Castles and mountains

 Sunday 

21 July 

Day 21

75 to go

Today is our last full day in Wales and we spent it exploring castles and in the high country of Snowdonia National Park. We weren’t out particularly early, taking the Sunday morning as you should, slowly. 

We packed up everything we would need for our outing and then left the stable behind. Our first stop was Caernarfon for fuel and then we made our way to the water front, parked and went in search of the castle. As it hadn’t opened until 9.30am, we were there before the bus loads of tourist rolled in, just. 

We bought a ticket and then began our wander of the grounds. The castle is largely in tact, with its 4 imposing walls and many towers. We walked to the very top of Black Tower. The views from that position were impressive. You earned reaching the top, having to navigated the many narrow, stone stairs. Holding the rope bannister was a must.

We followed different alley ways and entered different chambers, enjoying the history about us. We checked out the museum, reading up on different bits and looking at artefacts. 

As the hordes began to appear, we made our way for the car. The mountain steam train was just getting ready to head out for the day. We watched the driver busily shovelling coal into the engine.

Once in the car, we made our way to Conwy. The journey was about 30min and was quite spectacular at times, we even had a sea view for part of it. 

Conwy is a seaside town, known for its castle. You couldn’t miss it as you entered the town. It loomed large and was crawling with people. We found a park, grabbed our lunch and then proceeded to a square, where there were plenty of benches and tourists. We ate our rolls and then went off to explore.we weren’t interested in going into the castle, but were happy to walk around the outside and take in the view. 

We crossed the main road and headed down to the quay, where plenty of people were trying their luck to catch crabs. We passed the smallest house in Wales, a line of people willing to go in and check it out. We walked through the town, bought an ice cream and then walked up into the walls of the castle. Part of it was blocked off, but we were able to do a fair section and enjoy the view it offered of the town. 

When we were done, we were back in the car and heading for Llanberis. This town is the base for checking out Mount Snowdon. The train leaves for the summit, but we weren’t able to get tickets. We parked near a beautiful lake and wandered its edge before checking out the town filled with walkers and bikers, of the pedal and motor variety. Yesterday there was a foot race up the Mountain. The weather would have been unpleasant.

We stopped for a drink at a large pub, electing to sit out in the beer garden and enjoy the sunshine. We were lucky with the weather today. With our drinks downed, we were back on the road, heading up into the high country. We passed a slate mine, what this area is known for and then continued on the mountain road, climbing to Pen-y-Pas. Shortly after, we pulled over to check out the view over the valley, Llyn Gwynant and the clouded in tops of the mountains surrounding us. It was pretty special and pretty cool. 

We then wound our way down, stopping at Llyn Dinas. We walked along the edge of the lake. There were some people who had chosen to go for a swim. I didn’t stop to see how cold the water was. 

Our legs now stretched, we drove on to Beddegelert and then elected to drive back to Caernarfon, to check out more of the town. We parked in the town square and did a wander of the streets that surround the castle. Once we were happy we had seen everything, we returned to the Stable for the night. 

We unloaded our gear, cooked up dinner and unwound on the couch. I did a walk around the paddock taking in the view that was hidden yesterday. Today the mountain view was looming behind the accommodation and you could clearly see the town and sea in the other direction. I then wandered the lane, visiting the all the farmyard animals. Today the horse wanted a scratch, the geese wanted to hiss at me, the cat wanted a rub and the sheep were in the paddock. 

I returned to Paul in the stable, ready to say goodbye to our Wales adventure and return to England tomorrow.