Swan Ride in Bruges

Wandering around Bruges I found this swan ride. The swan is a symbol of Bruges and its a nice touch to have one for a dragon only ride. You get a running commentary from the Swan as you fly over the sights. I don't know what the letters and numbers above are, maybe it was the old Belgian Franc price.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

I bumped into the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Bruges. I hadn't seen them for ages so we stopped for a chat. This is Famine (though the horse prefers to be called Brenda and the rider is Eric). I asked Brenda about her coat as its usually a lovely rich black. She said that the weather had been terrible and all the mud was making it difficult to keep clean. I think Deaths horse, Hilda, looked better for being dirty as green just isn't nice on a horse. Bruges isn't the best place for Brenda and Eric as it's got far too many places to eat, nobody takes them seriously when there are chocolate shops on every street. You can see Eric has just spotted another mobile waffle seller, he isn't happy.

Belfry of Bruges

The Belfry of Bruges is a medieval bell tower in the Market Square. It was built around 1240 and burnt down in 1280. It was rebuilt and in 1487 a wooden spire was added. That burnt down in 1493. The wooden spire was rebuilt. This time it lasted to 1741, when it burnt down again. I better be careful with my fire!
Originally it housed the city treasury and archives. When it burnt down the archives went with it. It's 83 metres tall and contains 47 bells which play tunes.

Well in Bruges

Wandering around I found this old well. It must be special as there is a lion guarding it. He was nice enough but he wouldn't let me lift the cover. I suspect he keeps his food there and didn't want me eating his lunch.

Bruges

Here I am in Bruges. The train from Brussels was nice, a double decker and I sat upstairs to get a nice view. It rained very heavily when I got here, the road behind me is flooded! or it may be a canal, it was difficult to tell at times. What I've seen so far is very pretty. Lots of horses, chocolate and water. The buildings are nice as well, different to the UK. I'm here for quite a while so should be able to see lots of it.

Eurostar

I'm off to Bruge in Belgium. Never been before and I am looking forward to it. Sitting on the train at St. Pancras station ready for the off. Have to change trains at Brussels South (or Zuid or Midi all very confusing). We're through the tunnel and into northern France now. It isn't s nice as Wales, I haven't seen a single mountain yet. It's nice sitting in a comfortable train, sipping wine watching the countryside whiz past. Though I'm not sure the French would approve of the Australian wine.

Blaenavon

I'm in Blaenavon in south east Wales. The town grew up around a large ironworks, which open in 1789, and is now a world heritage site for its industrial landscape. I'm standing on top of the water balance tower. This used a water displacement lift to carry the iron up to a railway. The railway carried the iron across the mountains to a canal where it was transported to Newport for export around the world. The iron works includes cottages and a company shop. The cottages were used by the BBC for a reality show 'Coal House'. Three families were moved into cottages made up to be 1927 coal mining family homes. Blaenavon was also the site of a Time Team dig. They were looking for a railway viaduct which used horse drawn carriages to carry coal from the mines and was built in 1790. They found a bit of it right at the end of the last day. Nearby is the Big Pit coal mine. It is now the national coal museum and you can go down the mine. It's very interesting.