Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Thursday 14th of July
08.29 It is morning at The Edinburgh Castle pub (http://theeddie.co.uk) in Holyhead, which is located on the island of Anglesey in Wales. We live a stone's throw from the ferry port where ferries leave for Dublin. Car traffic and the screeching of seagulls can be heard from outside. Cool air mixes with the air in our room. Today we will return to a place we visited and spent the night in 1999.
09.35 One of the advantages of this accommodation is the short distance to the ferries. Another advantage is that breakfast is included in the price. It turned out to be a hearty Welsh brecwust, that is, breakfast. We got bacon, beans, black pudding, eggs, sausage and bread. Now we will get ready to travel. Soon we will check out.
10.21 Confusing signs (and perhaps confused travelers?) led to a long walk. We first went to the wrong side of the railway station. Then there was another extra walk due to reconstruction in the station area. Now, however, we are in place. We are on the platform at Holyhead Station. Here it is calm and quiet.
10.45 It has become time to go by train for a short distance through Wales. We will get across the island of Anglesey with the help of the company TFW, Transport for Wales.
11.18 The sun is shining on us in Bangor. It's been 23 years since we were last here. During that stay, specifically on August 11, 1999, we experienced, among other things, a solar eclipse. The trip in 1999 was our first trip abroad of the type we still do. Then we visited north-west England and north Wales.
11.31 We have walked from the railway station down to more central parts of Bangor. Now we are sitting on a bench with the city's cathedral behind us. It has been many years since we were here, but most things should be pretty much the same. Despite that, it is difficult to recognize yourself. The human memory is fascinating. Some things are remembered exactly, others have completely disappeared. Bangor is one of the smallest British places to have the title city. It has a population of 18,322.
15.32 Since the last note, not much has happened. After all, sometimes something doesn't always have to happen.
18.51 A nice evening walk has taken us down to the sea. We are at the city's pier, Garth Pier. We were also here in 1999. That time we were about to stay on it. The gate was about to be locked. This time and this year we are not going out at all. We are satisfied with the beautiful view of the sea. Unfortunately, the water is missing. It is ebb, low tide.
Friday 15th of July
Peter is having breakfast at The Edinburgh Castle.
The day begins with a hearty Welsh breakfast.
We have slept one night at The Edinburgh Castle.
We take the train from Holyhead Station.
After 23 years we are back in Bangor.
Saint Deiniol's Cathedral, Bangor.
The Bangor Clock is also known locally as Little Ben.
Germor B&B still exists. We stayed here in 1999.
The Lord Nelson pub has lost some letters in its sign.
Bilingual sign at Beach Road in Bangor.
Christer visits Costa Coffee on High Street, Bangor.
The Traxx Hotel, Bangor.
Bangor Railway Station.
Europe's longest village name.
James Pringle Weavers on Anglesey. Here we are looking for souvenirs.
The station building at Llanfair PG.
Bangor University has a nice view of the city.
Garth Pier, Bangor.
Christer is taking photos at Garth Pier.
A beautiful evening in Bangor.
Tonight's dinner.
Peter leaves tonight's dinner restaurant.
07.48 So it has been done again. We have eaten our breakfasts on the edge of the beds in a hotel room. Today it is overcast and no less than three trips await us. This will be one of the longer stages of the summer. We will travel from North to South Wales if all goes well this day.
