Day 10 - Northern Wales

May 11, 2008

Well, it's been a while as we have left the Hambletons and just now got some Internet access as well as time to write - our days have been very busy. I am going to tell you about today and if I have time, I will go back and tell you about the last few days.

It was hard getting up this morning but I did feel like I got a good night's rest. We got ready for breakfast and headed to the dining room of our B&B. We had decided to only have cereal and fruit as the thought of another full English Breakfast made our stomaches turn. The fruit was very good and there was excellent honey for our toast (they are really big on toast over here and every place we have stayed in has kept asking us if we would like more). We enjoyed the view out the window overlooking the mountains (which we could finally enjoy as it was very dark by the time we had arrived the night before). Then we finished up and paid our tab. We chatted a bit more with our hosts as well; they were really nice, down-to-earth people. We signed the Guest Book as well. Then we went back to our room to finish gettting ready, pack, and write about the rest of Friday, all of Saturday, and the start of today in my Diary. Jeremiah sat outside and figured out our route to our next destination.

We hopped in the car and were off. Along the way we stopped by the side of the road to look at a beautiful stream. We took lots of pictures. If you ever get a chance to visit the countryside of Wales, you should; it's absolutely gorgeous. We made our way through small towns and backcountry and finally got to our destination: the Caernarfan Castle. This was very impressive as we drove up to it. It was huge! What a fortress this must have been.

We paid to go in (£5.10 each) and were just as amazed upon entering it. We explored through the many passageways and went up the towers. We saw a tribute to the princes of Wales as well as a museum of the Royal Wales Military and its history. We found the tallest tower and made our way to its top.. It was beautiful overlooking the town behind us, the harbor to our left, and the sea before us and to our right. Jeremiah particularly enjoyed all of this and couldn't stop taking pictures.

The whole castle was like a maze and it was very fun. There was much more to see in it than we thought and could have used at least another 1/2 hour to explore.

Afterwards, we were getting hungry so we tried to look for a place to eat, but everything seemed to be closing early and we weren't particularly in the mood for more pub food. We got in the car and decided to head to our next destination, Conwry Castle, before it closed and find some food along the way. By now it was after 3:30pm and the castle would close at 5pm, which was cutting it close. We turned down the next major street and there was a beautiful site on our right - a McDonald's! This was a very welcome site to both of us - and honestly, I never thought I would say that about such a place but it was a very welcoming site as it was the familiar. Plus we knew exactly what we would get instead of guessing off a menu (and after the previous night's experience with dinner, we were looking forward to this).

We got enough to last us through the night and not have to stop for dinner later. We then realized that there was no way that we would make it to the other castle in time. So we changed our plans and headed to the Snowdon Railway. This was another beautiful route through the mountains. We got there just before 5pm and saw that it was already closed. This railway will take you up the Snowdon Mountain, the highest in Wales, and depending on who you talk to, the highest in England as well. It was good that we stopped as we were able to find out the cost(£15 per person), the time when the train started in the morning (9:00am), and how long it would take (2 1/2 hours) (Note: I'm giving all these details including cost to help others who might be planning a trip and would like to know more of these details.)

After a bit of looking around, we got back in the car and drove back the way we came to a little turn-off where you could look better at the nearby lake and mountains surrounding it. We just relaxed in the car for a bit, and then we relaxed a bit more while some rain came and went. Then Jeremiah got out and started to look around and take some pictures. I got out a little bit later and he told me that it isn't as beautiful of a place as you would think once you look closer as the water is clear and you can see all the trash that people have thrown in it - very sad but we've noticed that that's pretty common around here.

A little bit later, we got back in the car and headed towards our next B&B, Rosehill Guest House in Bewts-y-coed. We thought it would be best to call it an early night and get some much needed rest after our many long and exhausting days in a row. We got here and were greeted by Margaret and Fred, our hosts and they showed us to our room. It's not as cozy and welcoming of a place as the last few B&Bs, but it's clean and has a great view.

We decided that we don't have enough time to do both Conwry Castle and the Railway trip up the mountain tomorrow, so we agreed upon the castle on our way to Capernwray. Should be fun.
So now I am typing this and Jeremiah is relaxing in our room upstairs (he especially needs it as he's been doing all the driving). Until later!

Love,
S&J

P.S. It looks like I have some time so I will write about the last few days. They will be postdated; hopefully that won't confuse you.