London Times | Wales Escape

In addition to my sister living in London, one of my college roommates, Sue, lives near the city of Bristol. Bristol is in the Britain territory of Wales, whereas the city of London is part of the territory of England. The last time I visited London in 2010, Sue took the train from Bristol into London to meet up with me. This time I thought it would be fun to visit her - it would give us a different perspective of the UK and the girls would see a bit of the countryside along the way.

The train journey takes about 90 minutes from the Paddington Rail Station:


And along the way, the landscape quickly transformed from cityscape to green countryside.

We arrived a little after noon, under gloomy. drizzly skies. Because of the weather, we didn't explore the city of Bristol by foot - Sue pointed out several of the main areas as we drove along the banks of the Avon Gorge. We made our way to the village of Tintern to visit the remains of the grand monastery, Tintern Abbey.



It serves as inspiration for the Wordsworth Poem, Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.

I didn't have a wide angle lens to capture the entire structure, so I stitched together numerous photos into a panoramic rendering of the backside of the Abbey. The ruins in the back would most likely be the living quarters for the monks. The main church remains partially intact, but roofless.


We also walked across the Wye River and down a walking path to get a better view of the massive structure


Along our walk, we encountered several cottages:


The girls tried to stay dry. but the misty drizzle turned to a steady rain and we retreated.


Sue lives not too far from Tintern and at her home we were met by lush green countryside and sheep! This is the view from her driveway:


Such a great contrast to the hustle, bustle and buildings we left in London!


For dinner, Sue and her husband, Barry, were kind enough to get take out pizza for the girls while they took me out for Indian Curry. I think it was a win-win for everyone (I'm the only one in my family who enjoys Indian cuisine, so I never get any!). We ate in the nearby village of Chepstow and after dinner, walked to the River Wye to see the Chepstow Castle:


Even with the rain, it was a great day of catching up with old friends and enjoying the quiet countryside.