MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
England and Wales Trip
Day 3 - May 7 2019
Even though we didn’t sleep well, we got up and immediately got ready, checked out, and walked to the train station. Three train rides later, we were in Hereford. From the station, we walked 15 minutes with our luggage to Enterprise to pick up our rental car. When we were checking in, I mention that we are staying there in Herefordshire, but pronounced it as I read it, Here-Ford-Shire (Shire like in LOTR). Both attendants were clearly holding back laughter in effort to be polite. In the next sentence, the man assisting us says Herefordshire the correct way, Hair-Ford-Sure. Woops!
After Mike had driven the 7 person van all over Ireland, he was excited that we rented a small sedan, much more manageable on the tight roads. As we were being walked to our car, the gentleman says, “great news, we have an upgrade for you today” as he shows us our minivan!! Ok, it’s only a 5-seater but it was the first time we wanted to decline an upgrade! It was a tiny office and this seemed to be the only automatic, so we graciously accepted.
Starving, we started driving to the adorable tiny town of Ludlow about 30 minutes away. Mike took right to the multi-lane roundabouts again and the lanes were 50 percent wider than Ireland’s, so he was quite comfortable. Ludlow was such a cute (straining to not use the word “quaint”) small town with a local bakery, butcher, market, and inns. We enjoyed a really fantastic meal at The Church Inn. Seriously good chicken, ham hock, and mushroom raised pie and bangers and mash. Yummmm.
On our way back to the car, we walked by the Price’s Bakery and I get… A loaf, obviously! Wouldn’t be a vacation with me if we weren’t carrying around a loaf. Also, dessert. I got a Viennese whirl (learned about these on GBBO) and Mike got a biscuit with caramel and chocolate.
We planned a stop for the day in Chester and we were glad for it. By the time we got there, it was 5 in the evening and we were feeling the strain from traveling. We checked in to The Pied Bull, a brewery, restaurant, and inn. Before we allowed ourselves to even sit on the bed, we left to walk around town.
The city is surrounded by Roman walls that you can walk on. The town is really beautiful and has been kept up very well. A bit on the touristy side, but for the 17-hour stop, it’s perfect. We were able to visit the cathedral, walk the town center, and walk the old walls and finished before 8.
We also enjoyed a great, huge, meal at La Fattoria. Bolognese, tomato basil gnocchi, and mushroom risotto.
We slowly trudge back to the inn to get some good sleep before we are off to Snowdonia, Wales to meet our friends.