From Poetry to Nature - My 4 days in Wales trip report
Jun 22nd, 2006, 03:24 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From Poetry to Nature - My 4 days in Wales trip report
My wife and I took this trip in the summer of 2003, when in fact we spent 36 days all around UK. I decided to split the entire trip report into separate parts for England, Wales and Scotland respectively.
I have already posted my report for the seven days spent in Scotland at the following link (Kilts, haggis and bagpipes – My 7 days in Scotland – A trip report)
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34822880
This report is for the 4 days we spent in Wales. I will post the trip report for England later, on a different thread.
At about 9.15pm we reached Cardiff, coming by train from Plymouth - Bristol. Our hotel was right on the banks of river Taff, just across from the Millenium Stadium.
At about 10pm we went out for a walk for a first contact with the city. That evening, Saturday 5th July, the students were celebrating the end of the school year and the streets in the city centre were full of teenagers going to pubs and discos.
Even though the buildings and architecture were beautiful in general, we were unpleasantly surprised by the fact that it was dirty, garbage everywhere on the streets, even in the city centre or parks.
It could have been from the endless crowds of youngsters filling up the streets down town.
To be continued...
I have already posted my report for the seven days spent in Scotland at the following link (Kilts, haggis and bagpipes – My 7 days in Scotland – A trip report)
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34822880
This report is for the 4 days we spent in Wales. I will post the trip report for England later, on a different thread.
At about 9.15pm we reached Cardiff, coming by train from Plymouth - Bristol. Our hotel was right on the banks of river Taff, just across from the Millenium Stadium.
At about 10pm we went out for a walk for a first contact with the city. That evening, Saturday 5th July, the students were celebrating the end of the school year and the streets in the city centre were full of teenagers going to pubs and discos.
Even though the buildings and architecture were beautiful in general, we were unpleasantly surprised by the fact that it was dirty, garbage everywhere on the streets, even in the city centre or parks.
It could have been from the endless crowds of youngsters filling up the streets down town.
To be continued...
Jun 22nd, 2006, 03:32 PM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 1
On Sunday morning, 6th July, we went to visit Cardiff Castle, right in the centre of the city. We visited the keep and then the Clock Tower. Here we saw the Winter Smoking Room, where the decorative theme, just appropriately since the room is in the Clock Tower, is “Time”.
Zodiac signs, Scandinavian gods after which the Saxons named the days of the week, and activities specific to each season are painted on the ceiling, walls and windows.
Also in the Clock Tower is the Summer Smoking Room, of which they say is one of the most beautiful rooms in Great Britain. Being at the top of the tower, from the windows we could see the panorama of Cardiff and its surroundings.
Hanging from the ceiling is a superb bronze chandelier in the shape of the Sun God on his chariot wheel. In the Guest Tower we visited the Children Room, full of toys, images and characters from fairy tales.
Next was the Arab Room, with a Turkish decorative style. The biggest room in the castle is the Banqueting Hall, dating from the 15th century.
At the top of the Octogonal Tower is the Chaucer Room, named after Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales. The decorations represent scenes from the author’s works.
A beautiful surprise was waiting for us when we reached the top of the Bute Tower: the roof garden, dating from 1876, inspired by a few visits to the Roman ruins at Pompei. The garden is an interior court where the most beautiful camellias and azaleas from the castle’s hothouses are displayed.
In the middle of the garden there is an impressive fountain with an exuberant design with all kinds of creatures, real or imaginary.
We liked the Small Dining Room with beautiful and intricate decorations on the ceiling. The table has a special feature, in the sense that in the middle there is a hole through which a grape vine used to pass.
Thus, during the meals served here, fresh grapes could be picked directly from the vine. The last room visited was the library, a large room with the original furniture.
All the rooms and halls visited in this castle have beautiful and rich decorations and are the work of a single architect, William Burges.
In one of the towers is the Welsh Regiment Museum and we visited it. We learned about the history of the services of the South Wales Infantry Regiment: the formation and defense of the British Empire, the two World Wars and the subsequent confrontations during the Cold War.
We were impressed reading about the courage the power of sacrifice of those soldiers, many of them saving their comrades in very dangerous situations, or capturing alone several enemy soldiers.
We saw photos, uniforms, weapons, medals, decorations, objects of personal use of various officers or soldiers.
Another museum inside the castle is the Queen’s Dragoon Guards. Here also we learned about the battles where this regiment was involved. At the battle of Waterloo the Dragoon Guards formed the majority of the Cavalry Brigade.
