The rain held off for our adventuring in Wales, which consisted of a train ride to the top of the highest peak in the UK, an exploration to locate a castle that was mentioned on said train ride, and a visit to the World Heritage listed Conwy Castle.
After a 1/2 hour car trip to Llanberis, we arrived for our train ride up
a big mountain. Unfortunately, we were pushed up the hill by a diesel
train - would have been nice to get a 'steamie', but it wasn't to be.
The trip up took about 45 minutes, and the scenery was spectacular. Cam
seemed to be more interested in the sheep that were on the hillsides and
standing on the train tracks than anything else, but oh, well! About 10
minutes from the summit we entered the clouds and our world became
grey. The recording that was playing was pointing out all the views and
landmarks that we couldn't see. A little pointless having it on, but....
At the top, it was cold, windy, and wet. Luckily there was a coffee shop
so we could stay warm and dry for the next 1/2 hour until the train
headed back down the mountain. Calum braved the frigid conditions and
headed out doors for the 5 minute trek to the marker stone on the very
top of the mountain - I didn't see the point. If we weren't shrouded in
cloud, and there was a chance that you could have seen all the way to
England, Scotland and Ireland, then yes, I would have made the effort.
 |
| A standing stone, not a cloaked figure in the mists on the hillside... |
After the 1/2 hour, it was back onto the train for the trip down the mountain, which was somewhat quieter without the recorded commentary. At the bottom, I decided that I would like to go in search of a castle that was mentioned in passing during the recorded commentary on the way up. Of course, that had been a long time ago, and I couldn't remember the name or anything, so we just had to 'wing it'. Luckily there was a street sign pointing to a castle nearby, and off we went for a little walk. After about 10 minutes, we came to the ruins of the early-13th century Dolbadarn castle. Small castle, but still pretty spectacular. The views it had over the lake were stunning.
From the castle, we walked back to town and headed for the more well known Conwy Castle. Built during the reign of King Edward I in the early 1200's, it is amazing how much of the castle still stands today. Not only did Edward build a castle, he also had walls and towers built to encircle the whole town. Most of these are still standing too, although the town has spread outside them.
After wandering around the castle proper (you'd never be able to do that in Australia, OH&S being what it is!) we wandered through the town for a bit, then went to the jetty to see the smallest house in the UK (10' x 4.5'). Apparently one person that used to live there was over 6'! Considering the ceilings are barely 5.5', he must have spent a lot of time sitting down.
From Conwy Castle, it was time for the exciting chore of finding a laundromat to do our washing and drying before heading back to the hotel for dinner and bed. That's it for Wales, for the next day we were headed back east towards York...
Jo. xxx
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