vilakins | The bridges of two counties

We went to Caerleon this morning to see the Roman ruins. At the museum I was surprised and delighted to find that the Second Legion Augusta had been quartered there--that's the one I'm in back home as a re-enactor. At the ampitheatre there was even a local re-anactor and I had a nice chat with him.

After that we went to Newport and went on the transporter bridge, then to England and Bristol via the second Severn crossing (such a prosaic name for a beautiful new suspension bridge) to see Brunel's wonderful old one. spacefall met us there and we walked across it, at least 400 feet above the 'new cut' on the Avon River gorge, which as 'avon' means 'river' in Welsh is a bit of a tautology. As an aside I can imagine it happening. Visiting Roman or Saxon, pointing at it: "What's that?" Laconic local: "A river, you berk."

Hey and I resisted all the jokes about Avon, his sarcastic and cutting remarks and his rising gorge. Oh, wait--no I didn't.

We then went up to the observatory above the bridge to see the camera obscura there. Also went to the equally Victorian loos nearby; large cubicles to accommodate the crinolines and no button to flush; took me a while to see the ancient chain hanging from the cistern way above in the ceiling.

Oh, and on the way to the Severn, hafren, we crossed the Pont Hafren. Interesting that the Welsh word for 'bridge' is the same as the French.

Off to Bath on the train tomorrow I think.

[Edit] linda_joyce just cooked us a wonderful meal including a leek and apple dish. We were amused though that the leeks weren't Welsh ones but Kenyan! However the potatoes (lovely little new ones) were from Jersey; at home 'Jersey' just means the type.