Flat Holm

On a recent visit to Cardiff, I decided to treat Riona, Mark and JC (ahem, myself really) to a trip to Flat Holm.  We booked with Cardiff Cruises and hopped aboard in Cardiff Bay Saturday morning.

I had forgotten that Cardiff Bay is barraged, which meant we had to transit through the industrial sized lock gates to get to open water.  This was definitely an upscaled canal lock gate or two (or three in fact)  and fascinating to watch in action.

The 20 minute trip across the bay was smooth, and we enjoyed the views across to Penarth.  I made Riona promise never to buy a property on the cliff there - not that she's going to but sometimes you just have to impart that motherly advice.  The cliffs may look safe from the land, but from the sea they look quite vulnerable.

Flat Holm is ~8.3 km from the Bay and soon appeared: to its right is Steep Holm, 4.5 km beyond.  Flat Holm is in Wales and Steep Holm in England, the latter only accessible by boat from Weston-super-Mare.

We landed up the beach and had an interesting tour of the island from one of the rangers.

Flat Holm was probably first occupied by the Vikings, Holm being the Scandanivan word for 'small island'.  It was then variously used by hermits, monks and other religious people escaping the hustle and bustle of the mainland.  

Its light house was built in 1736/7 by Trinity House.  This didn't seem to deter the smugglers who used the island during the 18th century, enjoying its closeness to the mainland but its lack of accessibility by customs and the police.  

In the early 19th century, John Ashley moved to the island and from there established the Bristol Channel Mission (now the Mission to Seafarers).  And at the end of the century a 22 year old Italian, Guglielmo Marconi, achieved the first over water radio transmission between Flat Holm and the nearest point of mainland Wales, Lavernock Point.  

The island's geographical position was not unnoticed by Lord Palmerston who, in 1869, built a series of Forts across the Severn Estuary, using both Flat and Steep Holm islands to build defences.  The guns sat in Moncrieff pits, being hosted up to fire and disappearing due to their mighty recoil.  The guns now lie around, too heavy to be repatriated to the mainland.

The island was used as a cholera outpost during an outbreak in 1893.  Nowadays the building is derelict and adorned with a somewhat gruesome doll.

The foghorn was established in 1906, but it's out of action now.

In World War II Flat Holm hosted more troops, search lights, guns and radar.  

Aside from the buildings, Flat Holm has the rare (to the UK) wild leek. 

It also hosts colonies of both herring and black backed gulls, numerous rabbits (hundreds from a quick poo count) and 7 Boreray sheep, an endangered breed of which there are only ~300 in the world.  There were 8 until last week when one died after a fall down a cliff.

Once our tour finished, we had a quick cuppa in the multi-functional pub/coffee/gift/museum shop (our ranger was also the barista) and waited on the beach for our boat to arrive.  

Returning through the docks was even more fun than the outward journey as the tide had fallen.  We were at low tide, 2 m above Ordnance Datum (Mean Sea Level) - high tide that day was 12 m above MSL so you can see how great the range is!  No wonder the lock gates are 16 m tall.  The height difference between us and the water in the Bay looked to be around 5 m and it was exciting to be in the lock (thankfully in our boat) rising as the water flooded in.

What a great explore :-)

In Bruges - last day

Saturday 14 June 2025

As it was our last day in Bruges, we were finishing off loose ends.  I'd wanted a confetti shoot as we didn't throw it at our wedding.  Caitlin had beautifully wrapped pockets of rose petals in maps featuring Devon and Luxembourg, so we took them down to the Minnewater, the Lake of Love, and threw them over ourselves.  

The camera didn't capture it well (hence no photos).  I strongly recommend that, for a photo worthy confetti shoot, you have more than just the bride and groom ;-) but it was fun none-the-less.

We pottered around leisurely.

We found another church we hadn't yet been inside, St Walburga, and marvelled at its impressive floor.

The Old Civil Registry is open on weekends so, taking advantage of our Museum card, we popped in.

Then, at long last, and days of keeping my eye open,  I found a bench mark!  This was on the Belfry.  Quite an impressive one I must say.  

Sunday 15 June 2025

We were sad to leave this beautiful place, but needs must.  Just time for one last shot out of the window...

 

In Bruges - Flemish masters, a hospital and a boat trip

Friday 13 June 2025

We got up promptly today to beat the tourists to the beautiful bridge by Gruuthusemuseum. 

Then found a lovely breakfast spot.

We visited the Groeningemuseum which was a 'must do' on JC's list.  The museum had a temporary exhibition showcasing prayer books, called 'The Book of Hours'.  They were essentially prayer books, guiding your supplications through the liturgical calendar with prayers for every three hours of the day.  The canonical hours are: Matins (night time), Lauds (early morning), Prime (first hour of daylight), Terce (third hour), Sext (noon), None (ninth hour), Vespers (sunset evening) and Compline (end of the day).  You were allowed to sleep through the Lauds if you doubled up at Prime.  

Into the museum proper, we were surrounded by paintings from six centuries of Flemish painters including many of the Flemish old masters. The Flemish masters set the artist tone for Western Europe, for over 250 years, from the 15th Century into the 17th Century.  Some of the most famous, such as Jan van Eyck and Pieter Bruegel have their paintings exhibited here. 

This is Antonius Caessians, from the 17th Century "Mars surrounded by art and sciences banishes ignorance" (if only that worked today).  It incorporated seven arts and sciences, such as grammar, geography, astronomy, arithmetic etc.

JC was quite taken by Gerard David's "Judgement of Cambyses".

He also into Surrealism, and loved this painting by the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux - "Serenidad". His favourite artist is Hieronymus Bosch - this is "The Last Judgement".  Sadly for JC, his house mate isn't so keen, so unlikely to end up on the lounge wall.

I'm more of a fan of things like this Expressionist painting: Jean Brusselmans, "Grey Winter Landscape".  But I totally do not get abstract art.

Once we'd had our cultural fill, we headed for the Sint-Janshospitaal, Museum of St John's Hospital.  This hospital, built in the 12th Century, has been caring for the sick for centuries.  We stuck our head into the pharmacy first.

Then we visited the main wards.  The space is now used to house Flemish and contemporary art alongside information about how the hospital ran.  Apparently, if a patient was sent to hospital and they died, their clothes became the property of the hospital.  There were many a wealthy patient stripped by their family of their finery before being popped in the hospital's sedan chair/ambulance - just in case they didn't make it back.

Spare limb anyone?

It was finally boat time - when in a city with oodles of canals you just can't help yourself.  We took a tourist trip about the waters.  This was the lowest bridge we had to duck under.

Apart from the fact I need no excuse to get afloat, I love a different way to see a place.

 

After a couple of museums and a boat trip it was time to walk - and we headed north today.  It doesn't take long before there's a church to be found, although they are starting to merge into similar Gothic semblances.  This is Sint-Jakobskerk which has a mighty fine selection of paintings.

We found another gate, Elezpoort.  Sadly the gates have suffered over the years, but at least they've been well refurbished.

It was beer o-clock and I tested what I thought was a local beer, only to google it and find it was Canadian!  I shouldn't google so much.

Another great meal out beckoned and I found some knitted friends for a photo shoot.