Sea Cruise, Part 2

Fishguard, Wales

Fishguard is a picturesque town of about 3,500 people on the coast of Wales. It was the filming site of a little-remembered film based upon Welsh author Dylan Thomas’ play called “Under Milk Wood”……..starring iconic Welshman Richard Burton, in addition to his mousy wife Elizabeth Taylor and his drinking buddy, ho-hum British actor Peter O’Toole. Didn’t see the movie, never heard of it, but my, what fun they must have had making it!

Fishguard was also the site of the last attempted invasion of the British Isles…..an almost-comically futile attempt by the French in 1797. That episode, however, is Fishguard’s major claim to fame, and was memorialized by some of its citizens with a stunning hand-woven tapestry that relates the events sequentially in both Welsh and English…..

Cardiff, Wales

Our entry into the Cardiff harbor required passing through a lock, much like those in Panama….. a very cool procedure to watch…..

Cardiff Castle was host the night before our arrival to a concert by Sting, another English gentleman from the world of rock and roll.

The castle keep with American invaders…..

A famous inhabitant of this castle was George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, who had a significant role in the English War of the Roses. He flip-flopped sides during the conflict and was eventually convicted of treason and executed in 1478 by drowning in “a butt of malmsey wine” at the tender age of 28. His perfidy earned him a role in a couple of Shakespeare’s historical plays.

Iain was anxious to see a street sign in the Welsh language…… here you are!

A series of animals adorn the outer castle wall

Falmouth – Cornwall, England

Entry into Cornwall was celebrated with the consumption of a Cornish pasty……

And Matt’s acquisition of a very special gin flavored with squid ink in a striking copper tin…..

Pendennis Castle has long guarded this southerly tip of England against outside invaders…

Falmouth was also an important staging area during both World Wars I and II….

Now, of course, it has tourism invaders, like us….. having fun with photos.

Weymouth – Dorset, England

Weymouth is a very popular seaside town, quite crowded during the summer months.

More imaginative yarn art…..

Weymouth is connected by causeway to Portland Island, where white limestone has been quarried for many centuries – used to build St. Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace in London, and even the United Nations headquarters in New York City, to name a few. No longer actively mined, the landscape along the coast bears the scars…..

A gypsy horse and her baby browse along the walking paths.

One MUST sample the famous crab sandwich at a shack near the lighthouse, where a weary traveler later has a snooze…..

More later from land and sea!