Cardiff, Ludlow, and Tudor Houses, with Scotland the Brave

Welcome back to the adventures of Scotland The Brave in the UK of Great Britain. With his Guardians he looked about London, Stonehenge, Bath, and Plymouth and Devon and Cornwall. From Exeter, they headed north to Glastonbury in Somerset. Then they traveled to Cardiff which is the capital of Wales, and the most recent home of ‘Dr Who’ filming.

CARDIFF: We had planned to explore Cardiff Castle but a big concert was being held there. So we admired the great walls and towers from the outside. The original motte and Bailey were built in the late 11th century by the Normans. The Norman invaders built on top of a 3rd-century Roman fort which was built by, of course, the Roman invaders.

INVADERS: Wales has also been invaded by the Saxons of the Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and by King Edward the Confessor’s English army and later still by King Edward I. These days, thankfully, the invaders of Cardiff are more likely to be Whovians looking for sites where Dr Who was filmed. Hordes of Swifties had also invaded Cardiff only 2 weeks before we arrived. Random Australian tourists turn up as well.

We wandered about in the twilight and saw a grand clock tower and a carousel. The long twilight was one also of the new things for Scotty to experience. Fancy being able to look at the views outside your window long past bedtime!

LUDLOW. Next day, we crossed back over the long Severn Bridge into England and 80 miles later came to Ludlow. Scotty was full of hope that he would properly see a castle this time. Alas, Ludlow castle too was closed and we saw it only from the gates.

Ludlow Castle was one of the first stone castles to be built in England. King William granted the land to the Norman de Lacys. This was because they were on the winning side at the Battle of Hastings. The land came from local Saxon people who were on the losing side.

TUDOR STYLE. In Ludlow there are whole streets of close packed old buildings. The top stories lean out over the street as if they are going to have a chat with the houses on the other side. Planks have been nailed on the walls, criss-crossing each other, as if to shore them up and stop them toppling into the street.

This style of architecture was named after the Tudor dynasty. The Victorians even copied it. ‘Tudor’ and ‘Mock Tudor’ houses are all over England. And where did Tudor family come from? From Wales.

 Owen Tudor was a Welsh adventurer who eventually  married Catherine of Valois, queen and widow of Henry V. Their grandson adventured his way through the Wars of The Roses, found himself on the winning side, and made himself a King (Henry VII). He was dad of Henry VIII, and Granddad of Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Good Queen Bess (see Sea-dogs).

So the English found themselves ruled for 120 years by a family of Welsh origin; and to this day many of streets are adorned by Tudor architecture.

After a wander around Ludlow, the Guardians and Scotty hit the road again. The road meandered from England over an invisible border into Wales and a while later back into England. Scotty could hardly tell the difference. Aren’t borders strange?

Next episode. Stay with Scotty to see the Roman remains of walls, baths, and even a Roman amphitheater. He finds these in Chester.

BOOKS with Scotland in them (our Scotty, that is)

Scotty is the star of a very special book called When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift , by Carola Schmidt. In the book, Scotty a little bear who gets a bad sickness called cancer. He’s worried and often scared because cancer is scary.  But the doctors and nurses and other patients help him. The book is to help kids feel much more brave when they are getting treatment. It’s available in paperback and Kindle. Look for the brave little bear wearing trews on the cover.

Scotty in books by Mawson

You can also see Scotty in all the books by Mawson. One is called It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In (in that one he delivers the post) and another is She Ran Away From Love (he delivers the post again.) In Dreamy Days and Random Naps you can see him being a king and also a superb guitarist. Don’t miss that one! This is what the books look like:

Mawson’s Guardian says: You can find Mawson’s books on this Link here, and on his Writer-Bear Page on Amazon.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

‘This little story made me well up. A lovely, poignant story with delightful illustrations.’ Jackie Law, Amazon Top 500 reviewer, about It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost in.

The book brings back such nostalagic memories that it made it comforting, like a  old security blanket.’  FNM Book reviews about Bright World.