as i’ve already mentioned quite a bit, it was an exhausting day of hiking, and i wasn’t entirely on board with driving to tintern abbey, but i couldn’t be happier that we did.
we were meeting charles at a place called the Abbey Mill Cafe, right next to the Abbey, and as we drove past the abbey i was thunderstruck at how beautiful it was. and this is just the view from the car!
first, we stopped for tea cakes with Charles, and were delighted that Anne decided to join us. we had a wonderful time chatting with them. it’s funny that we got these tea cakes because they were both dying for them. i can’t believe i didn’t even take a picture, but they were these gigantic round white bread loaves sprinkled with a few raisins, sliced open and spread with butter and jam – they were a little like dry toast. not very good, which i thought was really funny. Charles and Anne were very apologetic about the quality of the cakes, but it really didn’t matter, and so funny to me – i bet they were much better the last time they had them. but next time we’ll order something else! it didn’t matter at all, and i’ll certainly never forget those tea cakes.
also, why didn’t we get a photo of the four of us together? maybe kevin did? someday he’ll keep posting his photos, i know.
we finally bid anne and charles farewell and drove back to the abbey, which was going to close in 25 minutes. uh oh.
i have no memory of taking this picture of the spot where brass was first made.
the good thing about the fact that the abbey was going to close in 25 minutes is that the place was utterly deserted. there were just a few people walking around when we arrived, but then they left. because there was so much parking, i’m sure it must be jam-packed with tour buses all the time.
even though we were only to linger such a short time, it was serene and majestic and i hope to go back there someday.
of course i couldn’t stop taking photos.
it was also neat that it was cloudy, which made it feel more mystical. it’d be good to see it on a sunny day, too. we must go back.
Anne told us that it’s lovely at night, because it’s all lit up. i’d like to stay close by and be able to walk over and see it at night, and in the morning before the crowds showed up. there were at least a few hotels nearby, so it’s totally do-able. plus we’d be really close to Veddw. Ideal. i’m going to start looking on trip advisor right now.
not really. we have other places to go before returning. but it’d be ideal to stay next to the abbey, and then walk all around.
this is what i just found out about a short walk nearby:
This is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. William Wordsworth first visited Tintern in 1793 and returned five years later, when he wrote the (rather literally entitled) poem “Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey”, saying that “no poem of mine was composed under circumstances more pleasant for me to remember than this”.
when we got back to the car i had to take a picture of kevin next to his stellar parking job. clearly, he was more fatigued that he was letting on.
and then back to Parsons Grove, as it started to rain yet again.
aaaah! but we didn’t want to go to bed yet because it wasn’t even eight o’clock.
we walked around outside to look at the beautiful sunset. next time we go to parsons grove, we’ll have to book far ahead so we can get a cabin with this view, so we won’t even have to leave our room to see it.
lazy.
this was our very last night in lovely wales. tomorrow i’ll post the shortest video of the whole trip.
ok then,
mrs. travelling hughes.