Wales

The Waverley is in Scotland for much of 2017, gets to the Bristol Channel in September. We have promised ourselves a trip this year. Was it the Waverley that went to Ilfracombe? If so a real memory lane trip for Mr C. The Balmoral (motor vessel rather than paddle steamer built in 1949) was sailing the West Country and across to Wales but there are worries over funding for her. These old ships cost a fortune to keep safe. She was berthed in Bristol, not sure if she is still there. We did a short trip on her last year, she's a beautiful ship.

The Waverley!!

bb there are still paddle steamers running between Cardiff and the West Country but only in the summer. I don't think they are meant to be commercial, though. Can't remember its name! Grr..will google.

Mr C talks about it bbevan, I did wonder if he had made it up, maybe not .

My son is coming to visit this weekend en route to Devon. Does anyone remember the paddle steamer that went from Cardiff to Ilfracombe?. I remember going on it twice. It would make his journey so much easier if it was still running. I believe there were plans to revive it but they have come to nothing.

Anniebach thats amazing Aberfan to Anglesey/Ynys Mon....we can only dream these days..there is a bus line that goes up the A470 through Brecon to Builth Wells but it starts in Cardiff...

tanith it is a long journey and its a shame there will not be a railway North to South anytime soon....

Dwi'n siarad Cymraeg, Jess M.

It looks as thought the M4 at Newport is finally to get the go-ahead to bypass the Malpas Tunnels. At last!

I agree it would be nice to have a train line up and down the country, my niece lives near Aberystwyth and her Mum my sister lives in Saundersfoot West Wales and its a devils own journey of 3+hrs from one to the other in fact we can probably do West Wales as quickly from London. Don't think a train line is going to happen though

Sparkly, we use to have trains which even though steam did link us up, we use to get from Aberfan to Anglesey by train , did take hours and hours though. But now one has to have a car. So wrong , traveling from Mid Wales to Cardiff can be difficult because of limited number of bus times. Many towns are quite isolated . And the roads are not great are they

Last year when driving back to South Wales from Yorkshire we decided to take the scenic route and crossed into Wales fairly north. The problem we found was that on the whole way back we did not find one coffee shop or toilet till we were almost at Newport! It took us so much longer too but as the weather was good it did not worry us.

Anniebach I think there should be a railway line capable of reasonable timescale travel direct North to South or South to North, Wales.

For me to visit friends even in Aberystwyth, it means over 5-6 hours rail journey via Hereford and Crewe. To North Wales, say via Bangor, a whole days rail travel.

What does anyone else thinK?

Dim siarad Cymreag, sori Chewbacca, JessM!

callgirl we were not that impressed with Barmouth (but the weather that day didn't do it any favours, I have to say) but we went into a lovely art gallery there and saw an amazing marine watercolour, which we would dearly have loved to have. DH was between jobs at the time and we were watching the pennies, but he said that if I really wanted it he would raid our savings, but I said no. The week after we got home, he got another job! We rang the gallery. It had gone. That's life.

Dè tha iad ag ràdh?

Are you being rude?

dwi yn dal i ddysgu Jess!

Ydy'r aelodau arall sy'n dysgu Cymraeg? O siarad Cymraeg?
Dw i'n dysgu ers tair blynedd yn ôl.

My eldest grandson lives in Porthcawl.
We went to Wales several times, and I can honestly say that there was only one place that I really didn`t like, and that was Barmouth. I love the Snowdonia area particularly.

It's Mid Wales which has the most problems, easy to get to South from England and up North from England and not bad to parts of West Wales, but Mid, if coming from the South there are the Brecon Bescons which have the unpleasant habit of getting snowed up! Not too bad coming in from Hereford to bottom of Mid but Brecon on up to top of Mid not good. Add the that we are a small country but have three National Parks, putting up a sky dish csn have problems , the parks cover 20% on Wales, add the mountains and not a lot left is there

Oh, I can sympathise about the roads! Its taken years of lobbing but we do now have a continuous dual carriageway all the way out of the county from Norwich in the direction of London. Just the one! We feel quite advanced! An outer harbour was built at Great Yarmouth, but it's hardly used as there's no proper access to it!

NfK, our roads, South Wales is ok but not further up, it's mostly mountains.

If you like Elvis they have an Elvis festival in Porthcawl in Sept - could be the first weekend - will check with DS - we went one year by accident - many an Elvis singing in the bars etc! Lovely fish and chips on the front. It has had a bit of a face lift and the Rest Bay end has a lovely coastal walk - next to the Golf Club. Some fancy new flats and houses built that end too.
We used to go to U3A for French lessons in what was the Rest Bay Hotel when we lived nearby.

DH is always "nostalgicating" about Porthcawl, BBbevan having spent most of his childhood holidays there. Oddly, although we have been to Barry a couple of times, we have never got round to going back to Porthcawl, although when we lived down there we used to take the children to Southerndown. The beach there was nice.

I'm off to Portmeirion in a couple of weeks. Cannot wait! 4 whole days of outstanding beauty, luxury and wonderful Welsh origin food. Porthmadog, Borth y Gest, Criccieth all just waiting to be rediscovered, once I'm done with the pampering!

There yew go Anniebach - we haven't forgotten Wales - and not a bad word said. It is a pity and a mystery as to why few industries can be persuaded to move there. I hate to bring in a whispered Brexit to a lovely thread but perhaps when the UK starts to look more to the rest of the world and North America, Wales will be on the right side of the country and things will improve?