The purpose of this post is to give you a wrap-up of our West Midlands adventures. I have to apologize for my absence over the past week and a half. On the second to last day of our vacation, I suffered a fall in Dublin. My glasses broke and cut my forehead, and I fractured the radial head of my left arm. Fortunately, I did not have to seek care overseas. I just need to keep it in a sling for a few weeks. It hurts like crazy though, especially with certain movements, so typing is not real comfortable. I’m going to try to post an installment each day until I get caught up on our whole trip.
Further Travels in the West Midlands
This post will cover the rest of our stay in the West Midlands with my family. I previously posted on our visit to Ludlow Castle. On that same day, we visited Croft Castle. Unlike Ludlow, which is in ruins, Croft is still occupied! The first floor and part of the second were open to the public, as well as the little church and the gardens. I greatly enjoyed its beauty and history!
Dinner at the Salway Arms
After the castle we had dinner at a lovely place called the Salway Arms. Seth had roast pork with real life Yorkshire Pudding! The top picture shows his dish with the Yorkshire Pudding on the upper left. I had pan-seared cod with a lovely white wine sauce. Most important was the wonderful company of Linda and David!
The Black Country Living History Museum
On our last full day with Linda and David we enjoyed the Black Country Living History Museum. It is a lovely area that is like a little period village from the past. They have moved buildings there brick by brick! There have been many things filmed there, the most famous being Peaky Blinders. We also got to watch them make nails and links of chains by hand! The women of the area made nails in sheds behind their homes while many of the men (including some of our ancestors) forged chains. It was so incredibly interesting and educational!
Canal Boat Tour
We also enjoyed an incredible canal boat tour which is part of the Living History Museum. It meandered through tunnels that used to be part of a limestone mine. It was fascinating!
Afterward we enjoyed the most delicious fish and chips I have ever tasted! Even better than those we had in London! The little shop did it all the old-fashioned way!
West Midlands Wrap-Up
That evening we watched the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle–Linda had recorded it for us to watch. I really enjoyed it, and couldn’t help wondering what those royals thought about that sermon! We also did FaceTime with a couple of our cousins from Yorkshire. I look forward to getting to meet them during my next trip!
One of my favorite pictures is this one of Seth with Ben, Linda and David’s black lab. They got on fabulously!
So that wraps up the Midlands leg of our European trip. Tomorrow I plan to move on to London and Dublin! Arm permitting, I intend to write daily until the full trip is documented!