Wales Diary

Page Contents - Cardiff - Swansea to Manorbier - West/North Wales

16-4-2011 Saturday
We walked into the main town of Cardiff this morning along the lovely walking/cycling track beside the Taff River. Roamed around Cardiff Castle for over a couple hours - a remarkable site with a history that spans over 2000 years. Again, a very good presentation of the castle with hand held audio commentary at various spots. The castle houses wartime tunnels, used as air raid shelters in WWII. The castle went through many transformations over hundreds of years - a Roman garrison, a Norman stronghold, and finally a Gothic fantasy under the joint partnership of the owner, the 3rd Marquess of Bute and the eccentric architect William Burgess. Burgess' designs were very ostentatious, theatrical and colourful. The furniture was beautiful with inlaid patterns. The ceilings were incredible - a work of art all on their own. The Marquess of Bute appreciated the medieval style but enjoyed the modern comforts such as central heating.

Cardiff Castle stands in the city centre, with Bute Park stretching behind it along the River Taff. Eastward along Park Place are the Civic Centre, university buildings, and the National Museum. We strolled up to the Central Market where merchants sell tasty treats of all sorts and everything from wigs to Bibles. We had a late lunch there - I had chips, mushy peas with gravy and faggotts - a rissole shaped meatball made with liver and probably breadcrumbs among other things - it was lucky I liked liver (I didn't know what it was when I'd ordered it). We bought some kippers (for breakfast) from a very interesting fishmongers' stall - they had a perpetual shield on display "Best Fishmonger" as one of the fishmongers had won it last year - the shield went back as far as 1962. We wandered back home this time, through Bute Park with its lovely flowers, especially the tulips.

17-4-2011 Sunday
We rode our bikes into town for breakfast at 10 am at McDonalds so we could access WiFi as the park doesn't have it. We then rode down to Cardiff Bay which is quite big, beautiful and very eventful, with only recreational activity going on, including boating - no commercial fishing boats and their crab pots, which we have seen in other main towns. There were playgrounds for the kids and a merry-go-round and plenty of eateries. We went for a 15 min ride on an inflatable speed boat thrill ride. It was a lot of fun - the driver drove fast, zig zagged and went round and round in circles til he made a whirlpool and then drove straight through it so we bounced. He'd deliberately drive over other boats' wakes for the same reason. There were boats that did a more sedate boat ride for those who preferred. Another boat did a safari ride but we didn't find out what that was. There were wide areas for people to walk leisurely and for cyclists. There was much provision made for cyclists and we endeavoured to ride right around the bay but ended up cutting across the bridge which led us back towards the city centre.

On the way we passed over where there were 3 locks which allowed boats in and out of the freshwater bay. The bay is blocked off by these locks so the tide never goes out. Fresh water is pumped into it from the river and fish are put in there but the cormorants come and eat a lot of them. Salmon also come there in the spawning season and artificial waterspills have been developed to mimic the fast flowing rivers so they can swim upstream. We also passed a man made white water rafting watercourse that ran in a continuous oval shaped circle. There was seating so anybody could just go in to watch through a protective mesh fence. We arrived back in the main part of town at about 3.30 and had an early dinner at the Prince of Wales pub - a lovely pub. We got home about 5 pm and have had enough bike riding for a couple days, until our bottoms recover. It had been a lovely sunny day and we did enjoy riding around this lovely town - it would be a nice place to live.

18-4-2011 Monday
Drove to Caerphilly Castle (E. Heritage3 Discount) this morning, about 8 miles north of Cardiff. Begun in 1268 by Norman warlord Gilbert de Clare, its stone walls, pivoting drawbridges, water defences, and (re-created) catapults still amaze today. It is the largest castle in Wales. The 3rd Marquess of Bute, mentioned in my diary of a couple days ago as he owned and renovated Cardiff Castle, also owned Caerphilly Castle. He did some restoration but his son, the 4th Marquess, was responsible for most of the restoration of this castle. The restoration was purely to rebuild the exterior of the castle, not any internal redecoration. No rooms had any furniture in them except for the Great Hall which had a long very simple table, a few chairs and a couple simple little cupboards. A lot of money was spent but not with the same enthusiasm and cost that was lavished on Cardiff Castle (although an amount spent in the early 1900s was equal to today's value of £22 million!).

