Wales - August 23 - Symonds Yat and Cardiff Castle

An early morning drive took us to Symonds Yat, which wasn't quite what we expected. It was described online as essentially an area for a scenic walk. When we arrive, we found more of a family campground area. After we - eventually - figured out the parking situation, we found the campground manager, and he pointed us toward a hiking path along the Wye river, which did, in fact, turn into a lovely scenic walk. Basically enough to work up a good appetite for Welshcakes upon our return to Cardiff. One of the items on Nancy's To Do list was to experience a traditional British Sunday Roast, so we took that opportunity after our scenic walk at a restaurant on the way back to Cardiff called Ty'r Winch. It was...only okay. I mean...we are talking traditional British Food here, so you can't have very grandiose expectations. Upon our return to Cardiff, I bought a dozen Welshcakes, and then we ventured to Cardiff Castle, which was actually a much cooler experience that expected. For starters, it's a very well-maintained castle that is now owned by the citizens/city of Cardiff. But, it was built several hundred years ago and then upgraded by the Bute family - specifically the Marquesses of Bute - which was an extremely wealthy family that made its money from the coal industry. When Wales decided to nationalize the coal industry, the But family turned the castle over to the city...for tax reasons. Our tickets included a small group guided tour, and both the private rooms and the the history were...fascinating.