08.37 We have walked from The Traxx Hotel down to the center of Bangor. More precisely, we are at Garth Road where various buses stop and depart from various stops. 08.53 There are around fourteen minutes left, fourteen minutes until we leave on the first bus of the day. There is to be a Lloyds Coaches bus running route T2 for Traws Cymru, the regional bus network in Wales run by the Welsh Government. 09.09 We had hoped for a large bus, but it turned out to be a small-sized city bus. We have now bought tickets to Aberystwyth. Well, at least Christer did. My pronunciation of the difficult-to-pronounce town made the driver hesitant. However, he guessed that we belonged to the same travel company and let me buy a ticket, thanks for that. 09.37 Our bus is not the most comfortable but the trip goes well. We are now rolling through Caernarfon, a town with a medieval castle. The city is the capital of the region of Gwynedd. 10.08 The next town on our Welsh trip, Porthmadog is getting closer. The landscape is rural with groves, shrubbery and on the horizon you can see mountains. 10.23 Porthmadog was a beautiful little town that we would have happily stayed in if we had our own vehicle. Now all you have to do is sit back and go on in our bus. 11.02 There is a lot of forest around us here in Snowdonia National Park, which we have been driving through for a while. The national park itself covers an area of 2,130 km². It was established in 1951 as the first national park in Wales. In contrast to national parks in many other countries, 70% of the land here is owned by private individuals. This is an area that is a bit sad to just drive through. Here there are dense forests, beautiful nature and we would have liked to come by car instead of being able to make stops here and there. 11.18 We have made a stop to refuel the bus in Dolgellau. Fresh air flows in. It is becoming more and more Welsh around us. Place names are becoming increasingly difficult to pronounce and many passengers converse in the incomprehensible Welsh language.
Morning at The Traxx Hotel in Bangor.
Our bags have to travel a lot by bus today.
By bus through Wales.
A short visit in Aberystwyth.
Carmarthen, probably Wales oldest town.
Welsh can be difficult to pronounce.
12.06 The dense forests and mountains have been left behind as we arrived at yet another place with a hard-to-pronounce name. We are in Machynlleth in the county of Powys.
12.47 Aberystwyth is the final destination of our first bus journey. This is where we have left the bus and are now. The town with its 12,250 inhabitants is Wales' main seaside resort and the county seat of Ceredigion. Sometimes the Welsh geographical names feel like they were taken from The Lord of the Rings. In fact, the author J.R.R. Tolkien got his inspiration from here. 13.11 Here in Aberystwyth we need to have lunch. We chose a quick and easy option. Today we got to both order and eat at KFC on Terrace Row. Soon it will leave here in a new bus. We don't have time to see more of the city than the area around the bus and railway station. 13.23 After some searching and hunting we eventually found bus stop 7. Now we are waiting for bus T1, which will take us further south through Wales. 13.38 I was marginally better at saying the next destination, Carmarthen, correctly. At least I have a ticket that will take me there. 15.07 We have left the coast behind us and have just passed Lampeter. The landscape passes calmly and quietly by outside our vehicle. 15.34 A few ladies of mixed ages have stepped into our bus dressed for the occasion. The atmosphere is top notch. There is laughing and talking loudly. Unfortunately we don't understand anything as they speak Welsh. 16.00 Here in Carmarthen we cancel the acquaintance with buses for today. Our plan to take another bus doesn't sound appealing at all. Now we walk towards the railway station instead. Carmarthen is probably the oldest town in Wales. It was already in Roman times the center of the area that belonged to the Celtic tribe the Demeters. There are 13,148 inhabitants living here today. 16.26 We made our way to Carmarthen Station via the swinging King Morgan Bridge over the River Towy. After a short wait here, we immediately leave by train for Swansea. 17.29 Once at the station in Swansea, we relieved the fluid pressure. Now we are sitting on a bench by the city's castle ruins, Swansea Castle. Next to us we have Castle Square. Christer is getting directions to the accommodation and is calculating where we can most conveniently make a stop for coffee. Swansea has a population of 245,180 and is the second largest city in Wales. The name originates from the Viking king Sven Tveskägg (Sveins Ey). 17.57 I have relapsed into old sins. At Costa Coffee on Oxford Street I have ordered a double espresso. It's not that hard to pronounce after all.
Grazing sheep in Carmarthen.
The River Towy flows through Carmarthen.
We have reached Swansea, the final destination of this long day of travel.
Swansea Castle was founded as early as 1107.
Christer takes a break in front of Swansea Castle.
Castle Square, Swansea.
18.31 It's a long walk before we reach our next home. We walk ever so slowly, forward and uphill. There are no steep slopes but a slight uphill to Uplands, the neighborhood where we will be staying for the coming night.