We didn't do anything else today and arrived home early afternoon - time to just relax and rest and watch the world go by, or more like it - the hired (from our park) 2 people tricycles which pedal down past us in the park and around on the private road outside in a circle, til they come back down past us again, 2 or 3 times. Right on the corner of the street we go down to our park, was a pub called - Y Mochyn Du (don't know what it meant). Later we walked the couple hundred metres back there for dinner - bonus again!

19-4-2011 Tuesday
Left Cardiff today. Said this before, but it looks like it would be a really nice area to live. Drove to Swansea (Abertawe in Welsh) and visited the National Waterfront Museum which tells the story of industry and innovation in Wales, now and over the past 300 years. One exhibit we were particularly interested in - The Sinclair C5 which was the brainchild of Sir Clive Sinclair who had a vision that the C5 would herald a new age of electric vehicles. The production of it was based at the Hoover factory at Merthyr Tydfil. Indeed, I thought the back wheels looked like those of a vacuum cleaner! When it was launched in 1985, its concept was seen as being far ahead of its time in reducing pollution and being good for the environment. Sir Clive Sinclair was also the inventor of the pocket calculator, the digital wristwatch, the pocket TV and the ZX Spectrum personal computer which, those readers who worked for Telecom might remember, was badged as the Telecom Computerphone - which did not turn out to be a huge success.

We continued on to the Gowerton Caravan Park which was about 10 miles away. This park belonged to The Caravan Club which we decided to join today. We are already members of The Camping and Caravanning Club whose club book Dave had posted to the UK in a box with a few other things back in the beginning of January and was supposed to arrive in 6 weeks - we have only just heard today that the box has arrived - 3 and a half months later! So we were forced to buy a general camping parks book from a tourist information centre about 3 weeks ago as we kept floundering around, just trying to come across parks in our travels, hoping they had room for us. These club handbooks give lists of all their parks in their club as well as some others, so these 3 now should give us plenty of choices for our travels and we can plan ahead - hooray!

20-4-2011 Wednesday
We didn't do too much today as there isn't too much around that we are interested in. So we went down the road to do a bit of shopping at the only shopping place nearby which is a garage/Tesco express, which was very small as far as grocery shopping goes but we just got a few things to tide us over til after Easter - we actually drive to our next park on Good Friday for 4 nights and thought there wouldn't be anything open. Dave took this opportunity to do a bit of maintenance around the place, on loose doors, door handles sticking windows and then we just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet which is a fairly common benefit of these parks.

21-4-2011 Thursday
On to the Gower peninsula drove down the road this morning to a town called Llanrhidian just for the drive to see if there was anything interesting. We stopped and watched some wild horses grazing in the salt marshes. Other than that there wasn't anything to catch our eye but we did comment on the small towns we passed through - towns of the type that we (in OZ) don't see other than if we go over to the north side of town (Brisbane) to suburbs like Paddington or in Sydney - attached houses that have their front doors right on the footpath and appear very crowded. We are so used to having a bit of yard to walk around in and which separates us from the street. It was a beautiful sunny day so we came back to the park, got the bikes out and rode down the road in another direction past BRYNLLWCHWR (no vowels) Road for some exercise. It was supposed to get to 25 degrees today and we wore shorts. It's spring here and they said something on the TV this afternoon about "...if this heatwave continues.." Heatwave!!! ha ha ha! We'd like to have heatwaves in OZ like this!

Guess what! I found in our caravan club sites book today, a site called "Dockray Meadow" - how's that! It's in a town called Lamplugh in the county of Cumbria, in the Lakes District. We'll have to see if we can fit it into our travel plan.

22-4-2011 Good Friday
Didn't do anything else today but drive to our next park at Manorbier (pronounced 'man-or-beer'), called Manorbier Country Park, further west but still down on the southern coast of Wales. We stopped at an Aldi along the way to stock up on alcohol, oh, and a little food. We didn't think anything would be open today being Good Friday but Aldi was and it was busy - we were lucky that the business shed next door was closed for the holiday and so had a nice big open area in front where we could park, because we wouldn't have got into the car park! The holiday park is mostly static cabins but has an area for caravans and motor homes. And guess what - at about 5.30 pm, true to usual Easter weather, it rained - just like at home!! We're here for 4 nights over the easter weekend.

