Back to my homeland (part 1)

My recent visit to England and Wales was filled with visiting, exploring, talking, and driving.  I think my sister and I drove about 1200 miles in the course of two and a half weeks and we managed to avoid most traditional tourist destinations while we explored our own heritage.

Day 1 - From West London to a village a few miles from Bath; spent the afternoon with an old friend.  From there to Caerphilly.  (We saw the castle across the way but didn't visit.)  Sadly, due to rain and jet-lag I forgot to make use of my camera that day.

Day 2 - A day in South Wales: we visited two cemeteries, one gift shop/tea room, and an M&S cafe.  It doesn't sound much but it took us all day!

Our great-grandmother died in childbirth in 1897.  We hope she had a sense of humour because that's my sister peeping out from behind the headstone. 

There was a stormy sky over the cemetery, but it has a spectacular view and is surprisingly quiet. It is the final resting place of two great-grandmothers, two great-aunts, four great-uncles, a grandfather, a great-grandfather and, several young children of our family.

Day 3 - We drov to Hereford.  We stopped at another cemetery but we couldn't find anyone we knew.  It's a shame that so many stones are illegible.

We travelled via the Brecon Beacons.  I love this.  Photos just can't do it justice.

We loved our afternoon with cousins and we enjoyed their spectacular garden.  This is just one corner of it.

Day 4 - Quite a busy day on which we began the day in Monmouth, continued into Kinlet (Shropshire) and Kinver (Staffordshire) and ended up visiting more cousins in  in Worcestershire.

This is the interior of Kinlet parish church.  If my family research is correct, this is the church at which one of my sixteen great-great-great-grandmothers was Christened.

 We stayed here for the night, with our cousin.  Parts of the cottage date as far back as 1490. Its the first and only time I've slept under a thatched roof (not including a certain mud hut in Morocco).

That's enough for today... more tomorrow.

Aftermath

My, but it's been a long time since I wrote here.

Turning intentions into accomplishments and getting my thoughts in order are proving difficult tasks at present, because even though I've been home for six days, I'm still feeling the effects of jet-lag. My brain is a jumble of holiday (vacation) memories mixed with thoughts of things I'm supposed to be doing, coupled with plans for projects I want to tackle but which are almost too overwhelming to contemplate.  I suppose I'm also just plain tired after travelling and living out of a suitcase for seventeen days.

Foremost in my mind is what is contained in a certain shoebox which my sister gave me to bring home. It is the latest addition to what is becoming a rather sizable family archive, although this is of more personal significance because the box contains letters written by my father to my mother between when they first met in 1949 and when he moved to London to live nearer to her.

My dad died when I was only thirteen, so I never got to know him as an adult, and these letters are an insight into how he thought, and what his life was like as a young man.  I've only read about half a dozen of them - less than a quarter of the total - but each one brings new insight and food for thought.  It's a pity the letters my mum wrote to him didn't survive.