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.