23-4-2011 Saturday
We walked about 200 metres down the road to Manorbier train station, went 2 stations to Tenby. The trains are at 2 hour intervals so we made sure we didn't miss the one home that we wanted. We walked around the lovely town with many interesting shops and arcades, and lovely beaches with sand like OZ (although Dave jokingly said 'the sand is nearly as good as our worst beaches' - such pride). The beach had many people there today because the rain didn't continue from last night, but the sun did disappear at times and then the breeze seemed even cooler. We went to the Tudor Merchant's House (N. Trust9) which is over 500 years old. The merchant was like a wholesaler who bought in many goods from overseas to resell - such as spices, fish, oil, vinegar, etc (like a 16th century ALDI). We saw the ruins of Tenby castle, the Keep now being used to house weather equipment; Tenby's impressive Royal National Lifeboat Institution building built in 2006, with its modern speed lifeboat and launching ramp; and a bandstand mentioned only because it was officially opened 31st August 1991 - Dave's and my wedding day. We caught the train back mid afternoon and had dinner at the park's restaurant.

25-4-2011 Easter Monday
We just stayed back at the park today to relax and catch up with cleaning, maintenance and internet stuff so nothing much to really report today. Dinner at the Club on the caravan site.

26-4-2011 Tuesday
Left Manorbier this morning and drove down to Pembroke Dock, which is about 5 miles away. The Dock is one of the places where the vehicle ferries transport to Ireland, where we plan to go in less than 2 months. Stopped at an ASDA to do some grocery shopping as they had plenty of vacant carparks which is big on our list when doing grocery shopping (was good as I hadn't shopped there before - oh the small pleasures I have! - yes I can see my lady friends screwing their noses up in disgust!). We continued on to St. David's (Tyddewi in Welsh - don't know how to pronounce this one yet although looks pretty obvious, but I did say that about Manorbier!). St David's appears to be the biggest town near the western most point of Wales. We arrived early arvo at our park - Lleithyr Meadow (for 3 nights) at Whitesands. It was beautiful and sunny, and windy so I thought I'd do some washing and hang it out instead of putting it in the dryer as I've done so far. But, by the time I had done some washing and pegged half of it out on our small clothes line attached to one of our garage doors, it started to rain! So I took it all off, walked down to the laundry and put it in the dryer! Our park is lovely, plenty of room, nice rugged semi-mountainous views with plenty of green pastures, teaming with sheep - AND on the other side of those mountainous views, about a mile down the road, is a lovely sandy beach - the best of both worlds!

27-4-2011 Wednesday
Before we came away on our big trip, Dave bought a couple mascots for our m/home - a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch, named Karen and Kate, and a koala and baby, named Kenny (a hands on Dad) and Kevin - reminders of home to keep us company. Of course, since we named them, we realised Kenny and Karen are actually a married couple we know at home but it was totally unintentional! Since we've been here we've been looking for a UK mascot and we found one in a gift shop in Broadway - a small bulldog (which is actually a paperweight) the outer material being the Union Jack pattern - his name is Billy. They all sit in the lounge/dining room with us. I'm explaining all this so that you'll understand when the photos appear in the travelogue.

We rode about a mile and a half this morning down to the Whitesands Beach which is lovely with beautiful surrounding rocky headlands - like a picture postcard! There's a coastal track which we were hoping would take us into St. David's but it soon turned bike unfriendly, only just enough for walkers. So we moved onto a minor road which eventually led us into the town of St. David's. We came straight on to St. David's Cathedral, its Bell Tower and the ruins of the Bishops Palace which was good as we'd planned to visit here today. St. David's was once medieval Wales's largest and richest diocese. In the Middle Ages, it was considered so holy that two pilgrimages here equalled one to Rome, and three equalled one to Jerusaleum. The cathedral, perhaps Wales's finest, stands in a hollow below the village. Remnants of the 6th century church linger in the 12th century structure, and tombs of long-dead lords, ladies, and bishops trace the centuries past, as well as your path around the chambers. One tomb, transported there some time ago from its original position, houses the remains of the father of King Henry VII and the grandfather of King Henry VIII. In the main open part of the church where all the pews sit, there are huge columns connected by arches - and they were very on an obvious slant. When I enquired I was told that it's thought that about 20 years after the cathedral was built, the roof was too heavy for the structure, causing several walls to lean. The reliquary holds the bones of St. David, patron saint of Wales, and his comrade St. Justinian who was killed on nearby Ramsey Island but, in saintly concientiousness, carried his own head back to the mainland(? - don't blame me, that's what the book says!)

