ENGLAND & WALES 2023 | BLACK & WHITE | CASTLES | UK 2023 ART
| SEABIRDS @SKOHOLM |

We landed at Dover, from Dunkirk, and headed west, through the beautiful Garden of England.

For my #_OnReading series. During a stop at a nice pub.

For my #_LOOK series. I like it how her crossed arms mirror the photograph on the left.

HAY-ON-WYE

Hay was again a must on this trip, probably the 4th or 5th time we've visited this Booktown over the years.

Addyman Books (there are 2 shops, one on Castle Street, this is Lion Street) is highly recommended.

More on my Streetphotography HERE..

Parking was often next to impossible for us: we drove through Aberystwyth, Brecon and other towns but had to
leave because we couldn't find a spot to park our camper van. But here in Hay-on-Wye there was no problem.

Pubs and more pubs.. Certainly part of the attraction to travel in England.

This was a nice pub, The Royal Oak, near our campsite Pencelli Castle Caravan Park, only a 5 minute walk from
the campsite. We tried to visit nearby Historic Market Town Brecon the next morning but again failed to
find a spot to park our camper - a constant frustration that contributed to cutting this holiday short by a week.

The small roads were challenging, often resulted in a slow shuffle to pass opposing traffic or backing up.

We stayed at the South Wales Caravan Park and walked to the pub, The Bridge, in Llangennech.

Llangennech was a depressingly dismal place, what we saw during our walk (Bank Road and Bridge Street).
The pub was nice, the staff very friendly but the fries a sad failure.

The photos during this trip were taken with a Panasonic FZ1000 II, a Canon EOS R6 & S120, and a Leica M10M (Monochrom) plus iPhone 11.

We walked back through an underpass at the roundabout; more on this Llangennech mural on my UK 2023 Art page

Return to Hay, for more books..

The previous afternoon we quickly tired due to the warm weather, I visited some 6 bookshops, but did not get
to the Hay Cinema Bookshop - I could not let that pass. Must be one of the finest bookshops here!

Hay is a pleasant town for just wandering, always good for a bit of nice street photography.

Market at Hay-on-Wye.

The Richard Booth bookshop is also not to be missed. I did my best buys
here as well as with the two Addyman shops, Murder & Mayhem and Hay Cinema Bookshop.
Clock Tower Books and Green Ink Booksellers, near The Buttery Market, looked promising but my budget was spent.

CARDIGAN

Driving south from Aberystwyth, the coastal route, we came to Cardigan and did a quick visit to the town.
Charming to a degree, but did not live up to what's written on the internet I thought.

Serious conversation, during a coffee break. My roving eye never rests..

We visited Cardigan because I'd read a glowing report on the internet and we were also curious for the castle.
The castle was a disappointment to us and the town of Cardigan was ok for a stroll, but I wasn't overwhelmed.

Tommy Woodsmoke played some nice music here; I always stop
and listen for a bit to musicians busking in the streets.

Shadow play in a restaurant.

The Coastal Road, on the west coast of Wales, provided a nice drive with some fantastic scenery.
Pity we found our intended campsite near St. Davids full when we phoned ahead, so from Cardigan we soon
diverted east to Haverfordwest and decided to book a hotel again. That intended campsite had looked promising.

TENBY

We had some time to spare before we were planned on a boattrip to Skoholm from Martin's Haven. Upon a recent
visit to Martin Parr's gallery in Bristol, a few days ago, I had bought his publication 'Wales' which featured also
Tenby and got me interested. So we spent a part of the morning here. And again had issues to park the camper!

It's an obvious seaside town, plenty of families with children around. Excellent for my streetphotography.

Tenby is not a place to look seriously for books, I found.

Musician strumming her guitar plus a view on the rocky outcrop and the beach (through the fence), typical for Tenby.

The long planned boattrip to Skoholm & Skokholm from Martin's Haven.

This trip to England & Wales was revised 4 times, postponed due to Corona and later due
to developing travel restrictions. It varied in size from 2 weeks to 4. When we landed in Dover
it was planned for 3 weeks, but we cancelled 1 week due to frustrations about the camper: we suffered damage,
the driving was strenuous on the small roads and it was virtually impossible to park at pubs and in small towns.
So in the end we cancelled the last week. But this boat trip was among the 'must do', postponed so many times.
See my dedicated page BIRDS OF SKOHOLM

Vintage cars!

A few more on UK 2023 PAGE ONE.

MONMOUTH

It must have been 30+ years ago since we visited this town and whilst in the area decided to revisit.

Monnow Bridge, built ca. 1270.

Looking into Monnow Street

Again I almost failed to park the camper van and since my Missus refuses to attempt to search Google Maps for possibilities or alternatives, she is of no use navigating and no help at all.
Entering Monmouth we immediately came on the carpark near the historic Monnow Bridge, the exit had its
crossbar (a barrier to block Traveller's staying overnight) removed so I could drive in through the exit.
But it did not feel good and we soon retreated to the carpark. Btw, we had the poorest scones ever at Coffee#1.

LACOCK

It seems not done to photograph kids in the UK, but I don't much care..

At the abbey there is also the museum dedicated to photography pioneer Fox Talbot, who lived here.

More photos on this museum, and the abbey, on my UK 2023 Page ONE

A visit to the Abbey @Lacock comes highly recommended!

WOTTON HOUSE, DORKING

Due to frustrations with the camper van and finding campsites filling up we started booking hotels more often.
We also found we enjoyed that far more: ensuite bathrooms, a good breakfast ready in the morning. I'd enjoyed
camping over the years, but gradually less and less and this rented camper was an experiment not to be repeated
(in the UK). Our stay @Wotton House, was more expensive than I would have liked but one night was great!

Wood carving I 'found' at the carpark, near the church, across the road from the fine Six Bells Chiddingly pub.

Nice work!

CANTERBURY

Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales.

One of few places 'done' this trip I would like to revisit: Canterbury. It was actually a bit too hot for an
extensive walking tour. My main aim was the Waterstones bookshop and we took it from there. More a next time!

It was btw, the only city or town I found parking for 'coaches & motorhomes' signposted, a constant frustration.

The Chaucer Bookshop we skipped, rather went for more current books at Waterstones.

Bought 'The Gallows Pole' and a Val McDermid title, plus a photobook by Chris Steele-Perkins here. Wonderful!

Canterbury is an excellent place for streetphotography and has a very
international crowd: Spanish, Italian, German and others.

I grew up with Chow Chow dogs, my parents kept them well into my twenties. They seem to be a rare and
I always stop to chat and tell them why. Meet Neville here! Note that typical purple tongue.

We stopped for some much needed refreshments and I kept my camera ready, aiming on the passing crowd.

We did not visit the cathedral, maybe next time. I rather spent my time in the streets (or a bookshop).

"...a very old house bulging out over the road... leaning forward, trying to see who was passing on the
narrow pavement below..." -Charles Dickens, 1849.

One doesn't see many of these bright red telephone boxes anymore!

Streetphotography never stops and has endless possibilities.
See my Index for various STREETPHOTOGRAPHY

ENGLAND & WALES 2023 | BLACK & WHITE | CASTLES | UK 2023 ART
| SEABIRDS @SKOHOLM |