18.44 Christer has stopped to buy drinks in a small shop which would not accept card payment for purchases under £5. However, they changed their minds when he was about to return the goods. Now we walk further. 19.03 We finally arrived and have now moved into room 4 at Hurst Dene Aparthotel (https://www.hurstdene.co.uk). Our check-in man was 80+ and moved around carefully. It is probably the oldest person who has ever helped us check in anywhere. The room, or rather the apartment, is fantastic. We have our own kitchen and plenty of space. Christer has suggested that dinner be prepared by ourselves tonight when we have such good facilities. Why not? 20.35 What a selection is given here in the room! We have biscuits from Swedish company Pågen, strawberry jam, Nutella, butter, French bread and a little more. All of this has been provided to us prior to check-in. What a great place this is. Such a shame that we will only be staying here for one night. The price is also good. 21.20 The small supermarket in the chain Sainsbury's Local sold us what we will use for tonight's dinner and this morning's breakfast. 22.21 Good cooperation in our small kitchen has hopefully given us a good meal. 22.46 It wasn't a culinary feast, but it was good anyway. We served and enjoyed pasta and two types of kebab skewers. 23.20 An intense day comes to an end. We have seen large parts of Wales today but there is still a bit more to go before we take the step back to England again.
Uplands, Swansea.
Hurst Dene Aparthotel, Swansea.
We will cook our own dinner tonight.
Dinner is ready!
Saturday 16th of July
08.50 The weekend has started here in Swansea. Here in the big room at the Hurst Dene Aparthotel, we slept heavenly. As mentioned earlier, it is a shame that it will only be one night here.
09.40 Now we have put together a combo breakfast. It's bread and jam we got for free from the room and juice and yogurt that we bought ourselves yesterday at Sainsbury's. 10.10 It was a good breakfast. However, the yogurt we got was fat-free. Hope it still satisfies. 10.45 It is time to check out and start the long walk to the railway station in a temperature of +21˚C. It will also be even warmer in the next few days. On the news, a heat wave has been announced in the coming week. 11.33 The distance was the same but so much nicer to walk downhill compared to uphill. Here at the railway station, the price of a train ticket in the ticket machine is higher than the price we saw online last night. Christer is now looking for online tickets so we can save a few quid. 11.45 Instead of machine tickets for £18 we will now travel with tickets bought online for £11. We are now at Platform 1 at Swansea Railway Station. 11.58 There are many people who want to go by train today. There are more passengers than there are seats for. Are there too many passengers or is the train too few carriages? You can think about that. I'm standing now but Christer has found a seat by the door of the carriage. We are in the small space between the compartments where you enter or exit. Once again we travel with TFW (Transport for Wales).
Decorated letterbox in Uplands, Swansea.
Peter takes long steps towards Swansea railway station.
Christer is waiting at Swansea Railway Station.
Peter has an outdoor coffee at Costa Coffee at Newport Station.
Newport Mosaics shows the industrial activity in Cwmbran.
The River Usk is brown at low tide.
12.12 There was a stop in Neath. A seat became available and I took the opportunity to sit down on a seat. Christer is still out in the vestibule.
12.57 In Cardiff, many of the passengers would get off and now Christer also has a seat inside the compartment. 13.21 The train journey is over for today. Here in Newport, we start with a visit to Costa Coffee next to the railway station. There will be coffee outdoors at some sunlit wooden tables. We will be staying here in Newport instead of Cardiff. The reason is that all possible accommodation in the capital of Wales was far too expensive for our budget. Hopefully we'll get to see Cardiff tonight instead. 13.35 Here at the station, we have seen various people arriving dressed in colourful clothes and all kinds of glittery outfits. Why is it like that? Where are they going? Most of them are picked up by taxis who drive them to an unknown destination. 14.02 Costa Coffee left before we risked burns from the hot sun and we have seen even more people in glittering clothes and various different headgear. Is there a Pride festival going on? It reminds a bit of how it usually looks at such events. 14.30 Via the upper part of High Street we have made our way to Newport Bridge. Nearby are the Newport Mosaics, works of art on walls and in viaducts that depict different parts of social life in the city and its vicinity. There is little water in the river Usk, is it drought or just ebb/low tide? The water is also brown. Newport is Wales third largest city with a population of 159,600. 15.15 Such a check-in was at the Gateway Hotel. Before us were two colourful couples. The check-in lady was anything but quick. We were given a gate code, a key and a plastic card to activate the electricity. We left the reception and went over to the house next door. The code was entered without success. We went back to reception and got the correct code. She had accidentally entered the wrong code for us. Now we are in room 8 and know that the Pride festival has been earlier this year. It's something else altogether that attracts people and makes them dress up in glitter and rainbow colours.
