Blackpool and back to London

Week 14 May to 20 May
Blackpool proved to be a rest break in what had been something of an intense time of travelling and activity. Some emails were responded to, and overdue communication with family and friends.

On the Blackpool boardwalk

We did, however, take the opportunity to go and visit the beautiful Lake District of Cumbria.

We had heard that it was wet up here

A little ray of sunshine!

We spent some time around the Windermere area of Beatrix Potter fame.

Outside Windermere Hotel

Beatrix Potter Museum

It was not only the lakes that were picturesque, we had some wonderful sights of the countryside.

We then journeyed further north into the barren highlands of Shap, to a place called Shap Abbey.

Shap Abbey remains

The extensiveness of the original building

This was an area of ruins on farmland where tour buses cannot get to because the roads are so narrow and windy, so has not been commercialised. In fact we were the only ones there over the time of our visit. This monastery had been originally built around 1200 AD, but was later decommissioned by Henry VIII following his clampdown on all monastery activity around 1540 AD. As a result some of the abbey was dismantled, with materials being re-used in other buildings. 

The crack in the wall

Rod beside the entrance to get the size into perspective

The latter part of the week saw us returning to the north of London to attend another conference which was put on by Catch the Fire London, with speaker Isabel Allum. We had ministry from Isabel when in Toronto where she took us in a prophetic school. This time her focus was on intimacy with God. She shared amazing testimonies of her relationship with Him, and was a great inspiration.
On leaving our hotel in Maidenhead, we journeyed the 200 plus miles to Devon to stay with some of Karen’s relatives, Paul and Caroline. We had met them a couple of weeks before. They live in a place called Westward Ho!, the only place in the UK which ends with an exclamation mark!

Devon and Colchester

Week 07 May to 13 May
Whilst down in Devon, we took the opportunity to meet up with two of Rod’s relatives, Ian and Ruth Whatmough who live in a place called Bolberry. The journey to their place took us down lovely country roads (some of them only wide enough for one vehicle), and with wild flowers growing on the banks.

It was so picturesque, and our Sat-Nav proved invaluable again taking us right to a stone building with thatched roof – Mill Cottage – that looked like something out of an old English painting.

The approach to Mill Cottage

This is the road going around the corner of the house

Parts of the house which Ian and Ruth live in is several centuries old. Some of the exterior stone walls are very thick. It is thought that this house was once a storehouse for a mill that was next door. A little stream meandered beside the house and further along a water wheel still operated. Their grassed area was very colourful with wildflowers growing in it including primroses and several different coloured bluebells.

On one wall mauve blossoms of a wisteria vine draped around the windows. Added to this lovely setting was the wonderful hospitality that they extended to us, making us so welcome.

The Wisteria wall

The following day, they took us to Hope Cove, a holiday area. We spent several hours exploring the area, including a walk along the beach.

With Ruth and Ian at Hope Cove

Overlooking Hope Cove

Over the next 2 days we travelled up to Colchester, to the North East of London, where one of Karen’s grandmothers had come from. We were hoping to see some of the lovely countryside in southern England as we travelled but heavy mist and rain prevented us seeing any of it!

Wonderful scenery

On Saturday we met with up Sharon in Colchester, who in times past had researched some of the family history and had been of tremendous help in locating some of the family members. She has a passion to help people find their missing relatives. She was such a blessing to us and freely gave up her time to escort us around the parts of Colchester where family had grown up.

East Street where some relatives lived

With Sharon outside Colchester Castle

Church Street where Karen's grandmother lived

We continued further north, passing through Thurleigh, where some of the ancestors of Karen’s father had come from.

We have noticed yellow fields all over the place. We are told that they are crops of rape, the seed being grown for oil for industry. Some people are concerned that more and more area is going into this crop. The other thing that we have noted is that we see quite a bit growing as weeds along the grass verges.

Windmills and rape crops!!!

