Sept 18 To Canada via Iceland (Day 357)
We had an afternoon flight out of Heathrow so we had plenty of time to turn in our rental car and catch the bus to the airport. We said goodbye to the UK as we boarded our flight to Iceland.
The Royal Guard bid us farewell too!
A comfortable flight to Iceland where we had a few hours layover.
Leaving the shores of Iceland to fly over Greenland to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada!
We watched the sunset somewhere over the North Atlantic.
We approached Halifax well after dark!
And our luggage was apparently the last to be unloaded from the plane. Poor little lonely bags!
Sept 17 Back to London (Day 356)
Our 4 hour drive from our B&B near the town of Llanybydder to the outskirts of London near Heathrow Airport was uneventful, being traversed mainly on highways. We arrived at our last B&B in the UK, a cabin in the back garden of a townhouse.
We stayed down this street. It was still early enough to take a walk on this bridge over the 4 lane road to the closest grocery store.
We then walked through this small cemetery to the store and back.
Near the bridge we stopped at a small food truck serving up Pakistani street food. We waited while the chef cooked up fragrant curries and other dishes for customers until we got our order to take home and enjoy in our cabin.
Tomorrow we start the last leg of our journey around the world!
Sept 16 Llansteffan Castle (Day 355)
We visited the ruins of Llansteffan Castle, about 30 miles from our B&B on the banks of the river Towy (the native Welsh name is Tywi, and I don’t know how to pronounce either name!) where it empties into Carmarthen Bay. It was a beautiful sunny day.
The entrance gate opens onto a huge green field that must have held many soldiers from 600 BC until the 1550’s when the castle defended the important road to the interior of Wales. After 1550 its importance waned and it was used for farm buildings!
Details on the gate, lots of lions!
Inside the castle walls, looking back at the gate and the river below with farm fields across the river.
We returned to our B&B to enjoy a beautiful sunset on our little balcony on our last night in Wales!
Sept 15 Aberglasney Gardens (Day 354)
We took advantage of our hosts offer of their membership card to Aberglasney Gardens and spent the day wandering the 10 acres of grounds and buildings of this stunning botanical treasure!
The 500 year old estate had passed through many families hands before being rescued from oblivion in 1995 by the Aberglasney Restoration Trust.
There are 20 different garden designs, from formal to kitchen gardens, orchards and woodlands.
Creeks flow around the estate and fill this rectangular pond and other water features.
The estate mansion is only partially restored and used for functions and holds an extensive botanical library.
The main hall is elegant, but the ruins of the rest of the mansion have been capped with a greenhouse roof and now holds a tropical garden, including producing banana trees!
The grounds are full of blooming flowers and colorful birds.
Sept 14 A Non-Rainy Walk (Day 353)
Today we returned to the nearby woods to attempt the walk that was cut short by rainy weather 4 days ago. We had delightful weather today and walked a loop through the woods and out onto a hillside with a wonderful view of the surrounding Welsh countryside!
