Mrs Hudson Says... May 2022

Every month, Mrs Hudson, along with her three children and Dinky the Irish Wolfhound investigate the best family and dog friendly heritage attractions that the UK has to offer.

Read on to see where the Hudsons have been this month!

After such a jam-packed Easter holiday, we thought we ought to try and take it easy in May, especially as we had plans to visit my parents in my hometown of Merthyr Tydfil over May half term and Jubilee weekend. Over the past few years of restricted travel, we did promise to spend more time over the border this year and to my shame, we’ve not managed it yet!  Plus, the kids always find it amazing that we’re visiting another country without having to get on a plane!
Now that they are starting to get a bit older, I am keen for them to learn more about their heritage and I could do with a bit of a refresher too – I left Wales at eighteen and then met Mr Hudson and have never stayed longer than two weeks since!

In the lead up to half term, I set the kids the task of doing some research of things to do once we get to South Wales. Bertie was particularly interested to learn about the country’s mining history and even more so when he heard that he could find out about it first hand from his grandfather, so visiting some kind of mine was a must. Florence was pretty keen to visit Cardiff and do a little shopping, it was her birthday at the beginning of the month and she had a bit of money burning a hole in her pocket. Edwin on the other hand was just keen to see how many cakes he could possibly eat during our stay – my mother is a brilliant cook and specialises in treats you don’t often find in England, like Bara Brith, something Edwin often requests when she sends packages over to us. Another good thing about visiting my parents is that we get to bring Dinky along with us. Though, as they have Dinky’s litter mate as their pet, it was certainly a tight squeeze!

We set out for Merthyr Tydfil the same afternoon that school finished for the holidays. Florence ended up with an inset day, so she helped get everything ready, so that we could leave as soon as the boys got home. It was late by the time we arrived, so there wasn’t much enthusiasm to do much other than to make a fuss of Dinky’s sister, Sybil, tuck into the feast my mother prepared and then settle in for the night. Edwin and Bertie had spent most of our journey learning a few Welsh phrases which they delighted their grandfather with on our arrival.

The next morning was a glorious sunny day, so we, along with Dinky, Sybil and my parents decided to go out and explore the town. It has been years since I’ve properly spent any time exploring in Merthyr and a lot has changed since I was 18! Because the weather was so nice, we made our way over to Cyfarthfa Park and Castle, which is one of the largest free attractions in Wales. The site was previously the town’s iron works and has some incredible views. The castle was once the home of the former iron master and these days features a museum and art gallery as well as 65 hectares which was heavenly in the sunshine! Dinky and Sybil had a lovely time, as dogs are allowed off lead in all areas about from the main buildings. It’s one of the best dog walks in South Wales and apparently one of Sybil’s favourites – we can certainly see why! After exhausting ourselves, we made our way home for some well-deserved rarebit and Welsh Cakes!

On the Monday, Florence and I headed into Cardiff leaving the boys and the dogs to explore more of the local area. My dad knows all the best places and had a full day planned with them, including taking them to the Cefn Viaduct and Pontsticill Reservoir.

We decided to leave the car behind and get the train into the capital – all the better to see more of the Welsh countryside! Though it is a small town, Merthyr is well connected and has lots of rail links, so it was easy to get from there to Cardiff. It was so easy in fact, that I decided to bring the boys along later in the week as I had no idea there were so many free attractions in the city. Florence was in her element walking around the St David’s Centre and the arcades, many of which date back to Victorian times. It was so nice for the two of us to be able to spend the day together browsing the shops and picking up a few little treats. I’d quite forgotten how much I enjoy Cardiff, it’s such a small city and so easy to navigate – as the weather was delightful, we made our way over to Cardiff Bay where Florence was amazed to learn that Roald Dahl, one of her favourite childhood authors, had lived there as a child. We, of course, had to take photos of the various Doctor Who memorabilia that can be found in Cardiff Bay and the impressive Millennium Centre. By the time we made it back to my parents, both boys, both dogs and grandpa were dozing – I clearly should bring them to Wales more often!

The following day, Bertie was insistent that we finally get to see some proof of mining. My dad retrieved some of the photos and bits and pieces he had left over from his time working in the mines which also got Edwin and Florence interested too. Leaving the dogs and grandparents behind, we piled into the car and made a half hour journey towards Pontypridd. Bertie’s research had found that there was a mining experience at Rhondda Heritage Park, so obviously we had to go and see how much truth there was to grandpa’s stories. This experience is based on a former colliery and has former miners working as tour guides, making it a truly immersive experience. As well as the tour, there are a host of exhibitions where we learned all about mining – we were all amazed to hear that coal that was mined here went on to power the Titanic! There is even an authentic Anderson Shelter to explore which Florence, having studied WWII, very much enjoyed being able to see. It was a truly fascinating experience and really put my father’s life as a miner into perspective. All three children spent the rest of the evening in discussion about mining and grandpa’s life from the age of 12 onwards. Even I had no idea of some of it!

After a few full on days, we all slept in late and once we had all gotten ready, we made our second journey into Cardiff. Our first port of call was on the outskirts of the city at St Fagans National Museum of History which is free to visit. St Fagan’s is one of the biggest open air museums in Europe and was certainly popular on the day we visited. It really allows you to step back into the past and learn more about how people lived and worked in Wales – there are exhibitions and programmes suitable for all ages and so many things to see that we could have quite happily spent all day there. Everywhere you look there are buildings from different eras in history and fun activities taking place. I think we’ll definitely be making another visit – especially for Eisteddfod – which takes place at the end of July. It’s a celebration of Welsh culture, I remember that I used to love attending the various workshops when I was a child and I’m sure that the kids will love it.

We finally managed to tear ourselves away and make our way back into Cardiff proper for some refreshments before heading off to the Museum of Cardiff. This is another free attraction and is full of fun artefacts, perfect for whiling away the hours before making our way back to Merthyr Tydfil.

As Merthyr Tydfil is so close to the Brecon Beacons and we had such lovely weather, we thought we’d take Dinky and Sybil for a big walk and a picnic. We might have overestimated our combined fitness levels as there was a lot of whinging going on! It truly is such a beautiful place to be, we really should spend more time enjoying the great outdoors – there’s some lovely places near where we live in Wiltshire too – we really must make more of an effort to spend time with nature. It was also nice to avoid the crowds who were assembling ready for the Jubilee. We made sure that we were back in time to join in the procession for the lighting of the beacon in Penderyn Square – it’s not every day that there is a jubilee afterall!

We decided to end our trip and kick off June by spending our last few days in Merthyr Tydfil. There are loads of interesting historical sights around town, like St Tydfil’s church and the Robert and Lucy Thomas Memorial fountain and plenty of wide open space, we particularly liked Thomastown Park which was full of locals enjoying the tennis court and play equipment. There were loads of events taking place all over the place for the Jubilee which were lovely to see and it was nice to be able to spend that time with my parents. It is really quite amazing that there were three generations of us celebrating the Queen’s substantial reign and the looks on the twin’s faces when they found out that their grandparents were around for the queen’s actual coronation was priceless!

It was with heavy hearts that we set off for home ready to return to school and real life after the Jubilee. We need to start planning what we’re going to do for the rest of the summer, so we’ll see you next month.