With the sun still shining we drove (or Bob did) to Worcester where we toured the cathedral. While this was 'another Cathedral', it again underlined the central role of the church throughout the centuries in the lives of the English people. Still very much an active church, we were hosted by a delightful volunteer guide Andrew who was at least 80 years of age but who was very entertaining and knowledgeable. The cathedral is lovely and boasts the tomb of King John of Magna Carta fame.

We then visited the quaint little town of Much Wenlock, a market town in centuries gone by and which claims to be the real birthplace of the Modern Olympics. Apparently a noteworthy towns person raised the idea of competitive sporting events to improve the health and well being of citizens in the mid 1800s, well before the modern Olympics.

We then travelled through the town of Ironbridge where the first iron bridge using curved iron and iron dovetail joints (dovetail joints previously done in wood) was built and this was generally regarded as a major step forward in the Industrial Revolution.

We then made our way to the city of Chester which is a city with a very visible Roman history. The historic town centre is enclosed with city walls which can be walked along and there are Roman remains dating back to 70AD; yes, that's 70AD.

During our 2 days based here we travelled west to Wales to the western most part of our whole trip through Snowdonia National Park to the castle city of Conwy. On the way we briefly stopped in the Welsh town of....(see the photo) which has the longest name in the world. The town's name was changed by an enterprising town doctor in the 1980s who wanted to rejuvenate a dying town. It worked; the town is thriving!

Conwy is utterly dominated by the Unesco-designated Conwy Castle built as a fortress by King Edward 1 around 1280-1300. The castle overlooks the surrounding estuary and Snowdonia and you can walk partway around the battlements.

Unfortunately on the return trip there was gridlock on the main A road going back to Chester so Kim and Bill with the map together with the satnav, helped the driver navigate a way 'around the block'. This was done via some very back, back roads!

Back in Chester we managed to also get a haircut (Kim) and buy a watch (Bill).