They were part of the North African units that fought and won against Rommel.
We enjoyed very much the visit to Cardiff Castle. We liked the objects of art and the furniture in the rooms and halls in the Residential Block, we liked the presentations in the two military museums and were impressed by the heroic and chivalrous acts of the soldiers in the two regiments mentioned above.
From the castle we went to the National Museum of Wales, hosted by one of the most beautiful buildings in Cardiff.
We enjoyed the visit to this museum, where we saw collections of European painting and sculpture, archeology, antiquities, art, natural sciences and geology.
In the afternoon we took a bus and went to Caerphilly Castle, at about 10km from Cardiff. The castle was built in 1268.
A feature that caught our attention is the defense system, made by a concentric and elaborate arrangement of defense walls and moats.
When we were there the wild ducks were those who rejoiced the most for the presence of the moats.
The castle looks well considering the centuries that passed over it, but inside there is no furniture or objects of art, the walls are empty and in some rooms are panels with images and texts about the history of the castle.
We climbed the towers, walked on the defense walls and enjoyed the views, a quiet landscape in the countryside with hills, forests and houses.
We returned to Cardiff in the evening and went to Cardiff Bay for a walk. We were not overly impressed by Cardiff itself, only the National Museum of Wales and Cardiff Castle saving some of the grey appearance that the city showed us.
However, it may be possible that Cardiff has much more to offer, and we were there for one day only.
To be continued...
On Sunday morning, 6th July, we went to visit Cardiff Castle, right in the centre of the city. We visited the keep and then the Clock Tower. Here we saw the Winter Smoking Room, where the decorative theme, just appropriately since the room is in the Clock Tower, is “Time”.
Zodiac signs, Scandinavian gods after which the Saxons named the days of the week, and activities specific to each season are painted on the ceiling, walls and windows.
Also in the Clock Tower is the Summer Smoking Room, of which they say is one of the most beautiful rooms in Great Britain. Being at the top of the tower, from the windows we could see the panorama of Cardiff and its surroundings.
Hanging from the ceiling is a superb bronze chandelier in the shape of the Sun God on his chariot wheel. In the Guest Tower we visited the Children Room, full of toys, images and characters from fairy tales.
Next was the Arab Room, with a Turkish decorative style. The biggest room in the castle is the Banqueting Hall, dating from the 15th century.
At the top of the Octogonal Tower is the Chaucer Room, named after Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales. The decorations represent scenes from the author’s works.
A beautiful surprise was waiting for us when we reached the top of the Bute Tower: the roof garden, dating from 1876, inspired by a few visits to the Roman ruins at Pompei. The garden is an interior court where the most beautiful camellias and azaleas from the castle’s hothouses are displayed.
In the middle of the garden there is an impressive fountain with an exuberant design with all kinds of creatures, real or imaginary.
We liked the Small Dining Room with beautiful and intricate decorations on the ceiling. The table has a special feature, in the sense that in the middle there is a hole through which a grape vine used to pass.
Thus, during the meals served here, fresh grapes could be picked directly from the vine. The last room visited was the library, a large room with the original furniture.
All the rooms and halls visited in this castle have beautiful and rich decorations and are the work of a single architect, William Burges.
In one of the towers is the Welsh Regiment Museum and we visited it. We learned about the history of the services of the South Wales Infantry Regiment: the formation and defense of the British Empire, the two World Wars and the subsequent confrontations during the Cold War.
We were impressed reading about the courage the power of sacrifice of those soldiers, many of them saving their comrades in very dangerous situations, or capturing alone several enemy soldiers.
We saw photos, uniforms, weapons, medals, decorations, objects of personal use of various officers or soldiers.
Another museum inside the castle is the Queen’s Dragoon Guards. Here also we learned about the battles where this regiment was involved. At the battle of Waterloo the Dragoon Guards formed the majority of the Cavalry Brigade.
They were part of the North African units that fought and won against Rommel.
We enjoyed very much the visit to Cardiff Castle. We liked the objects of art and the furniture in the rooms and halls in the Residential Block, we liked the presentations in the two military museums and were impressed by the heroic and chivalrous acts of the soldiers in the two regiments mentioned above.
From the castle we went to the National Museum of Wales, hosted by one of the most beautiful buildings in Cardiff.
We enjoyed the visit to this museum, where we saw collections of European painting and sculpture, archeology, antiquities, art, natural sciences and geology.
In the afternoon we took a bus and went to Caerphilly Castle, at about 10km from Cardiff. The castle was built in 1268.
