Family Holiday

Our family holiday to Wales has come and gone, and was badly needed this year, especially after my uncle's unexpected death last month.

The children love vintage steam trains and Wales has lots of restored and heritage railways. Most are within reasonable driving distance from each other.

Some of the railways cater a lot for children - like the Conwy Valley Museum in Betys-y-coed ....

 

.... and many others are for railway enthusiasts!

 

 

One of the best days we spent was at the Blanevon and Pontypool railway, who were having a wartime/1940's weekend. Passengers were given identity cards and rations (of sweets!!), people were dressed in 40's styles, and we met a man who was in his teens in the 40's who showed us the gas-mask he was issued with. My 7year old got to try it on and was a LOT more interested than he looks in the picture!

 

We stopped off at what is known in south Wales as the Big Pit, and with headlamps and battery packs, went into a coal mine. Apparently there is enough coal in the mines in Wales to last 300 years!

 

More old engines at The Big Pit - I took these pictures from my 12 year old's camera - he'd be able to tell me all about this engine, if he was awake!! (12.01am)

 

We stayed in a lovely hotel called The Plough, which has a wonderful, highly recommended by us, restaurant.

My 'sewing fix' was a couple of magazines, that would be impossible to get/too expensive in Ireland. I had intended going to a fabric shop like I did last year, but we didn't manage to get there

And on the way home on the ferry, there was something oddly comforting in being surrounded, on the Stena Line ferry, by Marimekko prints!

 

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