Gateway Hotel, Newport.
High Street, Newport.
Chartist Commemorative Statue.
The Stand and Stare sculpture on Commercial Street.
Saint Paul's Church, Newport.
The sculpture The vision of Saint Gwynllyw or Bell Carrier Statue.
15.37 Google has answered our questions and solved the riddle. There is a festival called Colour Clash in the city. Theredance music is played and visitors are encouraged to be colourful. To celebrate this new knowledge, I'm going to take a shower.
16.12 Plans have changed. The idea of making an evening trip to Cardiff has been abandoned. It will be problematic to get us back in a reasonable time. Instead we´ll see Cardiff tomorrow instead. 17.47 We must see something today and eat something. Both things will be difficult to arrange if we stay in our room. It's just as well that we go out and try our luck. 18.22 We walk along Commercial Street, the main street in the center of Newport. At the beginning of it we saw the Chartist Commemorative Statue statue group. Along the street we have seen street musicians and also been asked what time it was. 18.35 We have now photographed the Stand and Stare statue. It symbolizes a spirit in the tree of life. We have also photographed the church Saint Paul's Church. Now we leave Commercial Street to see something else. 18.45 It has happened again. We are standing by a statue of a cow. This bull has something on his back. It resembles some kind of machinery. It's all called The vision of Saint Gwynllyw. The sculpture is inspired by the warrior king Gwynllyw from the 7th century. Legend has it that an angel appeared to him in a dream and said - look for a white ox and build a church where you find the animal. 19.02 At Balqis, a Yemeni restaurant that promises authentic Arabic and Yemeni food, we will try a lamb dish with rice and bread respectively. It's time for tonight's dinner. The owner seems enthusiastic about our visit.
Kingsway Shopping Centre, Newport.
We're going to have dinner here.
Balqi's Restaurant Newport.
Tonight's dinner was the best of the trip so far.
The river has more water later in the evening.
Summer evening in Newport.
19.55 The dinner is easy to summarize. It was simply heavenly. Our serving man was polite and service oriented throughout. The food was the best we had on the trip so far. We are grateful to have Google Maps to help us find gems like this. We would never have gone in here if we hadn't read about the restaurant first.
20.57 A quiet walk home was occasionally interrupted for the purchase of juice, photography and filming by the river. Now there is more water in the River Usk. The water is also a different color. Does the amount and color of water depend on whether it is ebb or flow? At least that's our theory because right now the water is flowing from the sea and up. 21.10 We made our way home via the Newport City Footbridge. However, the attempt to photograph the Rodney Parade football stadium between the river and our hotel had to be cancelled. Like so many older arenas, it is completely built in with houses around it and there is not much more than tin roofs and a few floodlights to take shots at. The football team Newport County AFC and the rugby team Newport Gwent Dragons play here on Rodney Parade. 22.27 As usual, this day is summed up and we plan for tomorrow. It feels a little empty not having the daily film from Roberth to watch. Think how quickly you acquire new habits. The news is talking about possible record temperatures in Wales and England this coming week.
Sunday 17th of July
08.23 Outside our room here at Gateway Hotel in Newport, a few cars whiz past. Pigeons can be heard cooing. In here we prepare for an English breakfast, then a walk and another day of travel. Today we are leaving Wales. We will return to England in the afternoon.
