We made it through two tube stations and then up to the train station. However, I lost my balance on the escalator trying to manage all my luggage. It took all of my friends and two different strangers to get me safely off the escalator, down the steps and across the gap. In other words, it took a village to get me to the train station without a broken limb and all my luggage still intact.
We had planned to arrive early at the train station so we could figure out our platform, as well as grab some sandwiches to eat on the train. We took turns guarding the luggage. It was safest under Shelly’s watchful eye and practiced stance.
The train station was quite the experience. A train’s platform is not posted until 5–10 minutes before it leaves. People stand in the lobby of the train station staring at the board so they can be the first to run for the correct platform.
We joined the madness and then ran for our train. I felt like I was in the Hunger Games, trying to be first to find a place to hide before someone killed me. We were not really sure why we were racing the crowd since we had assigned seats. It turns out that you want to be first on your car so you have somewhere to stow your luggage. By the time the six of us made it onto car F all the large luggage storage was gone. We tried to stay cheery about the situation but claustrophobia set in. If that wasn’t bad enough there was no air circulating and some of us got a bit “car sick.” We were eager to get off the train.
We changed trains at Birmingham International and once again the train car was stifling. While we waited for the train to leave Linda decided to go stand outside where it just had to be cooler!
When the train started up we couldn’t find her. I stood at the door trying to see her. She was sauntering down the platform as I waved wildly at her to get on. She did not hurry her pace one bit. She had a big smile on her face because she was deciding whether she wanted to get on the first car and slowly make her way down to us on the last car so that we would think she had been left behind. I wondered why she had such a devilish smile on her face while I waved at her like a crazed maniac. She got back on the train and we didn’t leave for another five minutes, which made me look even crazier..
We arrived at the Chirk Station just before 3 p.m. — 6 hours after we left our hotel. The train station was lovely and the whole town smelled like chocolate chip cookies.
For a half mile we walked in single file to the Hand Hotel and on the way we learned that Chirk is the home of Cadbury. Perhaps that is what makes this little town filled with lovely cottages and beautiful flowers smell like chocolate chip cookies.
We found the Hand Hotel and got all our luggage up to the second floor to check into our rooms.
Then we had a quick meeting to see if we could get a taxi to Wrexham so we could have dinner at the Turf pub next to the Wrexham Football Club stadium. We struck out so we bought tickets to take the train there and back. Before we knew it we were in Wrexham and in the Turf.
Much to our surprise we learned that they don’t have a working kitchen, even though there is a menu on their website. The bartender gave us a recommendation for where to go but we couldn’t remember what he said. So we googled and found The Fat Boar and headed out for the mile walk to the restaurant. Wrexham pretty much shuts up on Sunday evening but we did pass this lovely church — St. Giles, which is the Wrexham parish for the church of Wales. It was stunning.
The Fat Boar was definitely worth the walk. Shelly had “the best fish and chips” of her life. I had a roast complete with roasted potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and onion, as well as cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and parsnips that changed my opinion of parsnips. It was definitely the best meal I have had on this trip. We headed back towards the train station and passed the Arc sculpture that the Wales 6 have all seen during the intro to the show that introduced us to Wrexham, “Welcome to Wrexham.” The monument depicts a miner and a steelworker, feet astride two steel arcs that meet in the middle. At one time coal mining and steel working were the two major industries in Wrexham. When both of those industries closed down it devastated the town, with many people moving away. Jonathan Gammond, of the Wrexham Museum, says, “Most towns have some example of ‘the great and the good’ standing on a pedestal looking down on passers-by. Wrexham does not. Instead the town has chosen to celebrate the lives of two ordinary individuals, both shown at pavement level, where we can look at each other in the eye. They are hard at work, earning a wage and expecting no recognition. That tells you what it important to the people of Wrexham.”
We got back to the train station with time to spare. A quick 15 minute trip back to Chirk and a lovely stroll back to our hotel. Tomorrow we get the narrow boat!
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