HEN WLAD FY NHADAU....

Well, not really, we're a mixture of English and Dutch heritage, but the Welsh anthem must be one of the most stirring on the planet and driving through the countryside it's not hard to feel the spirit of 'How Green Was My Valley'. It also serves to reiterate just how naff their spelling is! But I digress.....all the countries of the UK have their 'traditional' breakfast and Wales is no exception, so after a hearty Welsh Brekky (clearly designed with producing rugby front rowers in mind) we head off under cloudy skies. It's only 5 minutes to Criccieth - wouldn't you know it, just when they stick a few vowels in they don't pronounce them all - it's Cricceth! Another of Edward's WHS protected citadels stands imperiously overlooking the bay and the town....beautiful stuff.

We're heading into Snowdon National Park and even though there is a lot of low cloud around there is no detracting from the wonderful scenery. We pop in to Minffordd (no, I haven't accidentally hit a couple of keys twice!) to have a look at Portmeirion, aka Little Italy, a village purpose built  for the TV series The Prisoner (no, not the one with Bee and The Freak) that replicates a Tuscan village. However they want to charge us an arm and a leg to enter, so we adopt the short arms/long pockets position and leave.

Chateau used in the TV series "The Prisoner"

We wind our way up through spectacular countryside with just a dusting of snow lying around and reach our destination of Blaenau Ffestiniog in the heart of the mountains. It is known as "the town that roofed the world", for here are the world's largest slate quarries and mines. Llechwedd Slate Cavern is a massive chasm in the earth's surface that has a further 40 kilometres of tunnels beneath it.

It's also home to Zip World, the largest zip line in Europe, and unbeknownst to the kids Don L has rather foolishly booked us in. After 3 nervous visits to the rest room Don L is ready to board the ex-army truck that takes the LegsyBoys to the top of the run, and the view is stunning - what I could see of it through my tightly shut eyes!

Sartorial elegance

The kids and Dulcinea are buzzing with excitement, although it is the first time I've ever seen the little fella slightly circumspect. When the gates slide away and there is just one way down the 630 metre cable, it defies all logic and common sense to voluntarily push off, but there we all are flying down the 4 cables in unison at 120kph!

This is so not a good idea!

 

Don L thinks out loud - "a helmet won't help much!"

I can feel my heart pounding (good news Dr. Lau, the stents are working just fine!!) and the air being sucked out of my lungs, and apparently the view is spectacular but it's hard to appreciate it when gripped by terror!

After a 400 metre walk around the rim of the quarry we then do it all again on the 950 metre cable that takes us back to the caverns. I can tell the LegsyBoys have loved it 'cos their faces are frozen with ear to ear smiles (it's 1C after all). Should you do it if you ever in Snowdonia? Absolutely!

A helping hand for the lightweight at the end

We temporarily leave the mountains and head south to Harlech where another WHS castle stands atop an escarpment that spectacularly overlooks the coast.

The Two Kings statue - a lament over the folly and carnage of war

The village is lovely and we decide to have afternoon tea here, but everything is closed. (Travel Tip: If travelling in northern Wales in the off season then be prepared for cafes to be closed - most had signs saying they were re-opening in March). Luckily there was one proprietor smart enough to realise that travel is a year round thing, and so we entered the Llew Glas Cafe, and are we glad we did.

The coffee was passable, but the girls running the place were fabulous, outgoing, friendly and eager to please. Don L was faced with a quandary, what to choose after my serve of scones (the best we've had on our journey I should add). Do I try the delicious looking Victoria Sponge or go 'local' and try some Bara Brith - traditional Welsh fruitcake? Well, the proprietress resolved that for me - "you buy a slice of Victoria and I'll give you a slice of bara brith". Now THAT, senoras y senors, is 5-star service. (Travel Tip: If you ever visit Harlech Castle, make sure you walk up the high street to Llew Glas Cafe).

Our next destination is back up north - Caernarfon. (Travel Note: the distance between most of the coastal and mountain villages is very small). We travel via Snowdonia again, passing the foot of Mt Snowdon which is, unfortunately, partially covered in cloud (little do we realise that this is as good a view as we're going to get!), through the hamlet of Waunfawr (where we see something tempting) and then into our destination.

Mt Snowdon is up there!

Caernarfon Castle is massive, the jewel in the crown of the Edwardian citadels, and we make a call to go in, but as it's approaching twilight we decide to come back on our drive home tomorrow. And so we head back to Waunfawr for dinner, as the Snowdonia Parc Free House pub proudly advertised winning the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Pub Of The Year award. There was a great feeling to the place, lots of friendly locals talking jibberish - sorry, Welsh - a few dogs, and fabulous food at very reasonable prices (Travel Note: northern Wales is quite affordable, with prices nothing like London - but then again, nowhere is priced like London!).

Chicken and leek pies - what else!!!

The weather had turned distinctly bad as we left and headed for our B&B. We sat up and watched The Voice with expert judge TOM JONES - somehow it seemed entirely appropriate.

YEAH!!!!

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD THAT LEADS TO....