A feature that caught our attention is the defense system, made by a concentric and elaborate arrangement of defense walls and moats.
When we were there the wild ducks were those who rejoiced the most for the presence of the moats.
The castle looks well considering the centuries that passed over it, but inside there is no furniture or objects of art, the walls are empty and in some rooms are panels with images and texts about the history of the castle.
We climbed the towers, walked on the defense walls and enjoyed the views, a quiet landscape in the countryside with hills, forests and houses.
We returned to Cardiff in the evening and went to Cardiff Bay for a walk. We were not overly impressed by Cardiff itself, only the National Museum of Wales and Cardiff Castle saving some of the grey appearance that the city showed us.
However, it may be possible that Cardiff has much more to offer, and we were there for one day only.
To be continued...
Jun 22nd, 2006, 04:10 PM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 2
On 7th July in the morning we left for a 3 days trip around Wales by car. Our first stop was in Brecon Beacons National Park: mountains, forest hills and valleys, sheep grazing and here and there a house or a chalet.
In the distance there were mountains over which a mist was falling. Everywhere around us the landscape was beautiful and we enjoyed a lot of tranquility.
Sheep were grazing without any worries. Nobody was there with them.
We continued our driving towards Swansea, where the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was born, and we visited the Cultural Centre named after him.
There was an exhibition inside displaying objects that belonged to the poet, including letters, manuscripts, poetry books. On a few screens there were images with testimonials by many political and artistic personalities that met and knew Dylan Thomas, among which James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
On several boards there were photos of himself, and a detailed biography. In a special enclosure we could listen to CDs recorded with poems recited by the poet himself.
We each took a chair, sat down and for about a quarter of an hour we listened with headphones to all the 5 or 6 poems recited by him on the CD. We enjoyed very much the visit here, especially because we could find out details that we didn’t know about the life of this great poet.
From Swansea we continued to Laugharne, a town on the shores of Carmarthen Bay at the Celtic Sea, where we visited the house where Dylan Thomas spent his last four years of life.
It is a beautiful place and right at the back of the house there is a hill covered by a forest, and in front the sea stretches to far away.
Laugharne is a beautiful town with its own ruins of a 12 century castle, which adds to the charm. When we left we found a souvenir shop from where we bought a doll dressed in traditional Welsh costume and a love spoon, symbol that the young Welsh men used to give their loved ones when asking them in marriage.
We continued towards the west and stopped somewhere in the countryside, near Carmarthen. We found accommodation at Cothi Bridge hotel, a building resembling a bigger country house, with two storeys.
The hotel is on the banks of a river, and at the back there are a field, a forest and hills. We went for a walk on a path alongside the river, by the trees that guarded its flow, and absorbed the surrounding green and the silence, interrupted sometimes by the birds chirruping.
We reached the edge of the forest and returned to our hotel, where we sat down on the river bank. It was a very relaxing evening.
To be continued...
On 7th July in the morning we left for a 3 days trip around Wales by car. Our first stop was in Brecon Beacons National Park: mountains, forest hills and valleys, sheep grazing and here and there a house or a chalet.
In the distance there were mountains over which a mist was falling. Everywhere around us the landscape was beautiful and we enjoyed a lot of tranquility.
Sheep were grazing without any worries. Nobody was there with them.
We continued our driving towards Swansea, where the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was born, and we visited the Cultural Centre named after him.
There was an exhibition inside displaying objects that belonged to the poet, including letters, manuscripts, poetry books. On a few screens there were images with testimonials by many political and artistic personalities that met and knew Dylan Thomas, among which James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
On several boards there were photos of himself, and a detailed biography. In a special enclosure we could listen to CDs recorded with poems recited by the poet himself.
We each took a chair, sat down and for about a quarter of an hour we listened with headphones to all the 5 or 6 poems recited by him on the CD. We enjoyed very much the visit here, especially because we could find out details that we didn’t know about the life of this great poet.
From Swansea we continued to Laugharne, a town on the shores of Carmarthen Bay at the Celtic Sea, where we visited the house where Dylan Thomas spent his last four years of life.
It is a beautiful place and right at the back of the house there is a hill covered by a forest, and in front the sea stretches to far away.
Laugharne is a beautiful town with its own ruins of a 12 century castle, which adds to the charm. When we left we found a souvenir shop from where we bought a doll dressed in traditional Welsh costume and a love spoon, symbol that the young Welsh men used to give their loved ones when asking them in marriage.
