There's a Party at Cardiff Castle

The Keep at Cardiff Castle.

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff.  One of those places you've always heard about, but never dreamed of being there.  If the opportunity presents itself, go.  Cardiff is amazing.  The town doesn't feel like a big city, but a village.  The castle is very well preserved, including the Keep.  And, if you go in the summer, there just may be a party going on.

Stairs up into the tower of the Keep.

Ornate ceiling in the library of the Castle.  The entire room was in this style.

The castle is an odd mixture of old and some of the past owners idea of what a castle should look like.  The grounds are surrounded by ancient rock walls, remains of walls so one can see how the original layout was, as well as Roman walls from when it was first used 2000 years ago.

A Trebouche which really worked!

Knights charging up the hill!

Fearsome warriors ready to take on the English!  ( Remember this is Wales!)

This weekend there was an encampment.  You could sign up to learn to sword fight or use a bow and arrow.
Watch a team of 6 fire a trebouche'.  Talk to the people in the encampment, who are actually reinactors, to learn more about the weapons, food, clothing and daily lives of the people of the time.

The encampment on the Castle Green.

This couple had baby dragons, one gold and the other red.  They were very friendly little dragons, who enjoyed having their bellies rubbed. 

Every party needs food.  This man roasted a pig for all of us to eat.  It was delicious.

The castle maintains several birds of prey, who are trained to keep the pigeons away, by whatever means necessary.  This day, they also did a demonstration of their flying skills for us.  Most of the birds were not native to the UK, one was from Africa and they had 3 Harris's Hawks, like the ones that nested in our tree in Tucson.

Here comes the Hector the Hawk on a fly over.

They could hear his wings beating as he came over them.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales.  All the signs are in two languages, English and Welsh.  (This is practice for going to the next house sit, which is on the border of Wales.)  The castle is in the middle of town, near to the new Millinium Stadium, for you Rugby fans.  It appears that Rugby is the main sport of Wales, not Football (soccer).  The street across from the castle is pedestrian only.  The buildings are old, with newer details.

Pedestian stree across from the Castle.

 As we entered the castle, several men in period dress were standing on the bridge.  They all nodded a greeting, then one said, with a big grin, "I've always wondered what he did the other 364 days of the year."  I think he will be on the Good List.

We first met this man on the bridge into the castle.

The Red Dragon, the symbol of Wales, the Land of Dragons.

Stonehenge, One More Time

Stonehenge panorama from one side then,



 the other side

 Stonehenge.   One of our favorite places.  Impossible to say exactly why.  Maybe the amazing feat of engineering.  Maybe the hauling of these enormous stones over 200 miles to reach Salisbury Plains.  Maybe the feeling of awe when gazing upon them.  Maybe all three plus something else that is totally intangible.  Stonehenge.

Cars, Cars, Cars

Once the plant grows up this is going to be a very unique Mini.

In the little village of Bourton on the Water, is the Cotswold Motor Museum and Toy Collection.  Started by an individual, then sold to CSMA, a motoring club, this museum is full of cars, motoring memorabilia, advertising items, everywhere you look there is something different.

I would have brought it home, but I couldn't figure out how to get it in my purse.

Advertising signs all the way to the ceiling.

Michelin Man ready to fill your tires with air.

Bill and I have owned, and enjoyed, several English cars, so this was a fun museum for us.  They also had things to keep the kids occupied so their parents could look.  I loved the jokes. 

What do you call Batman and Robin when they been run over by a steamroller?
Flatman and Ribbon

Recognize this?  The first model of BMW to use their now distinctive front grill.

These look like fun!  The toy part of the collection.



This little car had actually been legally licensed to drive on the road.  The garage that built it used it to pick up parts and make small deliveries.

The buildings are made from Cotswold Stone, a type of sandstone.

They thought it was warm enough to play in the water.  I did go so far as to take off my sweater.

A little bridge across a little river.

The town of Bourton on the Water has a small river which runs right through the middle of town. The banks are grassed for picnicing or just lounging around. One side has restaurants and shops while the other is the main road, with shops on the far side. We weren't the only ones enjoying the weather.

Berkeley Castle

Barkeley Castle seen from the river.

Berkeley Castle, pronounced Barkley, was built by the Normans after they invaded England.  It's location protects the lands from invasion by sea up the inlet to Gloucester.  The Berkeley family still owns the
castle along with 6800 acres of land and the right to hunt lands all the way to London!  They seen to be one of the few Norman families, who held on to their properties through all the upheavals of the past 1000+ years.  The current Mr. Barkeley is the oldest son of the last Lord Barkeley.

Looking into the center courtyard through the entry arch.

The castle is an imposing structure.  Positioned on the very top of the hill, you can see off in all directions, so your enemies can't sneak up on you.  The family remained Catholic, even though Henry VIII declared everyone to be Church of England.  I don't know how they managed that, but Henry even came to visit with his wife Anne Boleyn.  Maybe the Berkeley's were just awesome hosts!