We didn't have time to check out the ruins of the Bishop's Palace which was built in the 14th century by Bishop Henry Gower, back when it was acceptable for a bishop to have the largest palace in Wales. We both went into the main town of St. David's for haircuts appointments, which we needed badly but hadn't had the opportunity so far. Then it was back to the caravan park to enjoy the view.

28-4-2011 Thursday
We rode for 1 hour and 30 mins late morning down to a town called Porthgain. We rode on the Celtic Trail (National Cycle Route) Number 4 which we've seen a few times before and ridden on in England, but never really realising before, the fact, that it is a route that traverses the whole of the UK. So basically, no matter where you go in the UK you can pick up the cycle trail and pedal away! We had a lovely lunch at a place called The Shed down on the harbour at Porthgain, on the recommendation of the people in the caravan next door to us who go there all the time - fresh seafood delivered daily. They live outside Cardiff but come to this caravan park for their holidays. The Shed seemed quite popular with a lot of tables reserved, especially upstairs.

The harbour used to be busy with industry and there are the remains of a brick building set off to the side, that housed the different products made here and chutes that appeared to be for loading onto ships in the harbour. In 1850-1910 was the Slate Era. There was a tramway from the nearby town Abereiddy, home to a slate quarry. The slate was transported to Porthgain, cut to size and ready to be shipped out. The Brick Era 1889-1912 - a water powered mill crushing and refining clay for brick making. The Road Stone Era 1889-1931 - crushers and elevators discharging stone to various hoppers for various grades of road stone. The building we had our lunch in appears to be one of the ones in the picture (not the main industrial one), minus some of the surrounding structures. The whole harbour and buildings were a lovely sight and the water was so beautiful and clear. There was a hotel nearby called The Sloop Inn which also seemed popular going by the full carpark and it only being a weekday.

It was a bit of a steep walk back up the hill with the bikes to the main road, but most of the rest of the trail seemed easier riding and downhill as we seemed to coast a bit and got back to the park in 1 hour and 10 mins (20 mins shorter - Dave always says it's shorter coming back from anywhere!) which we were happy about as it was mid afternoon and still plenty of time for our spectacular view watching from our van and drinkies, etc. etc, etc. - it's a tough job but somebody's got to do it!

29-4-2011 Friday
Prince William's and Kate's big wedding day - we had to decline our invitation as we were in Wales and couldn't make it - will check it out on the TV later. We'll pop in for a cuppa at Anglesey in the next week or so, where they'll be living as William is stationed there (RAF search and rescue pilot), and they will be disappointed if we don't fit them into our busy schedule while we're here :) They've postponed their honeymoon til later in the year and William is returning to work on Tuesday so that will fit in with our timing when we're in Anglesey :)

Didn't do much today as we had a long drive up the western coast to Aberystwyth, which seemed to be the next town that was an interesting place to stay and explore. For a lot of the drive here, the road twisted and turned along the coastline and we could see the ocean expanse, blue and beautiful. An unusual sight was ploughed fields, that you would normally expect to see further inland, right next to the ocean. Also there were sheep grazing on narrow and steep tracts of land, up high on cliffs, between the road we were driving on, and the ocean - I couldn't help wondering how many have gone too close to the edge!? The views at places were absolutely spectacular and when we stopped, Dave climbed up on top of the mhome a couple times, to get a better photo. We're staying at a caravan park called Midfield Caravan Park (for 3 nights) which is about 1 and a quarter miles out of the main town, so good distance for riding. The park is high up and we are perched on the highest part of the park which allows us to be battered about a bit by the strong winds but the view is worth it. Out of the right side window of our van, there is a great view of the town below and off to one side, the ocean, between two grass covered rocky peaks - will have to get a photo tomorrow when it's not so hazy. Out the left window of our van, is a lovely green field with grazing sheep and lambs baaaa-ing, very close by - it's lovely.

