We had a long way to travel today and we wanted to stop at a few places on the journey. So we got up earlier and packed the car before breakfast.
Our hosts, Jane and David, gave us advice about the trip. They both suggested that we needn't visit Cardiff because it's just another city and it would take time to explore it. David showed us some options on the map. In the end, we decided to head north and travel along the A40 most of the way.
We set off from the B&B before 9am. The Tom Tom navigator found the way to the A40 by going north along the M5 and then west along the M50.
Just as we were crossing the border into Wales, we encountered a few showers. Until then, we'd experienced very little precipitation although it had been cloudy on some days.
At Monmouth, we turned off the A40 to look at an historic bridge in the town. We tried to turn into a car park but ended up going down a gravel road next the river. This turned out to be fortuitous because it gave us a better view of the bridge.
After leaving Monmouth, we noticed a ruined castle on the other side of the road and did a U-turn at the next round-about to go back and have a look. The castle was called Raglan Castle.
The first parts of the castle were built more than 800 years ago and it was abandoned and partly destroyed about 350 years ago. It still has a mote around several sides. We climbed the tower for a better view. We spent about an hour there and took plenty of photos.
After leaving the castle, we had to head east along the A40. However, there were no-U-turn signs all the way and so we ended up back in Monmouth again before we could get back on the A40 to head west again.
At Brecon, we stopped for an ice cream and took photos of another nice old bridge. We found a pub (Castle Coaching Inn) at Trecastle for lunch.
The next stop was at our destination, Tenby, near the south west corner of Wales. Tenby is an ancient walled city on the coast. We drove through the town past the wall and past the beaches and found our B&B a couple of km out of town at Penally on the road to Pembroke. We got there before 4pm - a lot earlier than we had expected.
At the B&B, the owner was sunbaking in the backyard when we arrived. He showed us to our room on the second floor and helped get our bags up there. Our room has a view back to Tenby.
After a cup of coffee, we drove back into Tenby to look around. It is a beautiful town in an idyllic location. It resembles an Italian seaside village because of the painted houses, narrow streets, beaches, wharves and fishing boats.
There are five beaches. Unlike English beaches, these ones have golden sand (not rocks) like we are used to in Australia. It was bright and sunny just like an Australian beach scene. There were people on the beach and swimming in the sea. Most people were dressed in T-shirts but we both had our warm fleeces on to keep us warm.
For dinner we found a nice Italian restaurant within the walled part of the town. The food was good and the view was great - on the second floor overlooking the beach and the ocean. One of the waiters commented that the restaurant was under new ownership and it showed because their service needed a lot of polishing.
Click here to see my photos for this day.
Our hosts, Jane and David, gave us advice about the trip. They both suggested that we needn't visit Cardiff because it's just another city and it would take time to explore it. David showed us some options on the map. In the end, we decided to head north and travel along the A40 most of the way.
We set off from the B&B before 9am. The Tom Tom navigator found the way to the A40 by going north along the M5 and then west along the M50.
Just as we were crossing the border into Wales, we encountered a few showers. Until then, we'd experienced very little precipitation although it had been cloudy on some days.
At Monmouth, we turned off the A40 to look at an historic bridge in the town. We tried to turn into a car park but ended up going down a gravel road next the river. This turned out to be fortuitous because it gave us a better view of the bridge.
After leaving Monmouth, we noticed a ruined castle on the other side of the road and did a U-turn at the next round-about to go back and have a look. The castle was called Raglan Castle.
The first parts of the castle were built more than 800 years ago and it was abandoned and partly destroyed about 350 years ago. It still has a mote around several sides. We climbed the tower for a better view. We spent about an hour there and took plenty of photos.
After leaving the castle, we had to head east along the A40. However, there were no-U-turn signs all the way and so we ended up back in Monmouth again before we could get back on the A40 to head west again.
At Brecon, we stopped for an ice cream and took photos of another nice old bridge. We found a pub (Castle Coaching Inn) at Trecastle for lunch.
The next stop was at our destination, Tenby, near the south west corner of Wales. Tenby is an ancient walled city on the coast. We drove through the town past the wall and past the beaches and found our B&B a couple of km out of town at Penally on the road to Pembroke. We got there before 4pm - a lot earlier than we had expected.
At the B&B, the owner was sunbaking in the backyard when we arrived. He showed us to our room on the second floor and helped get our bags up there. Our room has a view back to Tenby.
After a cup of coffee, we drove back into Tenby to look around. It is a beautiful town in an idyllic location. It resembles an Italian seaside village because of the painted houses, narrow streets, beaches, wharves and fishing boats.
There are five beaches. Unlike English beaches, these ones have golden sand (not rocks) like we are used to in Australia. It was bright and sunny just like an Australian beach scene. There were people on the beach and swimming in the sea. Most people were dressed in T-shirts but we both had our warm fleeces on to keep us warm.
For dinner we found a nice Italian restaurant within the walled part of the town. The food was good and the view was great - on the second floor overlooking the beach and the ocean. One of the waiters commented that the restaurant was under new ownership and it showed because their service needed a lot of polishing.
Click here to see my photos for this day.
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