09.33 The two hotel guests are back from breakfast, which was served in a dining room behind the reception. Now we sit in the room and swear again. Again we have waited too long to book our train tickets. Once again the ticket price has gone up. This time they have been raised from £15.00 to £22.50. When we are so lazy about pre-booking, we deserve that it will be extra expensive. 09.50 We have to accept a more expensive solution for the first journey of the day. We don't have time and we don't want to take a slow bus into Cardiff when we can take a train that takes a few minutes. 10.21 When we were going to check out, we discovered that the reception is closed. It closed after breakfast and reopens for check-in in the afternoon. Wouldn't it be great to be open for check-out as well? Well, we've left the key in the room door. That will do. 10.47 We have walked to the right side of the river and to the railway station. Now we are waiting on platform 1. Are there seats on board where we can sit this time? The Welsh trains run with very few carriages for some reason. 10.59 The train that just stopped can leave here without us. It is clearly overcrowded. If we had gone without bags, we might have been able to squeeze in, but now we couldn't. A girl had to ride inside with the train driver.
The morning news is presented behind Peter's back. We are having breakfast at the Gateway Hotel.
Unnecessarily long wait at Newport Train Station.
Finally arrived in Cardiff.
Peter writes down some travel memories at Stadium Plaza, Cardiff.
Principality Stadium (formerly the Millennium Stadium) in Cardiff.
Here, Wales play national football and rugby matches.
Statue of Betty Campbell, community activist and Wales' first black head teacher.
11.19 This is not going so well. We already had limited time in Cardiff and now there is a problem with the transport system. The next train is late. We hope to get a tolerable place on board when it does appear.
11.32 Now the train is even more late. Will we even make it to Cardiff before we leave? 11.46 Boarding and getting a seat on the train went better than expected. It's cool and nice. A girl across the aisle has tattooed thighs. 12.12 Before we left the railway station here in Cardiff, we visited toiledau Dynion, the men's toilet. We have also collected the next train tickets. They are unfortunately not open but have a given time. Now Cardiff will be visited in a flash. In any case, a short visit is better than no visit at all. 12.35 The National Stadium of Wales, the Principality Stadium, the Castle (Cardiff Castle) and the building of the first radio broadcast in Wales have been passed. We have also seen the statue representing Betty Campbell. She was Wales first black schoolteacher. Now we are near the town hall in Cathays Park. 12.47 We see as much of Cardiff's center as we can, but it turns out with backpacks on our backs and limited time. Cardiff is considered the capital of Wales and has 357,200 inhabitants. It is a fairly new city in its modern form. It only became a city in 1905 and it was only in the 19th century that it grew from a small town to the most important place in Wales. At the turn of the 19th century it was only the 25th largest town in Wales. 13.02 We have little time in the city but there is always time for a visit to Costa Coffee. A double espresso and a small Americano have been ordered.
One of the towers of the Gothic Cardiff Castle.
Cardiff Castle.
Friary Gardens, Cardiff.
Cardiff City Hall.
Queen Street, Cardiff.
Saint John The Baptist City Parish Church.
13.32 We have returned to the railway station again. The train in front of us is going to Nottingham. It will be allowed to go without us. It was a quick look at Cardiff. Unfortunately, there will be a lot of cities that won't get an honest chance from us this summer, but we think it's better to see a little bit of a city than nothing at all. Now we will say goodbye to Wales for this time.
13.51 Our train entered a different track than we thought. However, we are on board in time and rolling slowly out of Cardiff and Wales. 14.28 It's a beautiful train journey through South Wales and into Herefordshire. After leaving Newport and Cwmbran we continued towards and passed green valleys and rural surroundings. 15.01 The train dropped us off in Hereford. It's really quiet here. It is noticeable that it is Sunday. Now we will calmly and quietly go to the accommodation, which should be quite close to the railway station. 15.39 At the guesthouse Kidwells House (https://kidwellshouse.com) we were received by three women of different ages. The youngest, Marie, checked us in, gave us information and showed us to room 6. On the way to the accommodation we took the opportunity to eat some really good blackberries that grew along the walkway. Was it today's lunch? Here in town, they are preparing for the extreme heat wave that is expected to hit England starting tomorrow, Monday. 17.18 We have, with varying success, booked train tickets from Arlanda Airport to our respective hometowns on 9th of August. I get to travel all the way home. Christer's booking was canceled for an unclear reason. When he tried to book again, the seat he had chosen was already taken according to SJ. He has to wait and try again later. 17.49 At the same time as we are making ourselves at home in our new room, Sweden's women's soccer team is playing against Portugal in the Euro 2022 tournament. The match is played in Leigh, which is between Liverpool and Manchester. It seems to be a fairly easy victory for Sweden.
