Lovely drive through North Wales to the Pontcysyllte Aqeduct. A magnificent structure built in the late 18th century to carry a canal across a very wide valley. 12 immense brick pylons hold the metal aqueduct which holds water to a depth of about 5 feet. Apparently there were about 5,000 miles of canals criss-crossing Britain and it was the quickest and easiest way to transport materials and manufactured goods across the country. Some companies such as Wedgewood built a canal from their factory to the port of Liverpool so their product could be shipped overseas. There is still about 2,000 miles of canals usable, mainly by pleasure craft - we saw several. Some ladies off one boat who were winding up a bridge so their boat could go under told us that they had had a lot of fun at the locks where you could change from one canal to another which was at a different height. We went across the aqueduct on a boat and walked back along the path which once upon a time would have been used by the horses pulling the boats. A World Heritage Site and well worth the visit - thanks to Jack whose book on every country in the world gave me the idea to visit.
The afternoon saw us in Chester and it was hot! - about 23C and we just had to have a milkshake. A city with a lot of vibe, very interesting Tudor buildings and walls and other ruins dating back to the Roman times. We thought there was going to be a storm so we carried coats, but we did not need them.
Traveling further North on the M26 we were amazed at the traffic - several times we were slowed to a crawl for several kilometres (miles) and it was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon! It was so busy we forgot to turn off for Liverpool - sorry Jack! We reached Haworth just in time for dinner in the restaurant below our room.The building is the Old Registry and we have the attic room -two flight of stairs up and a window in the sloping roof with the shower over a claw bath - it's great! A place with real character. The steeply sloping street is called Penny Lane and has many interesting buildings we will explore tomorrow.
Tuesday 5th September
A slow start, much slower after our full English Breakfast. A slow walk up Penny Lane looking at the shops took us to the Bronte Museum which is in the Parsonage where the Bronte family lived for almost 40 years, The Bronte Society runs the museum and we were just in time to join some members for a talk from the curator which was very interesting. The museum itself is very well set up and contains many interesting artifacts and stories, particularly about Charlotte - Wuthering Heights and Emily - Jane Eyre. This year they are particularly remembering the son Branwell who was also an author of some talent but battled with alcoholism and drug abuse and died young. Two younger sisters aged 10 and 11 had already died only months apart and Anne, another author, also died when she was very young. Their mother had died when she was only 38 - what a lot of tragedy their father Patrick had to cope with as he outlived them all.
Soup of the Day for lunch and then a real 'Bronte Walk' - Public paths across farmland in misty rain, past cows in stone walled paddocks, following tracks across the moors with heather on both sides and views to neat farms and four villages. Our walk back was down some rock lined walkways and across more farmland - Merilyn was in her element! They chicken pie she had for tea in the pub could have fed both of us but she still managed to fit in some of my g/f apple crumble and ice cream. A bit slower but another fulfilling day - off to the Lakes District tomorrow and apparently the forecast is good.
The small window on the top right is our bathroom.
I remember exploring lots of these places! Toph did his bit to remember the Bronte brother by going to the Haworth Pub where Branwell did a lot of his drinking while I went to the museum. Enjoy the lovely lakes!
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