Chesterfield 02-05.11.12

02.11:

I took the train from Holyhead to Chesterfield, well, trains. The scenery from the trains were amazing. I didn't realize how many ruins there were on top of hilltops, especially while we were still in Wales... I wonder what they were used for? Maybe like the Great Wall of China they used them to alert each other of danger? On the last train, from Stockport to Chesterfield the train was PACKED! Standing room only. I was standing to a nice girl who had also been to Australia though so we passed the time chatting together about what we'd seen and where we'd been. It's really cumbersome to have a giant suitcase when you travel by train by the way, it's just in the way most of the time.

After I dropped my things at the hotel I went to the pub I used to work in, Yates's and said hi to some of my old co-workers.

I met up with my friend Nicky at the Abacus for dinner. It was lovely to see Nicky again, it was like I had never even left, we just picked up right where we had left off. We talked about her plans to move to Turkey; just like I feel more at home in the UK than Norway she feels more at home in Turkey than in the UK. At least she feels at home in a warm sunny country, unlike me who wants to go to a country that's just a couple of degrees warmer than Norway. I hope she gets to move to Turkey asap without having to work herself to death. At least I've got an excuse to go on nice sunny holidays when she moves there, and she'll be able to show me all the non-touristy things!

It was good that seeing Nicky again was great because the food was terrible! Seriously, neither of us finished even though we didn't have much on our plates. We left the Abacus and went back to Yates's where we shared a bowl of chips and cheese while having a few drinks with my old co-workers.

03.11:

It's kind of nice to  be in a place that I used to live: I've seen everything and I can actually relax instead of run around and see as much as possible. Hence the lack of pictures. I had a relaxing morning before Nicky and I went to Meadowhall (aka Meadowhell) today for some shopping and dinner before I met some friends for drinks back in Chesterfield.

04.11:

A nice relaxing day again before heading to Nicky's for some Chinese take-away. Followed by drinks with some of the people that couldn't come out last night. I think my liver will be happy when I leave... But it's nice to feel like I actually have a life again!

05.11:

I had a great dinner with the family I used to au pair for here tonight. It was great seeing the girls again, they've grown so much!  Although the girls have grown, it still feels like I never even left! Their new au pair seems really nice, she's also studying child psychology, so I guess the job is helping her with her studies as well.

November 5th is Bonfire night in the UK so we heard fireworks being sent up everywhere we set off a Chinese lantern. I've never done it before, it looks really beautiful, they even gave me one to take home, maybe I'll sett it off on New Years Eve if it's not too windy.

I had a great time catching up with friends in Chesterfield. I wish I was still living there, I actually manage to have a life there, I have friends to go out with, to talk to. I need to get back to the UK!

Witchingham B&B

My one night in Holyhead I stayed at Witchingham B&B.

The B&B was close to everything, although Holyhead is so small it would be hard not to be.

I was positively surprised when I stepped into the room, which was even on the ground floor so I didn't have to carry my suitcase. The room was beautiful, just the kind of room I want to stay in when I'm travelling, actually just the kind of room I would love to have at home!

The en suite bathroom was really small though, and the door got stuck so I couldn't open it properly, good thing I'm not big. The shower pressure was really low so it took a while to rinse my hair properly, but at least the water was hot.

The bed was really comfortable, there was 2 beds, but I guess that's better for them than having a room only one person can sleep in at all times.

The TV was very small for the room, and tucked away behind the wardrobe, but I wasn't there to watch TV anyway. There was free WiFi which was nice.

the breakfast was self service, they had cereals and toast and there was a small fridge in the breakfast room where they had juice and milk and some yoghurts.

I didn't see the people running the B&B at all. They were out when I arrived and I didn't see anyone when I left either so I left the key in an envelope on the hall table.

Holyhead 01.11.12

The Dublin taxi driver that took me to Dublin Port was a proper Dublin taxi driver. The th's became d's and I only understood about half of what he was saying. But he seemed nice.

Now... The "ferry".... Ireland, UK, the ferry going between you is NOT a ferry, it's a ship! It's the size of a small cruise ship! It was nice though. Nice comfy seats, areas for kids to play, even a cinema! It's a nice ship, I'll give you that.