An outside wall of the castle.

The Berkeley's were also good at supporting their locals.  One of the most important was their doctor, Edward Jenner who first developed the idea of vaccinations, first with small pox.  One of their parish priests wrote an amazing epithet to the last court jester in England, who died after a fall in the castle.  The man went on to write several books including Gulliver's Travels.  Ever heard of Jonathon Swift?

The design on the barrel of a cannon.

We first heard of the Berkeley's in Virginia at the Berkeley plantation, the first place that Thanksgiving was celebrated in America ( forget those old pilgrims in Massachusetts!).  They supported it as a business venture, which turned out to be successful.  We can also thank the Berkeley's for the first bourbon distilled in America. 

Just as we were about to leave, the hunting hounds down the hill in their kennels started howling.  I'm sure the neighbors love that!

Westbury Court Gardens

The Water Gardens at Westbury Court.

This pool was full of Koi.

Westbury Court was a beautiful Manor House with gardens in the Dutch style.  Unfortunately, the house is gone, but the gardens have been saved and renovated.  The Dutch style of gardens were all the rage in the 1600, but in the 1700's they were ripped out to make way for the new style popularized by the landscape architect,  Capability Brown.  Fortunately for us, the owners of Westbury were not wealthy enough to go for the latest styles, so the Dutch garden remains.  It includes several water features, a vegetable garden, formal gardens, orchard, and 3 of the oldest trees around.  One of the main features of such a garden was the garden house; a two story building, with windows all around the second story so one could view the gardens to their best advantage.

A Holm Oak planted in 1580

As you can see, it is a very big tree.

Who knew that raspberries came in any color but raspberry?

When we arrived at the gardens, the woman in charge told us to be sure and visit the vegetable gardens.  The plants were all from the 1700 or earlier.  "Oh, and please try the golden raspberries, they are coming on strong!"  So we did.  She was right, they were delicious!

The Formal Flower Gardens

The Orchard had a diamond shape pattern mowed into it.  The brown parts have bulbs that bloom in the spring.

The Garden House, for viewing ones garden away from the prying eyes of servants.

One of big concerns of the National Trust for Westbury Gardens are the yew hedges.  With the warming of the climate, which means cooler, drier summers, the yews have developed a disease for which there is no known cure.  There are scientists working on a cure, or at least a new strain of yew that is not affected byt the disease.  The hedges are one of the main features of the garden.  Also, the water table is rising, so the area has experienced major flooding for the first time ever.  They are trying to come up with ways to protect the property.

Espaliered Apple tree on the garden wall.

The tallest Liquid Amber tree we have ever seen!  They grow these in California as front yard trees because they don't get too big.  Obviously, they've never grown one long enough!

The local church, which was once part of the manor, still is in use.  It's old graveyard has headstones leaning in every direction  The ground itself is very uneven, making walking difficult.

Gravestone with a beautiful angel.

Some of the stones are straight and some are crooked.

The Church at Westbury Court.

Fluffy and Sparky

Hello, my name if Fluffy.  Would you like to rub me?

There are two cats who live in the house with us.  We haven't seen them much, as they are outside cats.  There have been signs of their activities though; bits of mouse and voles in odd spots.  I think Sparky is the hunter.  Fluffy is very old and moves too slow to catch anything.

Sparky is camera shy.  The only way I could get a picture was to feed him.  He is solid black with bright yellow eyes.

Sparky has been spotted daily, as he sleeps upstairs by the shower room during the day.  He is also very good at letting me know he wants more canned food. 

Fluffy at the kitchen door.

Fluffy has been more reclusive, at least until Friday.  Thursday evening we heard a horrible yowling noise, which we took to be something getting attacked.  We found out later, part of the cry was from a fox.  Love YouTube. I stepped out on the back porch and called both cats, but neither came.  The next morning they were both in the house being unusually friendly.  We took pictures of them, then went about our daily routine.  That afternoon, Fluffy was still in the house.  As she turned to walk away from Bill, there was dried blood down one leg, starting near her tail.  On closer inspection, there was a 1 inch gash!  She had already cleaned the wound.  We called the owners, the husband being a doctor.  After many questions and descriptions, it was decided to let her be.  Wounds made by animals are not stitched, and gashes are usually not stitched after 6 hours.  Who knew?  We did keep both cats in the house that night.  If a fox was after Fluffy, it knew she was injured and where she lived.  She has stayed in every night since.

Are you sure you have already fed me?

One of our worst nightmares is having a pet die while in our care.  There is nothing we could do about a wild animal killing Fluffy, it's the nature of things, but we would still feel badly for both animal and owner.

If Fluffy wasn't so fluffy, she would be a very small cat.

Today is a beautiful, sunshiny day.  Chocolate and I saw Sparky in the lane when we went for our walk.  Fluffy is not as stiff when she walks.  Her fur is nice and clean.  She is still staying close.