I don't know if you've ever seen pictures of Wales, but they usually include rolling green hills and mountains. Well, if you want to know why they are so green all you have to do is consult the local forecast. We experienced first hand the precip that leads to this lush countryside. I don't want you to think we were dealing with gale force winds or even driving rain, but we were wet in the morning that turned into damp by afternoon.
Our plan for the day was to make a circle drive through some of the area towns and look at several castles along the way. Our first stop was at Conwy along the northwest coast. We took time for a photo stop and then passed through the town. Notable were the stone arched 'gates' that surround the town. Let me just say, a full size bus would be challenged to cruise through although I'm sure they do with more than a little look of fright in the eyes of their passengers.
After passing by the smallest house in England (see red building above), we took the old bridge onto the island of Anglesey. If you wanted to take a boat to Ireland, this is the route you'd take. Beaumaris is a beautiful castle on the coast that had a very strong moat system to protect it from invaders. Speaking of invaders, did I mention that these castles were all built by the English King Edward, an invader to these Welsh lands. The Welsh had always been a thorn in the side of the English lords, attacking along the borders and in general causing a great deal of trouble. Edward decided to put an end to all of this by constructing (and spending a whole lot of money) castles all over the Welsh countryside.
Our next stop could only be described as a tourist trap. Some wise marketer decided if they changed the name of their town to be the longest in Wales, the people would come. To top it off, they added a great little store (not) that sold all sorts of junk, had a little restaurant in the back and, best of all, a little old man in the entry playing today's version of a Hammond organ. Get me out of here!
Our plan for the day was to make a circle drive through some of the area towns and look at several castles along the way. Our first stop was at Conwy along the northwest coast. We took time for a photo stop and then passed through the town. Notable were the stone arched 'gates' that surround the town. Let me just say, a full size bus would be challenged to cruise through although I'm sure they do with more than a little look of fright in the eyes of their passengers.
Heading south, we arrived at one of Edward's more impressive castles, Caernarfon. We braved the rain to actually go take a look inside. This is the castle where the Prince of Wales (the next monarch in line to take the throne) is invested with the title. There's actually a balcony you can stand out on to wave to your loyal subjects. As with many of the castles in Wales, this one is not in it's original condition, but you get an idea of what it might have been like back in the day. Quite impressive!
After a break for lunch, we visited perhaps one of the more bizarre sights in Wales, an Italian (no, that's not a typo) village called Portmeiron. You might recognize the locale from the television series The Prisoner. You pay a fee to wonder around the streets and take pictures of the little Italian gardens and villas. I think I'm glad I went, but somehow I'm not quite sure.
The scenery for our drive today has been quite marvelous since we were driving through Snowdonia. This is the area Sir Edmond Hillary practiced his climbing before tackling Mt. Everest. It really was too bad the weather was so lousy because I'm sure it would have been breathtaking. We made a quick stop before going back to our B&B at the Swallows Falls. This area has many waterfalls and this one is very accessible from the road. A quick climb down and we were looking on the falls.
Back to Betws-y-Coed to a wonderful dinner of lamb and final night at our B&B.
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