Wales! Well, it is winding but It's not that long - there are no long roads in the UK! We've got 2 days to cruise around and we've chosen to go to the north coast and into Snowdonia, in search of the magical spirit that inspired Robert Plant to write those great Led Zeppelin epics.

As we drive into the land of the dragon (Useless Info Dept: did you know that the patron saint of Wales - St. David - was actually Irish, and that the patron saint of Ireland - St. Patrick - was, you guessed it, Welsh!), there are two things that become immediately apparent - there are speed cameras EVERYWHERE (not that Concord ever travels over the legal limit),

Speed camera with unrestricted speed sign coming up!

and the Welsh clearly have a problem with spelling and the use of vowels!
 

No problems for able bodied people to get run over!

We picked up a few words of Welsh, our favourite being 'allan' - we kept having images of the film clip of the meerkat who shouts "Allan, Allan"!

It's almost surreal to be in the British Isles, cross an imaginary border line and immediately be confronted by signs in a completely different language, one that is not even possible to attempt phonetically. It becomes positively Pythonesque when you realise that the locals actually speak their native tongue - I swear I was expecting to see John Cleese or Michael Palin appear from nowhere!

Anyway, if you'e into castles then Wales is the motherlode - this tiny country has over 400 of them, a significant number of them being UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The north coast is particularly significant as this is where King Edward I built a whole chain of fortresses in the 13th century; these medieval citadels are, of course, now preserved ruins. Conwy Castle strategically towers over the Conwy River and the outlet to the sea, and it's picture postcard beautiful.

Across the river spans the Conwy Suspension Bridge, one of the first of its kind in the world when constructed in 1826 by the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford (aka the Collosus Of Roads), and was the only way across the river and to connect with the ferry to Ireland. It remains intact today, although only for pedestrian traffic.

Conwy Suspension Bridge 1826

We pass through Bangor which appeared mundane (a pity, I was so looking forward to going there) and so we soldiered on to the Menai Strait, the stretch of water that separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland. Here we look upon arguably Telford's greatest achievement, the mighty Menai Suspension Bridge (WHS), also constructed in 1826. Spanning 176 metres and 30 metres above the water it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, and was the first fixed crossing of the strait. The wooden surface of the bridge has been replaced by steel, but it's still a thrill to drive over it, a genuine engineering wonder. There is a second bridge over the straits, the Brittania Bridge which was originally built in 1850, but severely damaged by fire in 1970 and subsequently rebuilt.

Menai Strait

Menai Suspension Bridge 1826

Brittania Bridge

We were being lashed by rain as we entered the picturesque village of Beaumaris and to the ruins of the moated Beaumaris Castle (WHS) - paranoid or not, Edward I knew how to build a castle!! We don't go in as it's 10 quid per person and we figure that ruins are just as easily seen from the outside as within (we adopt this approach throughout the trip). From Beaimaris we wind our way to one of Anglesey's biggest attractions, all because of its name.

Low tide at Beaumaris

Across the Menai Strait towards Snowdonia

 

Beaumaris Castle

We are no exception to other travellers, and simply scratch our heads when entering the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, the abridged version of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch (the 2nd longest name in the world and, unsurprisingly, the longest in Europe). How do you pronounce it? It's easy really...llan-vire-pooll-guin-gill-go-ger-u-queern-drob-ooll-llandus-ilio-gogo-goch....see, it's not that hard. Did I mention the Welsh have a spelling problem??? What does it mean? Again...easy for the seasoned traveller - 'The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave'.....of course!

This is a 'vowel free' village!

 

Try saying that with only one tongue

 The island has a two-car rail service that traverses the island west to the ferry port of Holyhead. As luck would have it, one comes hurtling through the station as we're taking snaps. The sign said to wave the driver down, but travelling at the speed of light he clearly didn't see us!

The railway station

The train not about to stop for anyone!

Anglesey Island is a designated 'area of outstanding natural beauty' and upon reaching its westernmost point - South Stack Lighthouse, built in 1868 - it's obvious why it is so classified. There are 400 steps that snake down the cliffs and out to the lighthouse that faces out over the Irish Sea, and it is truly spectacular. (Travel Tip: the area is 'infested' with adders - and I don't mean mathematicians! - during summer, and so now is an excellent time to visit for those like me who have an aversion for slithering critters!). There is much bird life here, and at differing times of the year guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins can be spotted.

 The sun is setting and it's simply magnificent. To reinforce the point about the preservation of the Welsh language, we find out that 75% of Anglesey's population of 70,000 speak Welsh as their first language and English as a 2nd language - fantastic!

It's been a long day and so we wind our way down the coast to our home for the next two nights, the Cefn Uchaf Guesthouse, a beautiful little B&B in the countryside just outside Porthmadog and Criccieth.

Mine hosts are, ironically, an English couple (Kath & Steve) originally from Lancashire. Kath points us in the direction of the very convivial Cross Foxes pub for dinner (where the publican is also an Englishman), and later explains with a knowing smile how in the early 1970s Welsh 'patriot fervour' ran so high in the north that there was mass burning of properties owned by Englishmen - a pleasant thought to sleep on!