We then travelled onto Birmingham where we spent the night because we wanted to attend a church service the following day in Dudley which is on the outskirts of Birmingham. This church proved to be another of those ones that we have come across where there is such a loving and gracious atmosphere, and people are passionate for Jesus.

At the ARC

We then headed on up to Blackpool, where we were to spend the next four nights. Part of our desire in doing so was to have another drink from  “The Well” a Baptist church we had attended previously for a conference. We joined in with their wonderful evening service, and it was exciting to see a good proportion of young people there too.

Wales and Bath

Week Monday 30 April to 06 May
This week was spent largely staying with friends and relatives. Each made us very welcome and provided us with wonderful hospitality.
On Monday we set out from Blackpool for Manchester to stay with Andy and Sally Bell (Daniel and Abigail), another couple who had been on our course up in Toronto. We told them that were wanting to go to Ffald-y-Brenin, a Christian Retreat Centre in Wales, and they lent us Roy Godwin’s book “The Grace Outpouring” – the story of Fflad-y-Brenin. Upon checking the Retreat’s website for its location, we discovered that they were having their monthly prayer meeting the very next day, so we decided to attend it. We would need to get there by 10.00 am – about a 4 hour journey. So we set out in the daylight at 6.00 am the following morning.

It is amazing the length of sunlight hours that we are experiencing even though it is still spring. The sun rises soon after 5.00 am, and is not setting until well after 9.00 pm. The journey took us through the north of Wales and down the coast to Fishguard. What a delightful and quaint place  this part of Wales is. We drove down windy roads, passing from one small village to another, decorated with stone houses and slate roofs, fields outlined neatly with stone walls. If it wasn’t for the modern cars and farm machinery, the scenes could well have been from an earlier era. This region seemed to be sparsely populated, mainly farming.

Welsh Village

Coastal Scene and GORSE!

We discovered on this journey just how invaluable our little GPS (or Sat Nav as they call them here) is. By just putting into it the postcode of Ffald-y-Brenin, we received direction along an absolute maze of narrow two way tar-sealed roads (which were for the most part only wide enough for one car). What a privilege it was to see countryside that we suspect the majority of tourists would never see.

Two way road?

We arrived at the prayer meeting after it had just started and spent the day there. In the afternoon we had a guided tour around the facilities at Ffald-y-Brenin. There was a tremendous sense of the presence of God there, especially at the cross on the hill. The attention to detail spoke of the labour of love which was devoted to bless and refresh those who came.

Entrance way

In the Prayer Room

Inside the Chapel

The Headland with the Cross

The following day took us through the south of Wales, and a visit to the Moriah Chapel where the 1904 Welsh Revival essentially started and spread from.

Moriah Chapel

Evan Robert's Sepulchre

It was in south Wales that we came upon the industrial area, and no doubt the majority of the Welsh population. Our destination for the day was Bath with Tim and Judith Clarke who were another couple that we met in Toronto.

Judith and Tim

Tim and Judith took us around some of the sights of Bath including a walk along part of the canal system that had been set up several centuries ago to aid transport.

Houseboats on the Canal

Canal running in a viaduct over the Avon River

They also took us to Bradford-on-Avon, where we saw some historic buildings.

Old Cafe in Bradford-on-Avon. Note how plumb the walls are!

A tithe barn (1379) - farmers tithed their grain to Lord of the Manor

View of Bath from Victoria Park

View over farmland from our bedroom window

We spent the next morning in Bath, exploring the Cathedral and some of the other sites in the inner city before heading off to stay with Neil and Pat Fursman, Karen’s relatives in Radstock.  

Inside Bath Cathedral

Neil and Pat in Cheddar Gorge

We had a great time catching up on who’s who, sharing photos and talking about some of our ancestors.
They also took us on some sight-seeing, the Cheddar Gorge and the Wells Cathedral.

Moat around the Bishop's Palace in Wells

Wells Cathedral

There we saw what is claimed to be the oldest residential street in world.