UK Wicks

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Mum's Day & Tintern Abbey

Mother's Day was a few weekends ago in England and we celebrated by driving to Celtic Manor Resort, Wales. The Celtic Manor Resort is a golf hotel and leisure resort with two adjoining hotels, a country inn, two golf and country clubs, and a conference centre. We had lunch off the Twenty Ten Golf Course in a beautiful country club, specifically designed to host The Ryder Cup in 2010. Andy played golf on this course last year and wanted the kids and I to see it too. On the way home we stopped at Tintern Abbey. It was founded 1131 by Lord Chepstow and buildings were added and update every century until 1536. The great church was built between 1269 and 1301 and stands today much as it did then, apart from it's lack of a roof and window glass. Tintern is one of the finest and most complete abbey churches in Wales.
I thought this was an interesting piece of history: "During the reign of King Henry VIII, his Dissolution of the Monasteries ended monastic life in England and Wales. On 3 September 1536 Abbot Wyche surrendered Tintern Abbey and all its estates to the King's visitors and ended a way of life which had lasted 400 years. Valuables from the Abbey were sent to the royal Treasury and Abbot Wyche was pensioned off. The building was granted to the then lord of Chepstow, Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester. Lead from the roof was sold and the decay of the buildings began."

having lunch by the fire

Cole having a go at pool

Tintern Abbey, Wales

Plaque says: Near the place in 1568 Brass was first made by alloying copper with zinc.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Fun in the snow

In January we got a few snow storms so the kids had fun playing in the snow. We also took a trip to Slimbridge wetland center and saw birds from around the world.

feeding the birds at Slimbridge

birds galore!

Cole getting too close to this one.

why the long face?

karaoke party at friend's house

party at friend's house (Spence, Fitz & Andy)

sleepy at the grocery store (first time he has ever done this and it was the most peaceful shopping trip ever!)

we take many trips to see the bunnies at the pet store

Cole taking a break at the mall. He refused to sit with us; so funny.

fun girls night out in Bristol!

Blue Stone Wales Trip

OMG, it's been several months since my last blog. So lets catch up! Before Christmas we took a family trip to Blue Stone, Wales. It's a National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire. We stayed in a very nice cottage and drove around in our golf cart to the village which features shops, restaurants, a pub, wine store and a superb spa. There's also an Adventure Centre with indoor play areas and the Blue Lagoon water park. The kids loved it here and it would have been better if the weather wasn't so wet. We attended the storytime with Santa, a craft session where Cole was covered in glitter, and the Kingdom of the Elves featuring Cinderella.
After our stay in Blue Stone, we drove to Tenby Wales before heading home. It's a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire.