Our Adventure in Wales
A Journey by Carolyn & Nancy
6/19/26 – I’m currently updating this travel site – more to come in the next few days!
Preparing & Researching for Our Trip
It all started in August of 2004 when Mom (Carolyn Sheldon) invited me (Nancy Nordstrand) to a Scottish Games Festival with a friend of hers. It was a great festival, and there was a Welsh booth there, with a big map of the country, and Mom spoke some Welsh to the people there that her Grandmother had taught her when she was a little girl. Then when Mom celebrated her 70th birthday, I really got to daydreaming about going to Wales with her.
When I first suggested the idea, she wasn’t too sure, but then after some research, and studying maps and aerial views, receiving pictures of ancestors from relatives here in the states, and then actually discovering relatives there, Mom got as excited as I did, and we decided we had to go. My husband, John considered going, but decided this was really a “ladies’ trip” to discover everything we could about our family. Not to mention he wasn’t too sure if he could handle two and a half weeks with Mom and my loud laughter and chattering – and we always seem to laugh a lot more when we’re together, too. He decided instead to stay home, and kept surprising us with things about Wales that he’d rounded up – video tapes, history books, travel books, Welsh music. He was very supportive, and really helped us prepare to have a wonderful trip.
When we first imagined it, we thought how really wonderful it would be to walk the streets of Llanfihangel Yng Ngwynfa, knowing that some of our ancestors had walked the same street. But as we studied the census, and then realized that all the properties are named, not numbered as here, and that those property names are listed on the maps, we realized we would be able to visit the homes, or at least the properties where the homes once stood. We ordered a detailed map of the area, and began putting marks on it of the places where we wanted to visit.
Mom had kept some things that her Grandmother had given her when she was a girl, including a small Welsh Bible from the Richards family that was very worn, and some postcards of Wales. We wrote to all our Isaac relatives we knew of, and received all kinds of information back, including some really wonderful photographs of our ancestors, discovering information about the Isaac family Welsh Bible, and lots of new information about the different lines of the family that came to the states in 1867.
I started writing postal letters, too. First to researchers at the Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society (MGS), then to people living in the vicinity who had the last names we were interested in; Isaac, Richards & Lloyd. The researchers and members of MGS were wonderful, and helped us collect lots more information about the families and their whereabouts at different times. And the families who received our letters were great, too – many of them replied, saying that we’re not related, but come visit them anyway, and sent fliers and brochures about the area. We made a lot of email contacts as well.
Our most wonderful discovery was finding Mom’s third cousin, Thomas Erfyl Isaac and his family, Thomas’ sister, Bronwen Williams and her family, and also Geoff Isaac – those are detailed below.
By the time we were ready to go in late May, we had quite a list of places to see, and many people offering to show us around different locations in the area. When the last few nights came along, we were so excited we both had trouble sleeping!
Winchester
The youth hostel was fabulous – they had warned us by email that it was “primitive” which meant that the bathrooms were downstairs from the dorm rooms. That didn’t bother us, and the rest was magnificent. It was a very old grain mill made of brick, that was very well kept and still in good working order. The beams were ancient, and we could walk underneath the mill and see the waterwheel and the river rushing by.We took a nice long walk around town, and by the Winchester Cathedral, whose bells tolled the entire time, until dusk. It’s a beautiful town with a lot of character, and really well-kept. The river runs through it, with ancient quaint little bridges. We walked around the cathedral, by gardens and old walls, incredibly old and beautiful buildings, along the river, and without planning it, ended up at the bridge by our Hostel just at dusk.
We went into the pub on the corner there and sat out on the patio enjoying a glass of wine, and being amazed that we were really here, that this adventure had really begun. It seemed so long ago that we first spoke of the idea – and we were really here!! It was really hard to believe. We also raised our glasses to my husband, John, for his complete and total support in our going on this adventure – he’s made it such a pleasure!
We were up really early to explore Winchester some more. We thought we’d find some coffee, but although there were people out cleaning and polishing the entire town, there was no place open early. We packed up car and then headed out towards Stonehenge. It was a beautiful drive, through small roads, tiny one-lane roads covered entirely with trees like long tunnels, through villages of pretty cottages covered with thatched roofs.
Stonehenge & Avebury
We arrived at Stonehenge, and were surprised to be right behind a big load of tour buses! That was something we hadn’t expected – to be elbow to elbow with hundreds of people!
But near the stones there was plenty of room and we walked around it a while, then drove away up to a secluded hill where we could see Stonehenge below, and had lunch there while we appreciated the gorgeous view from a distance. It was amazing to see.
We had read about Avebury, another place like Stonehenge where ancient stones had been placed thousands of years ago. And that was impressive – it was a huge ditch carved in a giant circle – it was so large it would have taken 5 or 10 minutes to walk across it, and huge stones placed inside it, with a village there, too. The stones were inside green pastures with lots of sheep grazing around them. It was very impressive.
To Wales & Tinturn Abbey
Then…we headed to Wales. We got a big thrill when we crossed the long bridge. We had been anticipating this for so long, we couldn’t help but start singing the Welsh National Anthem as we entered Wales!
We drove some wonderful tiny little winding roads towards Tinturn Abbey, a bit north. Tinturn Abbey was so beautiful it made me cry!! It was just stunning – a huge Abbey with no roof anymore, and its detailed stone carvings silhouetted against the sky.
Kidwelly Castle
We drove through some lovely towns, and in Kidwelly we stopped and explored a really wonderful old castle. It was set part way up a hill, with a fine view of the valley, and it was very beautiful. There was a small admission charge, and that included a great recording we could hear with a headset. They had a very entertaining history lesson, almost like a radio show with different voices, that told interesting things about the castle and the history there. Like, if you were a Welshman attempting to sneak in, what would you encounter?
We stopped in Cynwyl Elfed for some tea in a tiny old pub. As we drank our tea, we tried to eavesdrop on the locals who were there, but their accents were so strong we could only catch a word or two. At first we thought they were speaking Welsh, but no… it was English, but with a very strong accent!
The National Welsh Woolen Museum
The National Welsh Woolen Museum was really wonderful, and since Mom has carded, spun, and knitted wool, she already knew much of the process, but it was about the industry and history as well as the handspinners and weavers, so it was very interesting.
It covered every aspect from the sheep to finished fabric, and the only display they were missing were live sheep! They also had some very interesting historic photographs, videos and voice recordings from old-timers.
We heard our first Welsh spoken here, and tried out the greetings that we know!
Noddfa B&B
The staff at the Museum helped us find a beautiful little B&B, called Noddfa, near them in Felindre. So we settled in to our room, and asked Vickie, the hostess if she had a suggestion for a nice walk and a place for a good meal.
She suggested we walk to a yellow pub on the other end of the village, where we had the MOST WONDERFUL Welsh meal – Mom said it was the best lamb she’s ever eaten in her life, and we sampled some more ale, too. The place was tiny – only three tables, and another couple came in and sat, and began speaking Welsh. Mom and I enjoyed listening, and even caught a word or two here and there. After some time, I asked if they’d mind if we asked them some questions, and they were so very nice. They had both been born here, as well as their parents.
We asked them about some places to visit where they make cheese, and they were very enthusiastic – Per their instructions, we’ll go to the waterfall at Cenarth, drive to the parking lot, ask the man who takes the money where to find Thelma, who makes a variety of cheeses, and then go find her place!
