Showing posts with label 8.4 小鎮大景. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8.4 小鎮大景. Show all posts

Llangollen tour, Wales UK 2/2











Llangollen 的另一個特色景點,是兩位愛爾蘭女士在十八世紀末的居所。其中一位來自名門Butler 家族,二人都喜歡文學藝術,互相欣賞,相約逃離家園,在威爾斯遊走一圈後在Llangollen 小鎮找到房子住下。

有花園河流,環境美好,開始種植蔬果,養殖豬羊雞等自給自足,是當年代半公開的同性伴侶,因為名門背景和文學修養,吸引不少文友畫友到訪,朋友圈子很大。

她們瘋狂的喜歡十七世紀初流行的Jacobean 橡木雕刻,因為太浮誇而逐漸被較簡約的設計取代。四處尋找、收購被放棄的舊傢俬、裝飾,朋友亦樂於捐贈。把喜歡的雕刻部份切割,重新安置在屋內各處,慢慢房屋四壁內外全部填滿木雕。

最動人處,是那Jacobean 時期的雕刻,人物動物都活潑、生動兼有趣,看時覺得似是南美土地著、印度教的作品,多於英國設計!

難得是兩位女士,勇於面對自己的選擇,在家人經濟支持下,共同生活三十多年,活出精彩人生。


Crucis Abbey



Another impressive site in Llangollen town is Plas Newydd, meaning New House, inhabited by 2 Irish ladies in the late 18c.

They love art and literature, and seriously fascinated by Jacobean oak carving popular in the early 17c, being very intricate, lively and flamboyant with a lot of human and animal motives.

The ladies collected them as discarded old furnitures and furnishings, cut the interesting parts out and upcycle as decoration on walls. Gradually they collected so many that the house is fully covered inside and out.

Very impressed that they dare to live the life they chose and left behind their good taste.

Nearby a short drive away is an Crucis Abbey built in the 12c. Most of the roofs are gone and walls collapsed, but the huge footprints, the sheer height and big arches can still be easily appreciated.








From the town it is easy to see the ruined fort at the top of the hill . A good steep path leads to the fort with a panoramic view of Llangollen and nearby countryside, well worth the effort.
It was a site of early habitation over 2000 years ago, with subsequent modifications.

It is a short trip mainly to meet friends in a convenient location, turns out that Llangollen has much more to offer than we have expected.

Llangollen tour, Wales UK 1/2





來到北威爾斯Llangollen小鎮和英國友人一年聚會一次,威爾斯山勢起伏河道多,風光秀麗。知道小鎮有名列UNESCO 的運河,可以沿河步行看風景,那時沒有細看有什麼特別之處。

運河建於十八世紀,有近二百五十年歷史,較歐洲的窄身,只能用瘦長的船行走,以前是用以運送煤、木材等,走了一會才見到有兩段運河建在高橋上,越過峽谷,當地的古老形容是有四個半雙層巴士的高度。看到運河船在半空中行走,真的有點古怪。

約五十年後,蒸氣火車出現,以運河作運輸開始息微,現在是遊人的玩樂地方。第二段架空運河,隔鄰就是架空火車,建得高一些,用以突顯優越。










Came over to Wales via car ferry to have once a year meet up with friends living in UK. Chosen to stay near Llangollen this year as it is not too far for both parties to drive to. On top, Wales countryside is pretty and there is are a few interesting sites and hiking there.

Llangollen town is very pretty with roaring river Dee right in the middle. The old part has a few well maintained 17c wood beam houses, some have beautiful door knockers.

The town is bordered by a canal that run to the sea. Built in the late 18c to transport wood, coal and lime down to the coast.

What makes this canal to be on the UNESCO list is that being a hilly area with valleys in between, there are 2 sections of the canal being built on top of aqueducts, to cross the valleys. It was an important engineering project in that era. They proved to be a sound design as they are still standing and in use, by tourists rather than for transport now.

Roughly 50 years after the construction of the canal, steam trains arrived and quickly proved to be more efficient than canal. One aqueduct has a viaduct next to it, for train, and intentionally built a few more metres higher up to show the domination of train travel.