Dublin via Chester and Wales



Chester - The Rows

Welsh Farmland

Welsh Countryside

The Longest Place Name (Wales)

We bade Ambeside and our wonderful B&B hosts goodbye around 9.30am. Wanted to get  on the road so that we could beat the traffic to Chester. This was a good idea as the traffic was building up all day as it was the end of the Bank Holiday Weekend. Had a picturesque drive back through Windemere around the lake and then joined M6 the main highway that splits Manchester and Liverpool. Turned off this road and we were in Chester just after midday. We were fortunate to be able to book into our accommodation straight away.

Set out to explore Chester as soon as we could. A lot of Chester dates back to the Romans and the old town is circled by a wall. We walked most of the wall through town to the riverside and back past Chester Castle. It was time then to explore the shops. Some of these, called The Rows have shops situated above one another which are accessible by staircases from the street. It was a very picturesque shopping area filled with old world charm. Eileen did her mandatory shopping so that her suitcase will be even fuller than previously. Had a few drinks and dinner in an old fashioned pub and then caught a cab back to the hotel.

We were back on the road again this morning early as we had a ferry to catch at Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesea. We drove through Snowdonia National Park in Northern Wales which is lush and green. The weather was a bit dismal as it was cool with misting rain and fog. Still, the scenery was lovely. Crossed the Menai Strait onto Anglesey and stopped at the village with the longest name in the world.

Made it in good time for the ferry and we loaded the car on and have retired to the lounge for the crossing to Dublin. Have had our lunch and am writing this an hour into our 3 hour journey.

Well we reached Dublin safely and found our hotel without the aid of the GPS as it had no maps of Ireland loaded. We have been out for the customary drinks at an Irish Pub just down the road. Had dinner at the hotel and it was excellent.  Have had to familiarize ourselves with a new currency and are now dealing with Euros instead of pounds