On Saturday we woke up to horrible, drizzly weather and a horrible shower block full of daddy-long-legs. Let’s get out of here! The drizzle eased a bit, but the whole of Anglesey seemed to be covered in a thick mist. Rodney commented that there would be nothing to write about because we couldn’t see anything. But I still had hopes of it clearing by the time we reached the north coast. And it did!!! As we drove in to Beaumaris, the sun came out and the town looked lovely set against the Menai Strait and with the mountains of Snowdonia rising on the opposite bank.
We walked along the waterfront and down Castle Street to, you guessed it, the castle; which seemed to have shrunk! Perhaps because it wasn’t built on a hill, or a cliff top, but on the flat ground, it looked more like a toy castle. It turns out, it was never finished because Edward I ran out of funds before it was completed. We found a sunny spot on the top of a hill nearby, to eat our packed lunch and enjoy the nice view over the castle and waterfront and then we wandered around the town and along the promenade back to Eileen.
From Beaumaris we drove along the edge of the strait and over the Menai Bridge back to mainland Wales. The A5 up to Betws-Y-Coed turned out to be a very scenic route climbing gradually up the Ogwen River Valley. Unfortunately the campsite in town was fully booked, so we made a booking for the following night and two more after that. Change of plan.
We drove up the Conwy River Valley to, you guessed it, Conwy and had a short wander around the town, checking out a plan for the next day. We then found plenty of available space at the grotty Conwy Touring Park; I was very glad it was only going to be for the one night.
On Sunday morning we drove back in to Conwy and strolled up to the 13thC castle entrance. The next hour and a half was spent covering every inch of the fabulous ruin. We walked along all of the battlements, peered down in to the dungeon, got lost in the maze of rooms and up every accessible tower and turret (though Rodney did pike on one of them). This castle truly does soar above the walled town and from the top of the turrets, the surrounding views are spectacular.
Then, after finally ‘exiting through the gift shop’, we walked the full length of the ancient city walls. The highest point gives a fabulous view back over the town, the castle and the river beyond.
In the afternoon we drove back to Betws-Y-Coed to our pre-booked pitch. The campsite is very neat and everyone has to park in the same direction, equal distance apart (them’s the rules, mate) and it is right in the village, so we were able to go out for dinner at one of the local pubs. The only down-side is that we’ve been allocated the pitch at the very far end, as far from the shower block as you could possibly park. We’re also right next to the railway line. There only seems to be five trains a day, but the first one is at 6am!!!. In my deep sleep I wondered what the hell was coming through our motorhome in the dark on Monday morning!!! Ah well, it’s only three nights….
