GLENDALOUGH (May 19)

Glendalough is located in the Wicklow National Park (Where Braveheart was filmed) about an hours drive from Dublin. It is the location of an extremely old monastic village dating back hundreds of years PRE visits from the Vikings. It is also a place of amazing natural beauty. Say no more.

Entrance to the monastic village

                                   Now for the natural beauty

                                             Say no more.

      Model Village of Bourton- on- the- Water (May 17)

This model of the centre of the town is amazing. It is built to 1/9 scale, took craftsmen 5 years to complete and was officially opened on the coronation day of King George v1 in 1937.

The model village also comprises amazing bonsai and boasts a wide range of miniature evergreen and deciduous trees.

Within the complex is a separate  display of model miniature scenes of varying themes which are also of an extremely high standard. 

     Towns We Visited in the Cotswolds. (May 13-18)

Most of the towns and villages that are nestled within the Cotswolds all date back to Roman or pre Roman settlement.  Moreton-in-Marsh was settled over a thousand years ago and was a market town, like in the Robin Hood movies!! Markets are still held every Tuesday and the towns original market place is a thriving little cafe and retail area. The town hosts the largest agricultural show in the UK anually in September. The origin of most of these towns and villages can be traced to commercial activity centred around agricultural produce, mills and quarries and the like.

                               

                                                       Bibury

                                                    Burford

                   COTSWOLDS GARDENS (May 14&16)

(Cotswolds: sheep enclosure in rolling hills also linked in name to 'stone-cots' and 'wool-wold')

There are many and varied formal and informal gardens spread throughout the length and breadth of the Cotswolds in South Central England. It is a 'must do' to visit one or more of these great retreats even over a short 4 day visit such as ours. Here is a taste of a couple of gardens we have seen.

Our next gardens will be courtesy of the Emerald Isle