Countryside

 

2004: A British Journey - Wales

An aerial view of the Welsh countryside, lots to see and do.  All of these have nice countryside walks

1990: National Parks

but these two look as they are setting off fully loaded for a long distance hike in the Pieljakaise National Park

1994:The Age of Steam

Enjoy the views of the countryside from a train window, this one is travelling though Scotland on the West Highland Way.  1994, the year the stamp was issued, was also the year of the opening of the Channel Tunnel.  Another journey by train could be taken from Scotland down to London

1961: Tourist Publicity

and onto the Eurostar to Paris, change on to the TGV, then hop off at Angouleme, there will be a half an hour wait for the local train to arrive and then  on to the destination ,Cognac. Daydreaming a trip I read one can book a "chic picnic", enjoy walking the small roads through the vineyards to meet the winegrower-distiller then eventually settle down in the middle of the vines to a picnic of local produce with wine and cognac. A  relaxing day out in the countryside.

Sunday Stamps is visiting the countryside at See It On A Postcard

Three Dragons

Flag of Wales – Y Ddraig Goch

Although the dragon on the green and white background only became the official flag of Wales in the 20th Century as the card says on the back "Since the time of Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, the dragon has been used on the Standards of the Welsh Kings. It was believed that the dragon protected his own and inspired terror in the enemy".

The dragon stamp on the maximum card is from the "Celebrating Wales" miniature sheet issued in 2009, one of a series of miniature sheets celebrating the countries that make up the United Kingdom.

Here are couple of welsh flags I saw flying on the ramparts of Conwy Castle in the gloom of a rainy day.

Postcards for the Weekend theme - Flags - flying at Connections to the World 

Little Trains

2010:  "Great Australian Railway Journeys"

Here we are riding the rails on the West Coast Wilderness Railway through  the rainforest of Australia. This line is a remarkable survivor.  Originally built by the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company and opened in 1897 to carry copper from its mines it ceased to run on the 10 August 1963 when the rolling stock was dispersed to museums and the track removed, happily the bridges were left intact.  With the help of many funding sources and a lot of enthusiasm the line was restored to run again in December 2002 and some of the original locomotives returned, however the government removed funding support and once again its future was uncertain. Happily it reopened in 2014 so one can once again enjoy the spectacular views

as shown on this Maximum Card trundling through dense forestation above the King George River.  The reason I have chosen this card is because the photograph shows perfectly the rack and pinion system used on this narrow gauge track to be able to travel through mountainous terrain (steepest gradient 1 in 15).  To be more precise it is an Abt rack and pinion, invented by someone living in an even more mountainous country,  the Swiss engineer Roman Abt and first used on the Harzbahn, Germany in 1885.  It is also the system used on the Snowdon Mountain Railway which takes you to the top of Wales' highest peak, which brings me to another small train in a country which is full of narrow gauge tracks

2014: Classic Locomotives of Wales

and this Hunslet narrow gauge locomotive 'Blanche' who along with 'Linda' and 'Charles' worked between the Penrhyn Slate Quarry and Port Penrhyn

near Bethesda in Wales from the 1880s until 1962. Although Blanche is much altered mechanically since that time she and Linda are still working and carry passengers on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highlands Railway.   Their brother Charles is in the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum.

An entry to the Sunday Stamps II theme of "Riding the Rails", travel to Violet Sky's "See it on a Postcard" to see more here.       

War and Peace

1969: Investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales

In the days before the bland design houses employed by Royal Mail, whose first thought seems to be to head for the photographic archives, these stamps were produced by the great stamp designer David Gentleman.  Caenarvan Castle's vast edifice stands at the mouth of the Seiont River in Wales and its bulk was intentional. Edward I in his conquest of Wales built a string of fortresses across the country, his idea at Caernarvan was to echo the walls of Constantinople and project imperial power. The stamps show, left to right, The King's Gate, The Eagle Tower (the first part of the castle to be built) and Queen Eleanor Gate.  Unusual for monarchs at the time Edward and Eleanor spent a lot of time together, Eleanor even accompanying him in his military campaigns.  Their son, the first Prince of Wales, was born here in 1284.

The other stamp of the set shows a Celtic cross from Mangam Abbey. I think this is the Cross of Conbelin an immerse stone cross wheel standing 8ft 6ins (2.61m)  with knot and plait work probably dating from 950-1050.  Mangam Abbey has a Stone Cross Museum of Roman and Celtic Crosses

The set completes with a portrait of Prince Charles who was at the centre of  his investiture as Prince of Wales by the Queen. The eyes do make him  look like one of those murderous and machinating princes of the medieval period.