We continued towards the west and stopped somewhere in the countryside, near Carmarthen. We found accommodation at Cothi Bridge hotel, a building resembling a bigger country house, with two storeys.
The hotel is on the banks of a river, and at the back there are a field, a forest and hills. We went for a walk on a path alongside the river, by the trees that guarded its flow, and absorbed the surrounding green and the silence, interrupted sometimes by the birds chirruping.
We reached the edge of the forest and returned to our hotel, where we sat down on the river bank. It was a very relaxing evening.
To be continued...
Jun 22nd, 2006, 04:19 PM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 3
On Tuesday morning, the 8th July, we continued our trip towards the west, then we took up north along the coast.
Unfortunately it was foggy and we couldn’t see the sea to our left. The journey was beautiful, among mountains and hills, and the sea would have added a lot to the beauty of the landscape.
We stopped at Machynlleth, a small town with maybe 2000 inhabitants, the medieval capital of Wales. Here Owain Glyndwr held his Welsh Parliament in 1404.
We visited the museum dedicated to this Welsh national hero, who fought for independence against England and King Henry IV.
We continued our way north, passing through Aberdyfi, a picturesque village on the shores of Cardigan Bay, and stopped for a little while in Dyffryn Ardudwy village, where we visited a neolitic stone tomb.
Some rocks were arranged in such a way to form a room and everything was surrounded by a stone wall. Really like in the Stone Age.
In the afternoon we reached Harlech Castle, a masterpiece of medieval military architecture. The castle was built by King Eduard I between 1283 – 1289.
At those times the sea reached the foot of the rock on which it is built, making this castle very difficult to conquer. At the middle of the 15th century it stood a seven years siege by the Yorkists, the longest siege in the history of Great Britain.
We climbed the towers and we saw the sea at a distance, beyond some hills, a very beautiful sight. Unfortunately we couldn’t spend too much time here, because we had to reach in time for a trip with one of the famous Great Little Trains of Wales.
We reached Portmadog, a small town in Snowdonia National Park, well known in the 19th century for the slate extracted here. The railway used for the carrier wagons is only 60cm wide, just enough for the horses to pull the empty cars and narrow enough to be able to make the bends due to the mountainous relief.
The route allowed the loaded cars to descend by gravity, while the horses that were used to pull the empty cars up the mountain were put to rest or were eating in special cars.
As the slate traffic grew, problems to the horse – gravitation system appeared. In July 1863 the first steam engines were brought and in October they were put into service.
Such a train we took in the evening of 8 July 2003, exactly 140 years since the first steam engines were brought there. Only this time the little train had passenger cars and not slate wagons.
When the train blew the whistle (so classic, like in the children tales) we set up on a journey with one of the Great Little Trains of Wales in a third class car, with wooden benches and windows that were opening and closing by the means of a leather belt.
The journey was funny enough in this little train, with a railway almost as narrow as those in the leisure parks.
We made a circle around the mountain, followed by climbing, then the descent. Every now and then, the engine would blow a long whistle, making the trip even merrier (Uuuuuuuuuuu!! Choo-choo choo-choo choo-choo!!).
Sometimes the smoke was passing by our window, adding to the charm, even though it filled our car smoking us a few times.
We passed among a few huge piles of slate leftovers, alternating with beautiful landscapes of countryside and forests, sometimes holding ourselves tightly to the rail, when the valley was too steep.
When the slate loaded train reached down in the valley, the person being in the front car pulled the signal for clearing the way and braked the train.
This needed quite a distance to stop due to the speed and weight of the load.
After one hour and ten minutes we reached the end of the line, Blaenau-Ffestiniog, another small and picturesque town, coming to life along with the arrival of the tourists with one of these funny Great Little Trains.
In the evening we reached Snowdonia National Park. In Welsh this park is called “Eryri” – Land of the Eagles. The name of Snowdonia comes from Snowdon mountain, the highest peak in England and Wales (1085m).
We stopped for the night in Betws-y-Coed, a nice town surrounded by mountains and forests, a river flowing by our hotel. We walked for a few hours through this town and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
The houses and villas looked very beautiful, there were also a few bridges crossing the river. On the side of one of those bridges was written “This bridge was built in the year of the battle of Waterloo”.
We lingered for longer in a park and had the chance to see rabbits and squirrels jumping and having fun in the grass and among the trees.
To be continued...
On Tuesday morning, the 8th July, we continued our trip towards the west, then we took up north along the coast.
Unfortunately it was foggy and we couldn’t see the sea to our left. The journey was beautiful, among mountains and hills, and the sea would have added a lot to the beauty of the landscape.
