Abergavenny: the gateway to South Wales

Based in the rolling green hills of monmouthshire and perched inbetween three beautiful mountains. Abergavenny really is a great place to get away from it all.

Whether its to go hiking, explore the castle ruins, wander around quaint shops or enjoy the food festival that occasionally rolls into town Abergavenny really does have a lot to offer its visiting tourists.

I had had the week off work and so rather then sit around the house I decided to get out and do some hiking. On a whim I took the train to Abergavenny, as it pulled into the station I didn't regret the decision as I was immediately welcomed by beautiful sweeping vistas.

I set my sights on one of the nearby mountains and after procuring some supplies I set off. The path led me over a rushing river, by a beautiful local church and up onto an enchanting canal that was home to some lovely houses and a couple of sleepy looking boats.

After taking some time to wander along the canal I doubled back and followed the trail back up mountain and into some woods straight out of a fairy tale. I've never happier then when I'm in woodland so I relished the chance to be out in nature like this. After stopping to eat some lunch I finally broke the tree line and was rewarded with a great view across to the surrounding far off mountains.

When I was on my way in I didn't realise how close Abergavenny was to where my step father had been laid to rest at the foot of the Skrid mountain and it was a slightly emotional moment for me. Still it was nice to sit and take in the view and think of old times.

Afterwards I took the trail back down into town and over the meadows to Abergavenny castle. Unfortunately it was closed by the time I arrived but its ruined glory was more then enough to enjoy and take photos of. I finished my trip by heading into the town centre itself and nursed a coffee in one of the many shops that lined the centre. The friendly local banter left a smile on my face and as I left for the train I was happy that I had come and explored this beautiful place.

This blog post is in memory of my stepdad Berwyn Rogers, rest in peace Ber.

London: Buckingham palace, Westminister and The British Museum

I recently decided that it was time for a well deserved break away from Cardiff and so after a little research I settled on a trip away travelling to Brussels and Amsterdam.

After a discussion with my friend we decided that going by Megabus would be the way forward. After all it was both cheap and reliable and afforded us the opportunity to spend the day in London before travelling onwards.

After arriving in the early afternoon we decided to first take in two of the major sight seeing sights in London; Westminster and Buckingham Palace. Because we were travelling in January the grounds around the palace were quite quiet and we were able to wander around the fenced off palace and the statues surrounding it in relative peace and quiet.

Afterwards we took a stroll through a lovely nearby park to Westminster, where we wandered around the government building and took pictures of Big Ben. Afterwards we went to London's comic book museum and had lunch before heading off to The British Museum.

This Museum really is one of the highlights in London, stuffed as it is with statues, curios and religious artifacts and housed in a magnificently impressive building. We started in a section filled with golden clocks, delicate astrological equipment and impressive statues. Afterwards we wandered through the distinctly painful looking acient America's section (with delightful statues threading rope through their tongues) before taking a turn through Classical Greece, Stone Age man, Babylon and Ancient Egypt.

We left the museum thoroughly impressed with what we had seen. Afterwards we had food at a particularly delicious and most importantly cheap Mexican take out place.

When we had eaten our full we wandered back through the city ready to take the bus through to Brussels and the start of our European adventure.