August 2023 itinerary

 

August Itinerary

On the 31st of July, I will be headed to Falmouth, Cornwall for a couple of nights. Cornwall is the western-most county in England, as well as the southern-most. Many of the pubs in England offer accommodations for those who choose to stay there. I will be staying at the Prince of Wales in Falmouth (http://www.princeofwales-falmouth.co.uk/).

Prince of Wales Pub, Falmouth, Cornwall, UK

I have looked into staying at pubs during this trip, because after driving and sight seeing all day, it’d be nice to come back to my hotel that has a bar and a restaurant. The biggest downfall is that I need to find a place with laundry facilities every 7-10 days, and you won’t find this in most pubs. That is why I started looking into Air BnB and VRBO locations. When searching for these places, you can search by amenities, such as free parking, wifi, and washer /dryers. If I could find one that meets all of my criteria, and it was walking distance from a pub, that location went to the top of the list.

Another great thing about pubs is the clientele. I am really hoping to strike up some friendships with the locals, and maybe derive more information about my ancestors and the places where they lived. I think you learn more about a place from it’s people, than you do from the locations (at least that is what I have learned during my Air Force career, visiting over 60 countries).

I’m an off the beaten path kind of guy. I like hole in the wall restaurants, and visiting places that aren’t as well known as the main tourist spots. I should see plenty of these during my trip. I am also hoping to fit in a few pub crawls and ghost walks. Local book shops and antique stores are also where I like to visit. I remember the first English antique store I visited was in the town of Lechlade. Located in southern Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds region, the town is steeped in history. The antique shop I visited was fascinating, and when you compare it to what we have in the United States, the objects are far older and more rustic in England. You’ll never know what you’ll find when you are visiting places seldom heard of.

After visiting Cornwall, it will take me a couple of days to travel up the Cornwall coast through Barnstaple and Dunster, until I get to Bath on the 4th of August. Named after the Roman Baths that made this town famous, this is where Jane Austen is from. I must admit that I never have read “Pride and Prejudice”, but the town is so much more than just this.  

I will depart Bath for Gloucester 7 August. My lodging location is smack dab in the middle of the City, but I am planning day trips to Worcestershire and Tewksbury, before checking out and heading into Southern Wales for several days.

When I cross over into Wales, I plan on staying at another pub for a couple of nights in Cardiff. This beautiful and historic city has a lot of places near the center of town to see, and plenty of antique/book shops to visit.

The Maltsters Inn, Cardiff, Wales, UK

After Cardiff, I plan to head Northwest for a couple of nights to Carmarthen. It is a central location that can get me to the West coast of Wales to visit 3 Welsh castles and three churches where I have ancestors buried at. I have planned on visiting Wales a couple of times on this trip, because there are sites I need to see on the Southern Coast, as well as the Northwestern part of the country, but not a lot in the middle of the country. After Carmarthen, I’ll head back to England and spend a week in Hereford and Shrewsbury, before heading for Caernarfon Wales.

The Wales portion of my trip ends on August 23rd, before I head to Liverpool for a week. The month of August will have me visiting 34 castles and 30 Religious sites (Churches, Abbeys, Cathedrals, Priories, and Churchyards).  As the calendar turns into September, I will be switching from the West coast to the East Coast, and starting off in York. This is as far North as this trip will allow me to go. 97 days still won’t be enough for me to visit the Northern part of England.

I will roll Northern England into my next trip in a couple of years when I come back to research my Scottish roots. My future plans are to visit Scotland in a couple of years, then Ireland a couple of years after that. By the time my Grandson Jackson graduates from High School in Louisiana, I am hoping that he can accompany me to France (he has to learn how to speak French though). Nothing like giving the kid goals to shoot for.

Another thing I failed to mention earlier. I love music, and while I am visiting England, I would love to experience some live music. A couple of the places that I have found are in Merseyside, across the River Mersey from Liverpool, and in York. If I have time, I also hope to visit the Beatles museum in Liverpool. British music has had a huge influence in my life, and it would be a shame if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity while over there.



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