30-4-2011 Saturday
We rode down into the town centre of Aberystwyth this morning which was downhill most of the way. It's quite a busy touristy seaside place with lots of shops and amusement places. There are quite a few pubs and eating places. We walked around the ruins of an old fort and a nearby war memorial. There was a castle a short distance away from the ruins, but it seemed to be now part of the University and wasn't available as a tourist attraction. So we had lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant (haven't had chinese food since we've been here) before we made our way to the Cliff Railway or furnicular.

It is the longest Electric Cliff Railway in Britain. The 430 feet undulating track and the tilted carriages are the work of Croyden Marks and are quite unique. Originally operating on the water balance system, a powerful electric motor now hauls the carriages to the top of Constitution Hill at a steady 4 miles an hour, at an angle normally associated with rollercoasters, giving you ample opportunity to appreciate the panoramic views - mind you I was too busy watching the carriage we were in, creak slowly up the steep hill via 2 metal cables (attached to underneath the carriages), while a second carriage is coming down the other way. Halfway up the track the 2 pairs of up and down tracks separate outward enough to allow the 2 carriages to pass each other quite closely. Up the top was a cafe and some walking tracks and a fantastic view of the ocean, the town below as well as the surrounding areas. We could even see where our caravan park was in the distance. There was normally a bouncy castle for the kids up there as well but as it was quite a windy day, it wasn't inflated. Time to ride home and then push our bikes up the last bit of steep road, 250 yards to the park.

1-5-2011 Sunday
We drove 12 miles down the road to Devil's Bridge (Pontarfynach), which spans over a breathtaking woodland gorge. The peaceful village of the same name, is set in beautiful yet rugged countryside and is most famous for the waterfalls and the eponymous bridge, which is in fact three bridges, one on top of another. Devil's Bridge is also the eastern terminus of the Vale of Rheidol steam railway that puffs its way up and down the Rheidol Valley (Cwm Rheidol) from Aberystwyth. The village is known in Welsh as Pontarfynach - 'The Bridge Over the Mynach River' but Devil's Bridge is the term most widely used.

The original and lowest bridge was built between the 11th and 13th Century probably by Cistercian monks from the nearby Strata Florida Abbey. The two upper bridges were subsequently built when the original was considered unsafe. Considering the height of the bridge, you have to admire the skills of the original bridge builder, be he the Devil or whoever.

Myths and Legends

Legend has it that the bridge was built by the Devil because it was too difficult for any man to build. Being the Devil, he was crafty enough to put a clause in the building contract stating that he would receive the soul of the first life to cross the bridge. On completion of the bridge the Devil awaited his victim. However the Devil wasn't the only one with a trick or two up his sleeve. The villagers had put their heads together and had come up with a cunning plan. They simply threw bread onto the bridge and encouraged a dog to follow. The dog thus became the first life to cross the new bridge... poor dog!

We paid to go on the (self-paced) 40 min walk around the woodland gorge, where various lookouts have been built to view the spectacular 300 ft waterfalls from different perspectives, although the bridges couldn't be viewed from this track. There were many steps, steep ones at times, and some made from the naturally occurring slate jutting up out of the ground - good footwear is advisable and even though there were railings to assist, this trek wasn't suitable for anyone 'less able' as the book put it. We were glad to stop many times to view the scenes and to get our breath. Part of the trek included Jacob's Ladder which comprised 100 very steep steps, an arched metal bridge spanning the Mynach river and the Robbers Cave next to the waterfall - where 3 siblings many years ago, used to hide and take their stolen goods - until one day they inadvertently killed the man they were robbing. This man was well respected with the result being the towns people went after the robbers, found them and their stash - the 2 brothers were hanged whilst the sister was burned at the stake - ok why was the female set on fire, a very slow and agonising death, while the 2 males were quickly despatched with hanging? Not fair JAN!

The road to Devil's Bridge gradually took us up higher and higher, resulting in breathtaking views of the different coloured pastures, vegetation and animals below. This is all we did today so back to our spot in the park, high on top of the hill to take in the beautiful views. It's still very windy and rocked our van about a bit this evening.

2-5-2011 Monday
Heard this morning that Osama Bin Laden has been killed - what wonderful news to wake up to!! 10 years ago it was the opposite, very bad news we woke up to! (He won't be 'Osama Bin Hiden' anymore!) Good riddance to bad rubbish!!

