Mini road trip, England and Wales

[Kendra]

No, I didn't rent a Mini, that would have been cool.  Cheapest thing available was a Vauxhall Astra with a manual transmission which I prefer.  The UK is right-hand drive.  This trip I only smacked my hand hard on the right door one time reaching for the shifter which is over there on the left, gotcha.  On previous trips I did that about a dozen times.  But I still walked up to the passenger side ready to drive and realised (realized) the steering wheel was on the starboard side... did that several times and hope nobody saw that.  Duh.

Nothing compared to the  epic road trip Laurie took last year, but the Avis receipt said I added 965 miles to their hardware in 3 days.  At least 500 of those miles were on neat little scenic roads.

I'm in a band for fun called Free Beer, electric violin, the guy who built mine has a shop 4 hours north of London.  I have a new 4-string and an older 5-string and noticed the electronics have improved.  So I shipped my 5-string back to Ted Brewer Violins a month ago, he updated the electronics and I went to pick it up - but mainly eager to meet the maker and see Ted's shop. 







Time to drive to The West.  I like British terminology.  According to road signs you don't head west, you motor to The West on a Dual Carriageway.  That leads to smaller and narrower roads and even narrower twisty roads through picturesque stone villages.  Some village roads are crazy skinny compared to the US - window sills on some homes almost need bumpers - but I've seen similar in Japan and other places that have been around awhile. 

Arrived in a teeny tiny village in Wales and met Sara and her wife.  I certainly wasn't expecting this but they insisted I stay, and what an incredibly warm and wonderful experience.  Sara's wife made a really great dinner.  I feel bad for arriving a half hour late - bit of traffic around Birmingham and I'm too cheap to pay for express toll roads if a slower free road is nearby. 





After buying their home they were fixing up the back yard and found two very old metal signs in the mud.  Those are on the kitchen wall - one of the signs can be seen in a 100 year old photo in front of the same house.   



Sara built those radio controlled off-road 4x4s by hand, fabricated from scratch - fully functional door latches, incredible detail.  After dinner Sara and I talked for hours and hours.  Their cat yawned at me and wandered off. 





Next morning was near freezing - light snow on the hills, intermittent rain.  Time to explore, short hike across hills and muddy fields.  Which of course means I should wear white pants and designer boots. 

Beautiful old stone church at edge of the village, it's always unlocked and nobody disturbs the interior.  Then we drove through postcard-type scenery like something from the movies except it's nonstop and real.  Down a one-lane road, parked, wooden bridge over a river.



And then a hike across muddy fields and a hill leading to an ancient church.  The church fell into disrepair a couple hundred years ago and was then restored in the late 1800s, now sits there quietly with no roads or trails leading to it.  It's in the middle of this photo. 



I really did not want to leave... but had to say goodbye and head back towards the city.  I have been to Wales before but never this way.  Wales has a special attachment for me, I am half Japanese and half Welsh - I've spent quite a bit of time in Japan but not Wales.  And Sara, you are so precious.

Enjoyed the drive back, 7pm dinner with Megan in the town of Hitchin, Hertfordshire - an hour north of London.  I really enjoyed the time and conversation with Megan.  We started HRT around the same time.  I can't believe how fast dinner went - we kept talking until the restaurant started to thin out. 



Next afternoon, dinner with Davina in The Midlands.  What a feast!  Davina is one heck of a chef.  And lives in a very scenic town - once again I really wish I had more time.  After dinner we traded car stories, Davina literally built her hot rod from scratch and races it.  I've never done anything like that but I am a bit of a gearhead, I have rebuilt my own engines, transmissions etc.  When I was 18 I stuffed a Ford V8 drivetrain into my 1978 Toyota pickup (no kits were available - required fabricating everything and a heavy sledge hammer).  Unlike me, Davina does that the correct way.

After dinner we went for a walk in an incredibly scenic town.  Talked about fast cars, cooking, clothing, ya know - regular girl stuff.





Well there's a quick 3 day road trip.  Wish I had more time... 

Kendra

[Megan.]

It was lovely to have you over to our little island, and to meet up. I'm glad you enjoyed the trip [emoji5]

Next time you can come through the tunnel and save the airfare,  just ask Devlyn for directions to the secret entrance. X

Sent from my MI 5s using Tapatalk

[Cenna]

Yay adventure!! Sounds like fun.
Looking to do a bit of a road trip myself some time visit a few friends - and maybe stop and say hi to some family before speeding off.

