Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “chepstow”

Flooding in Wales, Ross on Wye and Chepstow


Recently I was in Chepstow for a few days and got the opportunity to briefly see some of the ravages that the weather had brought to the area. It was raining needless to say. Rivers were high and fast, it was not clear where exactly the boundary of the river had originally been and in some cases new ” rivers” had arrived. In short it was wet. These few photos attempt to capture the wetness. The area itself is rural beauty and no doubt in summer provides beautiful walks. Tintern Abbey sits grey and mysterious. The disused Tintern railway station has been put to good use by turning it into a small kind of feature park for children with trains and an old signal box. Some of the scenes could have come right out of Tom’s Midnight Garden.

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Paintings of Chepstow in Wales by Vincent Van B


Chepstow is a rural area on the edge really of Wales. The signs say Ross on Wye 27 miles. A small town with a large racecourse. As we are all aware recent weather has been wet. Here are a few visions of Chepstow and the surrounding areas in paint style.

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A quick walk through the Graveyard to the Bar sir? Wales is a most curious place.


Reflections on my first 24 hours in Wales are what a curious place this is. It rains all the time, the signs on the roads seem to deflect you to the wrong place, and generally things are not quite what they seem. My hotel for example. To get to the hotel reception and bar/restaurant there is no option other than walk through a graveyard. A fully functioning graveyard. I can only think that when God designed Wales he had Alice in Wonderland as his template. Bit of an overdose of mad hatters though for sure. A small electric car was parked at The Angel Hotel in Abergavenny. Raining. Windows down. In fact are there any windows? The car was charging in fact. The hotel as well was curious in that each room I attempted to go into to find my meeting was being knocked down or redecorated. My Graveyard hotel, might as well be named, St Pierre at Chepstow, is full also of curious folks. Couple of business types talking in that business way in the corner, loudly, muttering words like  ” cash” and ” business forecasts”. In fact they are having a few pints of something nice. A daughter maybe calls one of them to be told ” I am in a meeting”, with the word ” meeting” embolden as though it were a place next to heaven.

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