We drove about 50 miles this morning to our next caravan site called Coed-y-Llwyn Caravan Club site at a small town Gellilydan, part of the bigger main town/area of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Dave has picked up a virus and this drive was enough for him today. We are now in more mountainous territory. The driving distance itself is not so bad, but the roads, although mostly good surfaces, are winding and twisting through small villages and around mountainous terrain with sometimes rock walls forming the edge of the road on both sides, for some short distances - so, a lot more concentration is needed and it's a lot more taxing. We don't have as wonderful a view as we've had at other parks but we do have a lot of trees around and it is private, so is quite pleasant. It is still very windy but our position is a bit more sheltered from it, and so are not being knocked about by it this evening.

3-5-2011 Tuesday
We rode down to a small village called Maentwrog about 1 and a half miles away, down a fairly quiet road but quite a steep one, downhill for about the last third. We visited a lovely little church - St. Twrog's Church. The old decorative wooden posts inside along with the lead light windows and obvious well maintained interior, was a pleasure to visit. The original church was founded during the 6th century by St. Twrog, but the current church was rebuilt in 1814 on the old foundations. Outside the church is a large stone known as Maen Twrog ('maen' being the Welsh for stone). Twrog is reputed to have thrown the stone from the top of Moelwyn crushing a pagan altar in the valley below - it is said that his hand prints can still be seen in the stone. The parish and town of Maentwrog gets its name from this stone.

I probably haven't mentioned it before but nearly all of these old houses and other buildings in the towns and villages (wherever we go) were built hundreds of years ago and that's why their walls are mostly stone, often of different sized blocks, and fences are also made of rocks and often slate. Pastures' dividing fences are made of rocks built up as high as needed, and even though this is practical as rocks and slate seem to abound wherever you go, it all adds to the picture postcard scenes that we see everywhere in our travels.

We had a lovely lunch at a hotel called The Grapes Hotel, about 100 yards down the road from the church. The hotel too was a beautiful old building with plenty of character inside. Time to go home - walked and pushed our bikes back up the first very steep part of the road, which wasn't made easier with full stomachs. When we periodically stopped to catch our breaths, we watched the sheep and their lambs grazing.

4-5-2011 Wednesday
We were getting ready to leave this morning when our mhome neighbours in the park, Jill and Alan, came over to chat. They are English, retired, and have done a bit of motorhoming over the last 5 years. They were very helpful with lots of information, gave us their mobile number if we needed any help and even offerred to show us around if we got down their way near Bury in the vicinity of Manchester. So we left a bit later than we wanted but these recommendations and information from local people with the experience, are the things we know are invaluable, so the time spent was worth it. We had a big lot of shopping to do so drove to Porthmadog which had a decent size Tescos (with decent parking).

We left there at 2.30 and drove about 14 miles to the Llechwedd Slate Caverns north of Blaenau Ffestiniog. As we approached the place we could see big mountains of grey which was the slate - it was awesome and a bit depressing at the same time as we were used to seeing beautiful mountains of green everywhere we've been so far. We did 2 underground tours - one was a tramway (a real bone rattler) and the other was a deep mine tour. We had to wear hard hats whenever we were on these tours. For the tramway tour, we sat inside small 2 seater carriages that were enclosed all around with clear hard plastic. It rattled along into the mountain, through a tunnel cut just enough to fit the carriages - I thought at times, that the carriage would touch the wall or a pipe but of course, it didn't. It was quite cold inside too. At a certain point, the tram stopped, we got out and a guide took us to a now disused room (where slate had been previously mined) where he described life underground in the nineteenth century. When we finished that tour we had a drink in the local hotel on site, while we waited for the next tour. There were also some Victorian era shops on site as well - a fantastic sweets shop, a gift shop, a small bank and pharmacy (the last 2 both closed that day). The sweets shop was overrun with school kids on an excursion to the slate caverns (after their tours) but they didn't deter me from getting my cinder toffees (honeycomb).

Our next tour took us in bit sturdier carriages steeply down about 500 ft into the caverns and we were left alone (after instruction) to wander through tunnels and a 9 point audio and visual display. It was quite cold and wet with water dripping from the ceiling of the cave, and at times you had to be careful not to step into puddles (which of course I did). The lighting was only minor as well and Dave and I were the only ones on this last tour of the day. The tunnels and some 70 steps took us gradually further downwards. I wondered what would've happened if we'd had some trouble and the guy confirmed later that there were cameras all through - lucky we didn't do anything we shouldn't! Those poor miners had it quite tough, with candles as their only lighting which they paid for themselves, and long hours and very cold conditions. Kids as young as 10 worked down there and luckily they were all regular church going people (going a few times a week) as that was the only place the kids learned to read and write (no schools).

