Entry gate

Cheveaux-de-Frise - stones containing iron to slow down attackers

Straw effigy

Round house

A primitive lathe

Wall construction

Inside the workhouse

Interior of chief's house - Died wool and weaving with stones used as yarn stretchers

Celtic cross

Looking back at Castell Henllys from the bus

        Our next stop was at the church of St. Brynach in Nevern.  The churchyard has 700 year old yew trees and the standing Nevern Great Cross, which was carved about 1000 AD. 
        Another standing stone (6th c.) is a memorial to Vertimer, another player in a long Welsh tale.  The stone has both Latin and Ogham inscriptions and dates to the 5th c.  The bridge over the adjacent stream is made of a local bluestone lintel like the stones transported to Stonehenge. 
        Inside the church is the 5th or early 6th c. Maglocunus Stone - it is bilingual in Latin and Ogham - and a 10th c. braided cross.

Stream with single slab bridge of blue stone

Blue stone bridge

Vitalianus Stone with Ogham markings

Nevern Cross - A 10th century Celtic cross
Oldest standing Celtic cross in Wales

Example of Ogham writing on the Maglocunus Stone

Braided cross - early 10th century

Fishergate Bay at low tide

            Our next stop was in St. David to see the cathedral built where St. David, the patron saint of the Welsh, had a monastic cell.  It is a huge early 12th c. building added to over the centuries.  The flying buttresses supporting the outer walls are inside the building.  Unfortunately, the BBC radio was recording the Evensong service inside the cathedral so we could not see any of the significant things inside - the sarcophagus with St. David's relics, and alabaster tomb of the only woman buried there, and the beautiful architecture.  Instead we wandered into the ruins of the 14th c. bishop's palace and around the outside of the huge cathedral.
  

St. David's Cathedral

Bishop's Palace

        After dinner we were entertained by Llinos Daniel, a very talented harpist, singer and actress.  She played a concert harp and showed me how it all works.  She sang and played several Welsh folk songs including the Tale of Gelert, the faithful dog wrongly accused.  She read some lines from Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood.”  It was a wonderful evening of Welsh music.

Old kilns

Thurs., 5/30/13 - Carmarthen to London
            We drove out of the agricultural area and into the industrial southeast near Swansea and Cardiff.  Both have steel mills and lie near the 16 mile wide coal belt.  Cardiff is the Capital of Wales and the home of Welsh rugby.  The millennium stadium holds 75,000 spectators.  The explorer Scott left from Cardiff on his fateful journey to Antarctica.
            Passing through Newport City, we got a glimpse of a modern cantilever cable-stayed pedestrian bridge – the Newport City footbridge and some of the other sculptures in the city.

Steel mills at Swansea

Newport Wave steel sculpture by Peter Fink

Newport City footbridge over the River Usk

Newport City footbridge

            We drove north from Newport to Caerleon and the Roman Fortress Museum there.  The amphitheater was built into the ground and we could imagine what the stone foundation and timber upper seats would have looked like.  We walked down to the legion barracks.  It was also just stones marking where the walls were and grass filled it all.  The cook rooms, ovens, and latrine were framed out.  Next we browsed through the museum.  Many remnants of Roman pots, glass, utensils, coins, etc. were found here and are on display.  Last we walked to the covered structure where the Roman baths and palestra were excavated.

Roman amphitheater at Caerleon

Roman amphitheater at Caerleon

Roman amphitheater at Caerleon

Roman wall at Caerleon

Horse chestnut in bloom

Roman amphitheater at Caerleon

Rugby goal

Barracks area - ovens

Barracks area - latrines

Barracks area

Wrought iron and the Welsh dragon

Roman baths

Roman baths

            Sadly, we left Wales by crossing the three-mile long Second Severn Crossing Bridge into England.  It is a wonderful cable-stayed bridge designed with the cables meant to resemble ship sails.  We have traveled 851 miles from North Wales to South Wales and loved the country and the people and the music.

Second Severn Crossing Bridge - from the bus

Second Severn Crossing Bridge (internet photo)

Old Severn Bridge (internet photo)