Hayes Place, Cardiff.
We cross the border between Wales and England.
Kidwell's House, Hereford.
Edgar Street Football Arena. Hereford FC play low-level football.
Old Market, shopping center in Hereford.
Allan Leonard Lewis, local war hero from the First World War.
18.09 So we step on asphalt on pavements in yet another English town. As usual, we are looking for sights, food and evening drinks.
18.15 We have passed the football stadium Edgar Street. Hereford FC play here at a low level. They are in the National League North which is the sixth highest level of English football. There used to be a league team in the city, Hereford United. They used to have a big inflatable Hereford bull in the audience. Unfortunately, the club went bankrupt in 2014. 18.46 Colonel Sanders at Stonebow Road has arranged for our dinner. So we are at KFC once again. There weren't that many better options on a Sunday night unless we're going to eat really expensive. One of the cashiers was slightly irritated due to lethargy in the kitchen. She had been waiting 17 minutes to serve a customer. 19.06 We have moved even further towards the center past the beautiful Black and White House on Saint Peter's Street. It is a half-timbered house and a museum. Next to the house stands a statue of a bull. After all, there is a special breed of cattle that comes from here in Herefordshire. In addition to these animals, this area is famous for the production of cider (Bulmers). Hereford has a population of 53,112. 19.14 Leaning against a bicycle, Sir Edward Elgar stands and looks towards Hereford Cathedral. In living life he was a composer and lived in the area. Nigel Dees 1929-2002 it says on the wooden bench we are sitting on. Here are also some sheet music, so he must have been making music too. 19.40 Just before we got to the Castle Green park, we were asked by a guy if he could borrow one of our phones. Christer said we were tourists and it costs a lot for us to call from here. OK, tourists! was the answer. Once inside the park, a black dog came to greet me. Was it generally pleasant or did it smell from the food we ate at KFC?. Now we are sitting at the Victoria Bridge over the River Wye. In addition, we have arrived at Bishops Meadow park.
Black and White House Museum. The building dates from 1621.
Peter on Saint Peter's Street.
Hereford, a beautiful little town.
Composer Edward Elgar looks at the beautiful Hereford Cathedral.
Christer and Sir Edward Elgar.
Victoria Bridge, footbridge over the River Wye.
19.55 We are now at a wooden statue of Dan the dog whose owner, George Robertson Sinclair was a friend of Edward Elgar. Dan fell into the river some distance away in 1898 and Edward composed a piece of music about the incident. The piece is called Enigma variations.
20.14 We were just at a wooden dog. Now we are at a metal Hereford bull. However, it is difficult to photograph because it is teenagers who climb around it most of the time. We are on our way home. Hereford is a cozy town, a town you would enjoy living in. 20.50 We are back at home in the room at Kidwell´s House. There were a few stops on the walk home. We bought drinks at a small shop and then munched on more blackberries. The Swedish women won the match against Portugal 5-0 and also won their group in the European Football Championship 21.47 Yesterday we were stupid for not buying tickets in time. Now when we want to book our tickets on time and earn money, the websites/apps are confusing. 22.21 It's getting brighter on the ticket front. Ideally, we want open tickets without specific times. 23.41 Of course it was possible to buy tickets for the trains. Tomorrow will be an intensive travel day in various cities. Unfortunately, it seems to coincide with the arrival of extreme heat. Sometimes you're lucky. Sometimes you don't have that luck. It was pouring water outside our window recently. Did someone spill water above us? At least it's not raining.
King Street, Hereford.
The Hereford bull in the High Town square.
In Hereford we have found fantastically good blackberries.
You can see 64 photos from July 14 in this photoalbum.
You can see 48 photos from July 15 in this photoalbum.
You can see 54 photos from July 16 in this photoalbum.
You can see 92 photos from July 17 in this photoalbum.