Some Llechwedd facts:-
- it is still a working slate quarry although all open cut now
- the first slate was quarried at Llechwedd in 1836
- in 1905 the quarry employed 639 people
- there are 25 miles of track and tunnels in the quarry
- the bottom of the quarry is 1500 ft below the visitor centre
- Llechwedd now produces renewable energy from its hydro-electric plants

We got to our next caravan park at about 7pm - Coed Helen Caravan Club Site at Caernarfon and plan to stay 3 nights.

5-5-2011 Thursday
We had planned to do the Snowdon Mountain Railway today (it's not cheap so the best weather conditions are desirable) but as it was overcast and showery this morning, we walked 10 minutes into the walled city of Caernarfon. The city faces the Isle of Anglesey across the Menai Strait with a world-famous castle at its helm and Snowdonia mountains in its wake. Occupied since pre-Roman times and once the centre of English government in northern Wales, Caernarfon has been a hotspot of struggle for regional political control. During a 1294 tax revolt, the Welsh managed to break in, sack the town, and massacre the English settlers. Vestiges of English domination remain with a young Prince Charles being invested as Prince of Wales at the castle in 1969. We didn't visit Caernarfon Castle which was started in 1283 by Edward I, in imitation of Byzantine Constantinople, with eagle-crowned turrets and polygonal towers. Edward I spent a fortune constructing this grandest in his ring of North Welsh fortresses but it was left unfinished thanks to an empty royal pocket and the distraction of unruly Scots.

Caernarfon is thoroughly Welsh in character - you can hear the town's own dialect used in its flower-bedecked streets and inviting pubs. I must admit it's the first place where I've heard Welsh spoken so much between the local people but they spe ak English just as well (luckily for us). It's a lovely town with many varied types of shop and loads of pubs and eateries. The sad side as with a lot of places in the UK, is the sign of recession here with many shops closed down and empty. After walking around for a while we had a late lunch at one recommended to us by Jill and Alan (the people from yesterday) - the Wetherspoons Hotel which we're told are everywhere and they are the best value for food and drink, which we found today was true, plus the interior was quite inviting and pleasant as well.

It's fairly cold and windy and miserable here this afternoon - hopefully tomorrow will be better. We've had very good weather to date though so I should be greatful. They do need rain here but it hasn't been good soaking rain, just intermittent showers.

6-5-2011 Friday
It was still rainy and overcast this morning so the Snowdon Mountain Railway was out of the question again. So Dave took the opportunity to fit some additions to our bikes that we'd bought yesterday. By lunch time the rain had stopped and the sun was peaking out so we rode for a little way, down the road along the Menai Strait that separates the mainland of Wales and the Isle of Anglesey. We then rode along The Promenade which is the stretch of walking and cycling path outside one wall of the walled city of Caernarfon. We mostly just rode around the streets and then we found a pound type shop (similar to our $2 shops) which Dave enjoyed exploring as it was like Bunnings! We came home early afternoon and watched a dvd we'd just bought.

7-5-2011 Saturday
We drove about 9 miles to Llanberis this morning to check out where the Snowdon Mountain Railway was and if there was ample parking. It was overcast and showery but we decided to go on it anyway especially as we got a park in this big carpark that belongs to the Victoria Hotel, but is open to anyone (for a fee) and the railway is just across the road. We paid 6 pounds (about $10) which is for the day if you want, and the guy said we could stay overnight with our van if we wanted for no extra charge - bargain! We did have to look for a place for tonight so that was great.

We got on the 12.30 steam train which takes just under and hour up, you have 30 minutes at the summit and then you need to get back to the train in that time or you'd miss it. If you missed it there was no guarantee there'd be a free spot on the next one (which was every half hour). We'd hoped the weather would've improved on the way up but it didn't. When we got to the top it was misty and showery and you couldn't see anything. Lots of people do the walk and the cafe was filled with people who had done it - getting something to eat and drink and it was packed. There was so much body heat in there my glasses fogged up, just like the windows in the train. Dave decided he was going to walk back down (about a 2 hour walk!) as he didn't get a chance to get any photos in the train on the way up. I asked if he wanted me to go with him (but I didn't really fancy it - the walk would be fine, the rain and mist and fogging up my glasses wouldn't). We took a couple photos of us on the summit (a monument with a brass plate with directions of places on it) with all the fog around, and then he took off at about 1.45pm.

