Wilfred Owen MC

This is a poem that was inspired by the bronze statue of Wilfred Owen MC, a first world war poet from Oswestry. I wrote about this famous poet in chapter two "Wrexham to the English Border".

An Anthem in Bronze

A statue sculptured by the skilful

Hands of a Turner.

There is nothing strange 

Meeting this poet through a letter.

Reaching down to touch

All of our hearts.

Waring worlds put into verse.

He fought his battle with

Gun, pen and sword.

The Military Cross

Was a fitting reward.

In remembrance,

A bronze stands proudly

Never to be forgotten,

Our heads shall be bowed.

The following is a snippet from the second chapter.

"Wilfred Owen was born in the town, he was known as the First World War Poet, there's a park named after him that includes a labyrinth, which is regarded to be one of the largest in the world, in the town centre you can find a stone bench and plaque dedicated to the poet"

Spot to Spot hits the shelves

With some joy and a lot of pride, this little book as made onto the shelves at the Wrexham Museum and the Wrexham Tourist Information Centre. Just to see it in between the larger books fills me with tearful emotions, even if I do not sell a copy, the fact that it is out there is somewhat overwhelming.

This is the dedication that I placed into the book to show my appreciation.

"With Thanks: It is with great thanks and appreciation that I would like to show towards the Wrexham Museum and The Wrexham Tourist Information Centre. This second edition of the novelty trip advisory book was made because these two important places in the town centre at Wrexham happily put this book on display. I will always be grateful for this and the opportunity to do so"

Thanks, Diolch.

The Picturesque Panorama

This photo was taken from the Panorama side of the valley, looking over towards the castle that overlooks Llangollen, which is mentioned in the second chapter of Spot to Spot.

This is some part of the second chapter from the book in which Llangollen is mentioned.

     "The River Dee, which is derived from the Celtic language meaning 'River of the Goddess' or 'Holy River', rises on the slopes of Dduallt in the Snowdonia Mountain Range and 70 miles later, it flows into the sea in between Wales and England on the Wirral Peninsula. It regularly forms part of the border between Wales and England, but traditionally it was also the boundary for the Kingdom of Gwynedd. The natural course of the river flows through Bala Lake and onto Corwen, meandering through the Clywdian Range and the Dee Valley we reach the beautiful town of Llangollen, standing on both sides of the river, the town has become a popular tourist attraction, with the historic railway, castle and the rapids that make the man-made Horse Shoe Falls being major crowd pullers"

     "The town holds the International Musical Eisteddfod every summer, hosting artists, singers and choirs of different kinds from all over the world. The river runs underneath two bridges in the town that both strike a claim to be one of the Seven Wonders of Wales? The Chain Bridge and its aptly named hotel is probably a modern wonder with the first bridge being built in 1813 and the latest version and 3rd in line being built in 1929, but the older bridge which was originally built in the reign of King Henry I, then replaced again in 1345, probably has more claim to be a wonder, the stone bridge that still stands today was built in the 16th century and it’s a Grade I listed structure"

Bellevue Park, Wrexham

I decided to add these pictures because I have spent many hours around this park, running and taking fun training sessions. This is a beautiful park that is sometimes overlooked in the town of Wrexham. This is mentioned in the first chapter.

Below is an extract from "Spot to Spot" which shows the smaller P.O.D going off on its first venture.

    "If we look to the East and back into town we can see the quite beautiful Edwardian Belle Vue Park (Belle Vue being French for the beautiful view) with its bowling greens, football field, tennis and basketball courts, fitness and play areas, wooded walks and even an old bandstand. It was established in 1906 and built to commemorate the jubilee year of the incorporation of the town; there is also a statue of Queen Victoria that stands close to the Pavilion. The I.D decides to send the P.O.D on a small test flight, sending the P.O.D to the park and flying around the 800m walking/jogging path. We go past the old bike shed type pavilion on the top of a bank, swooping down through some trees and around the football field, past the fitness beams and equipment up and passing the courts and children's play areas, then veering off course slightly to take in the wooded area with the bandstand and back up flying out of the gates and joining back with the I.D"

Me in the North Wales Crusaders Squad

This is a picture of the newly formed supporters squad that helped to save the North Wales Crusaders Rugby League Team back in 2011. It was taken on the pitch at the Racecourse Ground/ Glyndwr Ground and the home of Wrexham F.C.

My ugly mug is standing at the back and between the H and the A, my head seems to be blending in with the stadium steps!

The following is an extract from a chapter that includes this famous Welsh football stadium.

"We will start our journey from the centre spot in the middle of the Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium, which is home to both Wrexham Football Club and the North Wales Crusaders (Rugby League) since starting to write the strange travel book the "Cru" has started to play their home games at the Queensway Athletic Stadium in another part of Wrexham. The Racecourse is the oldest international football stadium in the world and is listed in the Guinness book of records for that reason; the first international match was held in March 1877 it was a rematch between Wales and Scotland with the visitors running out 2:0 winners. It can also be noted that Wales have played matches there more than on any other football ground"

Blogging About Spot to Spot

When I first started to write this strange little travel book my intention was to fill it with photos and pictures of the various areas that we pass over, but when coming to the end of the book I decided against this, instead I thought why not go out and take my own pictures of some of these places and make an album or a follow up book just with the pictures from the journey. Of course, anyone can do this, I wonder if the pictures would be the same? It would be interesting to find out in the future if anyone has actually gone out and done this, I will try, but it is a long journey!

So I started this blog page just for this purpose, where people/ travellers alike can send in their own pictures of the drones journey, maybe a drone selfie at Ironbridge or even going up the Stannah Stairlift!

So go out there and follow the drone’s journey and snap away and take some beautiful memories along the way.

spot-to-spot paperback

The following extract is from the introduction to this quirky travel guide and as I tried to paint a picture of the mighty drone that was used.

"What makes the Imagination Drone (I.D) work?, It can be controlled from a single point or a control room, it as a GPS system and a point to point system that lets the controller map out a route of any kind. It weighs 420 grams and depending on conditions, it can reach a top speed of 8 meters per second, with dimensions of 1600mm in length a width of 240mm and standing height set at 150mm. Having a 1TB of onboard memory at its disposal and a backup with a 2GB memory card with a live video feed that is HD quality at 1280 x 720p (30 fps).  It can also snap high-quality JPG photo’s, you will not miss much of the action and with an onboard radar system, it can occasionally pinpoint those interesting places and views along its flight path"