This is a stamp from one of the 'Smilers' sheets which I think were a series covering all the countries of the United Kingdom's castles. The two I show are from the 'Castles of England' sheet. This one goes back to our last invasion, that of William the Conqueror who started this castle in 1068 and the present construction developed from that.

One of my particular favourites is Orford Castle in Suffolk where you can get marvellous view from the top as not only do you have the hight of the keep but also the hill it is built on.  All that is left today is the keep and some of the outer fortifications.. Built in the 12th Century by Henry II it too was built to consolidate royal power in the region. I happened to take a photo of it last time I was there here.

Enough of British castles here is the medieval Moorish Castle of Gibraltar which stands in a dominant and strategic position and played a part in the Arab conquest of the Iberian peninsula. Over time it has been destroyed and rebuilt.  Now lets turn to the quiet sanctuaries of monestries and abbeys in Austria

 Here are some of the series of 18 stamps showing Austrian abbeys and monasteries that Wolfgang Pfeiller engraved between 1984 and 1992. The stamps are quite small which makes the quality of the engraving all the more amazing. Until I scanned these at first glance I thought the stamp on the right showed sheep in the meadow and then in its larger form saw  they were in fact trees.  From a brief search I cannot find any information about Pfeiller apart from the fact he was  born in 1941 and produced a great many stamps for Austria.

 He shows beautifully the abbeys in theirsurroundings

 And the different colours are rather pleasing.

An entry to Viridian Postcard's Sunday Stamps theme - Castles, Churches and Fortifications.

Llangollen

Llangollen from the River Dee

The Welsh flag flying from the Town Hall gave me the clue that today it was St David's Day, patron saint of Wales.  So here is a Welsh town.

The card is from the 1960s and it tell the full story on the back "Although famous as a national beauty spot, Llangollen is better known for its international Musical Eisteddford, which has been held every summer since 1947.

Choirs come from all over the world to perform, and perhaps win a prize. Here is the Soul Sounds Academy Choir from Sri Lanka perfroming at the 2010 Eisteddfod.

Viaduct and Estuary - Barmouth

Estuaries are magical places, neither land nor sea, snaking channels and shining sands, flocks of birds flying overhead or looking for lunch as the tide ebbs away.

The Barmouth Estuary in Wales is where the River Mawddach ends its journey after rising in the mountains of Snowdonia in North Wales.  The card is of the mouth of the estuary where the seaside town of Barmouth sits along with the railway viaduct, which is happily still in use.  Built in 1867 by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railways it runs for 900 yards and on the landward side there is a footbridge which is also still used, for a small toll.

My Father was staying near here  in 1972 and he noted on the back:

"One could soon reach here from our walking centre.  The collection of bungalows in the distance is Fairbourne, a fine place for bathing - if the weather was right.  A miniature railway runs from here to the edge of the sands where the Ferry picks one up for Barmouth"

The miniature narrow gauge railway and ferry still run.  Isn't Barmouth lucky, two railways.

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Llandudno

On the 31st July 1902 the funicular system of  The Great Orme Railway carried its first passengers up this limestone headland.  As their website says it has "been delighting visitors" ever since.  Its founder believed in the health products of fresh air so the carriages are open to the elements. These are the original wooden carriages, of which there are four in total, all named after local saints.  The views from the top of the Great Orme are over to the north Wales mountains of Snowdonia  and also out over the Irish Sea. The history, how the funicular works and video all can be viewed on The Great Orme Tramway site here

The card is one of the Bamforth of Holmfirth, Yorkshire ,Color Gloss' series printed in Holland, probably in the 1970s.

Here is a card showing views of Llandudno with the tram trundling up Old Road.  Llandudno sits between two headlands, Great and Little Orme. The seaside resort was at its peak in the Victorian and Edwardian eras when the Happy Valley park (top right) was created in the hollow of  Great Orme. If you do not fancy walking to the top, or taking the funicular then the cable car to the top can be caught here, or perhaps take tea in the tea pavilion instead.  The cable car was installed in 1969 so I can definitely state that it was there when this

card was produced due to Bamforth's numbering system. Unlike Dennis who still produce comic postcards, Bamforth and their "All British Production", as it says under the stamp mark,  is no more. The number 78 in the top left indicates that it was produced in 1977/78.  Their system for indicated where the card was is on the bottom, L for the place, in this instance Llandudno and the 08 was the geographical location, the last two numbers the unique one for the photograph.

I'm playing with Google maps so here is Llandudno and the Great Orme.

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Visit Beth at The Best Hearts Are Crunchy who is our hostess for Postcard Friendship Friday.