Last look at Dublin

First look at Holyhead

When I got to Holyhead I wandered around for a bit, it's a very small place so I'm glad I'm only spending a day here, not really much to see.

At around 2pm I went and bought some postcards as I always send postcards to some people when I go somewhere. At the store I asked if it was possible to walk to South Stack lighthouse and how long it would take. The guy in the store said it was easy to walk there and that it would take about an hour one way. He said I shouldn't go there alone since it's autumn and it get dark early and he didn't want me to walk along the country roads alone.

I wasn't going to, I went back to the B&B and was about to sit down and write the postcards, when I realized that it was only 2.15 pm! Even though it gets dark early I would be able to be back by around 4 if it only takes an hour to get there, and I'm  a fast walker. So I set out towards South Stack. I also figured that if  I noticed that it took me to long to get there to be able to get back before it got dark then I could just get someone to call a taxi for me, I knew there was a small village not far from the lighthouse.

It was a really nice walk, I think Holyhead is a good place to stay if you want a nice relaxing holiday just walking around the Welsh countryside. I am glad it wasn't dark yet though as there were no street lights, there weren't many cars passing either, but it would be very easy to get run over in the dark since there wasn't a side walk.

I walked quite fast and I managed to get to the lighthouse in an hour like the guy had said, it would have been nice if I had walked to the lighthouse earlier when I got to Holyhead as it would have been good to walk a bit slower and kind of explore a little, but it was good enough for me.

I had walked so fast though that I was exhausted and tempted to go to the visitor centre at South Stack and get the number for a taxi company to drive me back. But I ended up walking back as well as I knew I could make it before it got dark.

Close to the lighthouse there are the remains of some old mountain huts, so I had to take a picture of that as well.

I got back about ten past 4, so I had managed to walk there and back in just under two hours, including stopping to take a few pictures. So if you ever find yourself in Holyhead one day, you now know that you can see the lighthouse and everything else there is to see in Holyhead (that I know of) in just one day. 

I've booked a holiday!!

I was just going to take one week off, but one week turned into two as there is so much I want to do! My holiday isn't until the end of next month, but with all the hours I worked last week I should have plenty of spending money!

My holiday starts in Dublin, I've never been before and I want to meet up with a girl I met at Uluru. The things on my list of things I would like to see while I'm in Dublin so far includes the Guinness Store House (I don't like Guinnes but it's Dublin!), Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol and possibly Trinity College. Anyone got any other suggestions? I would love to see more of Ireland as well but hopefully I'll get a chance to do that another time.

After a few days in Dublin I'm taking the ferry to Holyhead and staying there for one night. I was going to jump straight on a coach or train to Chesterfield but since I've never been to Holyhead or any other part of Wales before I decided I wanted to at least have one day there so I could see at least a small part of it. I was tempted to get a coach tour or something to see more of Wales but I decided I wanted to have a bit more time than just one or two days if I was going to do that, hopefully another time. I am looking forward to the one night in Holyhead though, almost as much as Dublin, just because it's somewhere I've never been before.

After one night in Holyhead I'm getting the train to Chesterfield and staying there for a few days, I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends there again, I've not seen any of them for ages! Hopefully I'll be moving back to the UK sometime next year, then I will be able to see them more often.

The last few days of my holiday isn't planned yet. I was going to see a friend in Lutterworth (that I met in Brisbane), but she might be working and I don't want her to feel like she has to spend time with me in the evenings and then be too tired for work in the mornings, but she's on holiday at the moment so I'll see what she says when she gets back. If I don't go to Lutterworth I could of course stay a bit longer in Chesterfield, but I am tempted to go to some random place that I haven't been before just to see somewhere new, as long as I get to Gatwick in time for my flight home it's fine. I was thinking about going south so that I'm actually travelling towards Gatwick.

Looking at the map and trying to decide where I want to go I almost wish I had booked a ticket home from Edinburgh or Glasgow so that I could have travelled north instead of south, there are so many places I'd like to see in northern England and Scotland! This whole looking at maps to find out where I want to go is just not good, I want to go everywhere!!

Since Ireland and the UK is in general cheaper than Norway I was also thinking about finishing my Christmas shopping while on my holiday.