We have had a 3 day weekend in Wales going to Cardiff by train and staying in a hotel in the centre of town - excellent for pubs, dinner etc but not so good at 4.00am when the locals where spilling out of the nearby pubs!! We hired a car and drove west via Swansea (no surf carnivals there!!), Mumbles (yes that's its name and it has a Rugby Club!), St Davids (possibly named after David Porter as he's just about that age!!) and stayed at Fishguard on the coast. On our drive back we drove into a beautiful river valley (Cwn Gwaun) which looked like it hadn't changed in centuries. We also visited a World Heritage site of industrial landscape - mullock heaps, abandonned mining equipment, railways and ironworks - all closed down now. We stayed at an old pub in Usk which was really cosy. Usk is a lovely market town with the ruins of a castle dating back to 1100's, privately owned and open to the public for free, guarded by 2 geese, chickens, a sheep, a dog and 2 cats. A great place and good views back across town.

I forgot to mention the interesting garden "Aberglasney" that we visited (thanks Tim!) which had been a ruin, the house almost beyond repair and the garden completely overgrown. The front of the house has been restored with its 4 grand pillars and inside at the rear there is a hothouse tropical garden which is wonderful. Outside is a yew tunnel, a cloistered garden (very rare), other formal gardens as well as woodland walks - and the first snowdrops - lovely, if a bit bare !

Back to London for a fairly quiet Australia Day - dinner at a super little pub on the Thames, "The London Apprentice" with Janet and her friend June.