River Deep, Mountain High

Snowdon, Welsh Highland Railway and Llangollen Canal, 4 to 8 September

On Wednesday 4th September we decided to celebrate our 37^th wedding anniversary

by ascending Snowdon.  Motorcaravanners note: there is good parking right in front of the station (£7 per day).  The plan was to go up by train and walk down.  However, “the best laid plans of mice and men....” - despite arriving before 10 am, the earliest available train was 3 pm, and, if you walk up, there is no guarantee of a seat on the train to come back down.  So instead we decided to see how far we could get under our own steam (!) and managed two thirds of the 4.5 mile / 1085 metres ascent.  The weather was glorious, the views spectacular and we passed people of all ages on the path (from a baby just a few months old in a sling to a sprightly lady who must have been nudging 70!)

The next day we moved on to our final site, stopping off at the small town of Beddgelert.  We had parked close to the station for the Welsh Highland Railway and noted on the timetable that we could get an 11:30 train down to Porthmadog.  It didn't seem right to leave North Wales without travelling on at least one of the railways, so I twisted John's arm (not difficult) to make the trip.  But there was still time for a cup of coffee and we would recommend Beddgelert Antiques and Tea Rooms (also a B&B and a licensed evening bistro).  Beware! Beddgelert also has a tempting fudge shop! 

The train journey to Porthmadog was very picturesque.  Interesting manoeuvres are necessary at Porthmadog station, as the Festiniog Railway also uses the station, the line coming in from a different direction.  The guard warned us that the train would go beyond the station to the spit of land called The Cob to enable the train to be hauled back into the station by a diesel engine.  On departure, this process had to be reversed.  All very interesting to “my other half”! 

On the return journey,  as it was not too cold, we opted to sit in one of the open carriages and unsurprisingly got covered in flecks of soot!  On passing through one long tunnel the air became hot and thick with smoke, causing spectacles to steam up.  

On arrival back at Beddgelert we had a snack lunch in the 'van we continued our journey to the Caravan Club Site, Lady Margaret’s Park, at Chirk.

This site is highly recommended, although many of the pitches are in shady dells.   It has all the excellent facilities you would expect and is only a 10 to 15 minute walk into the small town, where there is everything else you might need.  The mainline railway station, with trains to Chester and Wrexham, for example, is even closer.  The site is located next to the National Trust property, Chirk Castle, with wonderfully ornate gates, although it is a 1.5 mile walk to the entrance. 

On Friday 6^th we paid a quick visit into Chirk before joining the path by the Llangollen Canal (5 minutes from the site) for a most enjoyable walk to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, built between 1795 and 1805 by Thomas Telford.  It is an amazing structure, which we even summoned up courage to walk across, looking down on the valley 126 feet below!

  http://www.pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk/en-gb/discover-world-heritage/pontcysyllte-aqueduct/

Having had quite an energetic eight days, Saturday 7^th was designated a “day of rest” but it was also lovely to see Chris and Marie, who stopped by to visit during the morning, as they were in the area. 

To sum up, we found some excellent sites and wonderful places and will do our best to make a follow-up visit.

Castle(s) in the Air

The Great Orme and Caernarfon, 1 to 2 September

The next day (Sunday 1^st) we planned to drive to the western side of Llandudno and climb the Great Orme.    As John was a bit concerned about where we would park Theodora (the UK is not the most friendly place for motorcaravans) we made an early start, but needn't have worried.  There was loads of free parking along the promenade.  We took the “steep, zig-zag route” to the top (and indeed it was just that on both counts!) but reached the top in about an hour and a quarter, contrary to the signpost's allowance of two hours.  At the summit there is an interesting visitor centre and a large cafe / restaurant where we had lunch.  Feeling refreshed, we then walked around the edge of the headland to view the limestone pavement, which is one of the largest examples in the world. 

We descended via the Great Orme Tramway, now in its 111^th year, which is the only cable-hauled tramway operating in Britain and still using the original tramcars.  It was certainly a very interesting place; full details at  http://www.greatorme.org.uk/ 

We then travelled on to the next stop on our itinerary south of Caernarfon, Bryn Gloch Caravan and Camping Park, nestled in the heart of Snowdonia, with splendid views. 

This is a lovely site and although it is rather large including some statics and seasonal caravan pitches, it is broken up into separate fields so each area feels quite separate.   The facilities are excellent and very clean.  One point to note is that although it advertises free WiFi, this was so slow it was useless.  The site does not appear to have its own website but is included in many other links.  The Welsh Highland Railway passes through the site (guess who chose this one then!) and the next afternoon we got on the bikes and cycled to the nearest station (Rhyd Ddu) to take some photographs as two steam trains passed through.  This will sound boring to non-enthusiasts, but even I will admit there is something rather special about steam trains!

There is a bus stop right outside the site so on Tuesday 3^rd Theodora had another rest day while we travelled in to Caernarfon.  We found a lovely little tea room run by a Dutch lady (can't remember the name but look for the sign advertising Dutch pancakes!) and enjoyed our coffee in the tiny garden.  Then on to the well-maintained castle, one of Edward I's chain of castles built to maintain control over Wales, which we thought was good value at £6 per person.  http://www.caernarfon-castle.co.uk/ The 25 minute audio visual presentation giving the history of the castle was very informative, as was the exhibition about Prince Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969.  Before returning to base we wandered across the river to view the castle from the other side.

North by Northwest

Chester and Bodnant Gardens, 29 to 31 August

Children are now on their way back to school so it must be time to have another break in Theodora.  We had a fairly unremarkable journey up to Chester Fairoaks Caravan Club Site, ignoring the inevitable delay on the A14 and the half-price trip on the M6 toll (courtesy of membership to the Caravan Club).

Despite the site being only minutes walk away from Cheshire Oaks Retail Outlet, we managed to steer clear and head for Chester on the bus; the nearest stop is about 15 minutes walk.  Our last visit was probably about 40 years ago!  To refresh our memories, we walked around the city walls, starting at Eastgate, recognisable by its famous clock.

There was racing at the Roodee Racecourse and you get a good (free!) view from the walls.  A few people were installed with folding chairs and picnics.  You will be intrigued to learn that its curious name comes from the old English words, rood, or cross, and eye, or island – meaning literally 'the island of the cross' – and that in the middle of the circuit there is the stump of a medieval cross.  You never know, could be useful in a quiz sometime!  It was also interesting to learn from our leaflet how Chester was, at one time, the second largest port on the west of England and its decline was largely due to the silting up of the River Dee.  A brief walk by the river and a peek into the cathedral filled the rest of our time.

After a second night at Chester, we moved on to a Camping and Caravanning Club Certified Site close to Llandudno, calling at the National Trust Bodnant Gardens on the way.  The house is not open to the public but the gardens (80 acres with spectacular views across Snowdonia) are stunning, “with expansive lawns and intimate corners, grand ponds and impressive terraces, a steep wooded valley and stream”.