Majestic Snowdon dominates the glorious, ancient landscape of North Wales. At 3,560 ft (1,085m) it is a true mountain, a place of legend - said to be the burial place of the giant ogre Rhita, vanquished by King Arthur. Some believe that Arthur's knights still sleep beneath. I was a bit worried about the train travelling up steep parts of the track especially up the last bit, but it has a rack and pinnion track as well as normal tracks which prevents any slippage no matter how steep - thank heavens!

On the way down in the train, I chatted with 2 guys - one had done the walk up with 2 kids, and I found out that there are about 8 tracks back down the mountain (of varying grades of difficulty) - not just one, and they don't all end up at the train station where we started - some are 5 miles away! So, instead of seeing him about an hour after I get back, it could be another hour or so, and he hasn't got a mobile phone with him - I wasn't too worried though as he said he was just going to follow the others and there were a lot of walkers. When I got back to the van, the sky seemed to clear up and the sun came out but the weather is a bit cantankerous here at the moment. While I'm writing this, he's not back yet.

He finally arrived back at 4.45 pm, 3 hours later and said "That wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done!". He'd noticed walkers peeling off to different paths and finally asked someone who gave him directions which was the way he was going anyway. He came out about 8 miles away from the train station and where we parked, and was able to catch a bus back after a 20 minute wait. We walked through the carpark to the Victoria Hotel for dinner.

8-5-2011 Sunday
It rained quite heavily overnight and this morning so we decided not to try to do much of anything today other than get to our next caravan park - Gaer Hyfryd Caravan Club Site at a town called Corwen.

AFTER SCOTLAND AND IRELAND, WE RETURN TO THE UK VIA WALES

23-8-2012 Thursday
We got up early and left just before 6.30am to make our way to the Dublin Port to catch our 8.20am ferry across to Holyhead, Wales. We only got about 4 and a half hours sleep so will have to make up for it tonight. The roads along the river in Dublin, which is the way to the ferry port, were being closed off from 7am today until the 26th for the Tall Ships Festival. Unfortunately we were missing out on the festival which was a shame. Fortunately we were able to drive through there without any diversions as we came through a bit before 7am, so we arrived at the port in plenty of time. The trip lasted about 3 and a half hours. We did some grocery shopping when we got to Wales and then drove about 50ks to Brynteg (Wales) and Penrhos Caravan Club Site for 2 nights.

24-8-2012 Friday
Rest day today so did the long overdue washing and it was a beautiful sunny day for it - was able to get most of it dry before the clouds rolled in and rain came in the afternoon.

25-8-2012 Saturday
Drove 140ks east and then south today. We visited Conwy Castle on the way - it is mostly ruins but the walls are intact and most of the walls still surround the town, with arches over the roads in and out of the town. The chapel still had its roof on (although we're not sure if it was replaced), and the 3 thin stained glass windows are still intact (surprise). The castle is perched on rock close to the sea, as a lot of them were, and there were good views out over the water. Drove on then, to Chirk (Wales) and Lady Margaret's Park Caravan Club site for 1 night.

26-8-2012 Sunday
It was a bit overcast today but no rain - lovely. On leaving the caravan park, we drove down the road to visit Chirk Castle, built in the 14th century as a fortress. We were given a free guided tour through the elegantly furnished family home, used by the Myddelton family for 400 years. The guide seemed to be well versed in the history of the castle and its occupants' colourful histories. We descended the spiral staircase to the dungeon and when we emerged back out in to the courtyard, a man dressed in a chain-mail costume was humourously giving some young children, some lessons on sword fighting and jousting with wooden poles. The large lawns and gardens were beautiful and well manicured. After about 2 and a half hours, we drove 150ks south to Mordiford (near Hereford - England) and Lucksall Caravan Park for 1 night. This park is bordered by the River Wye on one side, with direct access to the river, and we noticed the campers coming back with their canoe-like boats in the afternoon. There was also a small shed in the park which displayed it as a rental canoe business.

OK folks, that should be the last castle.