[Laurie]

Hi Kendra,

  I was called an ambassador for Susan's Place for my little trip so that must make your the international ambassador for Susan's Place.  I wonder what Susan thinks about that. Anyway I really enjoyed your tour and pictures of our foreign sisters. Thank you for taking them and sharing them with us.
  I know exactly what you mean about narrow streets as I have encountered them when I lived in Italy for a year. I've had to back up and go forward again to make it around a narrow corner between buildings and I drove my Gremlin! At least in Italy they drive on the correct side of the road.
  You brought back memories of my Navy days and all the wonderful architecture and scenery to be had in other parts of the world. I was particularly taken by Edinburgh  Scotland for its fall beauty. We're talking so many years ago now it's a wonder I can remember any of it.
  Thank you especially for visiting our girls over there and getting pictures.

Hugs,
   Laurie

[Rachel]

Wow, that looks like a lot of fun and good times.

I think it would be a blast to visit with so many from here.

[Bari Jo]

Very cool Kendra.  That looked like a great trip.  I've talked with Ted Brewer a couple times at NAMM.  I used to go there often.  He's a nice guy.  Did you get the string amp electronics?  If yes, you totally make me jealous.

Great picts of actual scenery.  We only see stuff like that in the movies.  LA can be so boring.

Bari Jo

[davina61]

It was a shame we didn't have time to go up the Malvern Hills as it was clear and the view over the Severn valley to the Cotswold hills is stunning even in winter, it was getting dark by the time we ate and talked. Smashing time.

[Laurie]

  I am glad that the three of you got to meet Kendra and see for yourself what I already knew. Kendra is one very special lady.

Hugs,
   Laurie

[Kylo]

I was going to say, how d'you like our tiny roads?, but I know Japan has some even tinier ones.

[Kendra]

I've been on very narrow city streets in Japan, but with so many toll roads the rural areas are more affordable to see by train instead of a rental car.

I love the narrow back roads in the UK.  Many of the farm buildings are stone, fences are stone, some of them date back centuries instead of decades. 

[Kylo]

You should visit Cornwall if you haven't, where I live. Lots of original stonework left here, fishing villages, dramatic coasts and lots of herringbone stone walls. I used to live in Snowdonia myself as well, in Y Felinheli. Would go back if I wasn't living here and liking it. Wales FTW.

[Kendra]

I ❤️ Cornwall and Devon although it's been a decade since I've been there, noodling along winding roads along the coast.  North of there stayed in a very old inn in Lynmouth, every door and beam obviously hand built with the tools available a few hundred years ago... I wanna go back.  Wales is also very great even though I only saw a small slice of it.

[Roll]

I don't understand the logistics of this road. If there is an oncoming car is it just survival of the fittest?

[Kylo]

Yeah oncoming cars get priority there. Have to hang back behind the parked up ones till there's a gap. Even more fun on our county roads that are only 1 car wide with 6 ft hedges on each side. Then someone has to back up to a passing place and let the other go. Which is why we hate tractors around here.

[Dena]

I am not real happy about the freeway they are putting in about a quarter of a mile away from me. Can you imagine sleeping with a road just feet away from your outside wall? I understand the houses may have been built a long time ago but you would have thought they wouldn't be a part of the road.

[Sarah_P]

I am not real happy about the freeway they are putting in about a quarter of a mile away from me. Can you imagine sleeping with a road just feet away from your outside wall? I understand the houses may have been built a long time ago but you would have thought they wouldn't be a part of the road.

Yes, actually. I used to live in an apartment where my window was about 5 feet from the highway. Oh, and there's a fairly active train track just on the other side of the highway. It took a while, but I got used to the noise.
First thing I noticed after moving to a new apartment years ago was how much quieter it was, which also took me a while to get used to.

[davina61]

The thing is a lot of the houses were built when the road was a cart track.

[Kylo]

Yes many houses like that in the English countryside, I suppose because those roads are literally ancient village horse tracks nobody saw fit to move in the modern day... They definitely are noisy to live near if the owner does not have double-glazed windows. Although I was always more concerned with some truck taking off the corner of a house one day, which is rare but might happen.

I remember living 200 yards from the Coventry central ring road in the top of an apartment block several years back and the noise was just a continual roar even with the double-glazing. All day, all night. Those country roads at least get a break from the traffic in the small hours.

[judithlynn]

Hi Kendra;
Yes the Devon roads are just wonderful, especially driving down the lanes, but woe betide if you met a tractor or car coming in the other direction. Its then you have to back up to the nearest  passing place.
I have the luxury of living part of the year in Devon on the sea and part of the year in Southern Australia on the Great Southern Ocean. As you can tell I like living by the sea!.
Judith Lynn

[Kendra]

Hi Kendra;
Yes the Devon roads are just wonderful, especially driving down the lanes, but woe betide if you met a tractor or car coming in the other direction. Its then you have to back up to the nearest  passing place.
I have the luxury of living part of the year in Devon on the sea and part of the year in Southern Australia on the Great Southern Ocean. As you can tell I like living by the sea!.
Judith Lynn

That's awesome - I bet you time it for the weather, best of both worlds.