Today we slept in until after 9.00am so we had a later start. First we headed to Erddig House which is part of the National Trust so we finally used Lesley and Stewart's cards and got in somewhere for free. The estate is amazing, you start at the estate buildings with the saw mill, cart sheds, stable and tack room. You also see vintage cars, bikes and motorbikes. You enter through the laundry and kitchen which originally where separate in case of fire.
The dining room, state bedroom and nursery are very well preserved and decorated, the house even has its own chapel. The servants quarters are quite generous and there is an amazing record of all the staff who ever worked at the estate. The Yorke's who owned the estate had high regard for their servants. They have photos and descriptions of them all. You get to see the butlers pantry and all the below rooms of the house. The staff looking after the place are great, very knowlegable and friendly.
The estate also has a walled garden and is one of the most important surviving 18th century gardens in Britain. It has rare fruit trees, a canal, pond and national Ivy collection. We also stopped here for lunch in the cafe. It is a unique family home and was voted Britain's best historic house by the UKTV history series Britain's Best.
We left Erddig House and headed for the Gwybodaeth i awristiaid area to see the Pantcysyllte Aqueduct which was built by Thomas Telford. It is 1037 foot long and 127 foot high and has been in operation since 1805. This was great and we walked across this massive aqueduct over to the other side over the Dee river.
We then headed to Llangollen where we stopped for a drink at the Corn Mill pub which is on the river and you can sit outside on the deck on the river which is very tranquil and picturesque. The mill began grinding corn in the 13th century. We went for a stroll around town then walked up to the Llangollen canal for a ice-cream.
After Llangollen we headed to the Chirk Tunnel which is 421 metres long and very dark. This was spooky but really good if you like damp dark tunnels. On the other side is another aqueduct which when you walk over it you cross the border into England. We decided to walk back though the tunnel and this time a canal boat was going through so for half the trip it wasn't as dark but when it passed you could see nothing and needed the handrail to walk along the path.
On the way back to Jean and Bob's we stopped at on of the local Rossett pubs the Golden Grove which was built in the 13th century. It is a great pub with great atmosphere and architecture. We are actully staying in Rossett which is just on the outskirts of Wrexham.
Another great day, today we got back about 7.30pm so not as late as last night for a yummy lasagna dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment