their barge through it.

A great part of the world that we had not visited before. We need to re-visit some more of it as time was somewhat limited. One for the diary!

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A view of Chester - Part 1 of 2

One of the first places we passed on our way to Chester town centre, was some Roman remains. The History of Chester can be dated back to the Romans who named Chester Deva (pronounced Dewa) after the spirit of the River Dee. Roman Chester was considered as important then as Londinium (London). The Romans didn't just create a small fort here, they meant to stay, building a city for their 20th Legion. The Romans built Chester as a strategic position at the centre of Roman Britain, with plans to sail from the River Dee to invade Ireland and North Wales. 

In the Roman gardens

Part of the Chester Roman Amphitheatre - the largest amphitheatre to be found in Britain. The Chester Roman Amphitheatre, was built to serve the fort of Deva. It was used as a multi-purpose entertainment centre for the troops stationed here, and also as a training ground.

Installed in 1899, the Eastgate Clock is positioned on the bridge over Eastgate Street in the city of Chester, the original entrance to the Roman fortress of Deva Victrix. The whole structure of the public clock and gateway, as one, is classified as a Grade I listed building and the tower clock is believed to be the second most photographed clock in England to “Big Ben”, officially known as Elizabeth Tower, at the Palace of Westminster in London.

Proposed as a commemoration for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1897), JB Joyce & Company was commissioned to manufacture and install the clock mechanism, with the clock design by Chester Architect John Douglas. The clock officially began ticking on the 24th of May, 1899. 

The clock tower has four, 4ft 6 inch dials that were originally gas lit, but are now powered by electricity with battery back-up and a computer chip which keeps the clock to precise time. 

The original Roman entrance gate and the Eastgate clock.

One of the Chester City Wall towers.

Number 33 Eastgate Street, Chester, at the corner of Eastgate Street and St Werburgh Street, Chester, England, was built in 1859–60 for the Chester Bank. and it continues in use as the NatWest Bank. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is in Neoclassical style, but was built at the time that the Black-and-white Revival was underway in the city, and was therefore the subject of much criticism for being "out of place". At a quick glance, I can see what they meant. 

Buildings in Eastgate street, Chester. Although Chester is known for its many original Tudor buildings, many others , like Eastgate Street, are very much Victorian fakes!

Hugh of Avranches (1071-1101: First Earl) in Northgate Street. Quite a history, has Hugh. He is one of three figures on buildings in `Shoemakers Row` - it`s not really clear where the name came from.

The Latin motto `Antiqui Colant Antiquum Dierum` or Let the ancients worship the ancient of days. The figure is Edward VII. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841, Earl of Dublin on 10 September 1849 or 17 January 1850, a Knight of the Garteron 9 November 1858, and a Knight of the Thistle on 24 May 1867. Some folks get it all! 

The Nine Houses, of which only six remain, are in Park Street, Chester.. The row of houses is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. They face the eastern portion of Chester city walls.

The houses are the only surviving pre-19th-century almshouses in Chester. They were built in about 1650. By the 1960s the houses were in a dilapidated state and were in danger of collapse. There were campaigns to preserve them led by the Chester Civic Trust and the Chester Archaeological Society. A report was prepared by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, following which they were renovated and rebuilt by Chester City Council in 1968–69. The end wall had to be repaired in old brick, and the rear wall was completely rebuilt.

The row consists of six adjoined cottages in two storeys. Each cottage consists of a single bay. The lower storey is constructed in brick on a low sandstone plinth, with stone dressings around the entrance doorways that contain oak-boarded doors. The upper storey is timber-framed and jettied, and has a gable that is jettied further. In the lower storey of each cottage is a 12-pane horizontally-sliding sash window. Each upper storey contains a 16-pane vertically-sliding sash window.

PS Jettying is a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below - just in case you are unsure of my odd word!

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The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The start of our short break!  First a family visit, and then onto the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. The pictures and write-up sounded good. so we were looking forward to seeing it.

Approaching our destination, we stopped for a while to admire the river Dee as it flowed through the town. Noisily (above) and peacefully (below).

And then our first sight of our objective.

Designed and built by Thomas Telford and Williams Jessop, Pontcysyllte means 'the bridge that connects', a magnet for those who want to experience one of the most remarkable achievements of the industrial revolution.

You can walk across Pontcysyllte, or save your legs and take a leisurely boat ride - we did neither! Well, we did walk underneath and along the path to the edge of the bridge.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in north east Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was completed in 1805 having taken ten years to design and build. It is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest canal aqueduct in the world.

The aqueduct was to have been a key part of the central section of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway that would have created a commercial link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey. Although a cheaper construction course was surveyed further to the east, the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was preferred because it would have taken the canal through the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales. Only parts of the canal route were completed because the expected revenues required to complete the entire project were never generated. Most major work ceased after the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805. 

The structure is a Grade I listed building and a World Heritage Site, so an important site and well worth the visit. 

The view from the underside path.

Moored up near the aqueduct.

Crossing the canal by barge

Hand Sculpture depicting local industry at Trevor Basin near the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct All in all, a spectacular place and well worth the visit.

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