We stopped at Machynlleth, a small town with maybe 2000 inhabitants, the medieval capital of Wales. Here Owain Glyndwr held his Welsh Parliament in 1404.
We visited the museum dedicated to this Welsh national hero, who fought for independence against England and King Henry IV.
We continued our way north, passing through Aberdyfi, a picturesque village on the shores of Cardigan Bay, and stopped for a little while in Dyffryn Ardudwy village, where we visited a neolitic stone tomb.
Some rocks were arranged in such a way to form a room and everything was surrounded by a stone wall. Really like in the Stone Age.
In the afternoon we reached Harlech Castle, a masterpiece of medieval military architecture. The castle was built by King Eduard I between 1283 – 1289.
At those times the sea reached the foot of the rock on which it is built, making this castle very difficult to conquer. At the middle of the 15th century it stood a seven years siege by the Yorkists, the longest siege in the history of Great Britain.
We climbed the towers and we saw the sea at a distance, beyond some hills, a very beautiful sight. Unfortunately we couldn’t spend too much time here, because we had to reach in time for a trip with one of the famous Great Little Trains of Wales.
We reached Portmadog, a small town in Snowdonia National Park, well known in the 19th century for the slate extracted here. The railway used for the carrier wagons is only 60cm wide, just enough for the horses to pull the empty cars and narrow enough to be able to make the bends due to the mountainous relief.
The route allowed the loaded cars to descend by gravity, while the horses that were used to pull the empty cars up the mountain were put to rest or were eating in special cars.
As the slate traffic grew, problems to the horse – gravitation system appeared. In July 1863 the first steam engines were brought and in October they were put into service.
Such a train we took in the evening of 8 July 2003, exactly 140 years since the first steam engines were brought there. Only this time the little train had passenger cars and not slate wagons.
When the train blew the whistle (so classic, like in the children tales) we set up on a journey with one of the Great Little Trains of Wales in a third class car, with wooden benches and windows that were opening and closing by the means of a leather belt.
The journey was funny enough in this little train, with a railway almost as narrow as those in the leisure parks.
We made a circle around the mountain, followed by climbing, then the descent. Every now and then, the engine would blow a long whistle, making the trip even merrier (Uuuuuuuuuuu!! Choo-choo choo-choo choo-choo!!).
Sometimes the smoke was passing by our window, adding to the charm, even though it filled our car smoking us a few times.
We passed among a few huge piles of slate leftovers, alternating with beautiful landscapes of countryside and forests, sometimes holding ourselves tightly to the rail, when the valley was too steep.
When the slate loaded train reached down in the valley, the person being in the front car pulled the signal for clearing the way and braked the train.
This needed quite a distance to stop due to the speed and weight of the load.
After one hour and ten minutes we reached the end of the line, Blaenau-Ffestiniog, another small and picturesque town, coming to life along with the arrival of the tourists with one of these funny Great Little Trains.
In the evening we reached Snowdonia National Park. In Welsh this park is called “Eryri” – Land of the Eagles. The name of Snowdonia comes from Snowdon mountain, the highest peak in England and Wales (1085m).
We stopped for the night in Betws-y-Coed, a nice town surrounded by mountains and forests, a river flowing by our hotel. We walked for a few hours through this town and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
The houses and villas looked very beautiful, there were also a few bridges crossing the river. On the side of one of those bridges was written “This bridge was built in the year of the battle of Waterloo”.
We lingered for longer in a park and had the chance to see rabbits and squirrels jumping and having fun in the grass and among the trees.
To be continued...
Jun 23rd, 2006, 04:38 AM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 4
On 9th July morning we left to conquer Mount Snowdon. At the exit from Betws-y-Coed there is a house built entirely from stone and is called The Ugly House. The legend has it that this house was built in 1475 by two outlaw brothers.
It is said that the one who could build a house over night and by sunrise smoke came out on the chimney, could have the land for free. The border of the small property could be extended as far away as the owner could throw the axe from the four corners of his new dwelling.
One would choose a lone and isolated spot, all materials gathered, friends were called to help and at sunset the work started. It is supposed that the rule was not enforced too strictly, and it was enough if the walls were superficially built and smoke would come out a chimney that was hastily put up.
This house is located at the edge of the road, nicely sided by forest with a mountain behind. All the way to Mount Snowdon we admired superb views with mountains, forests and lakes.
Not having enough time on our side, we chose to go to the peak with the cogwheel train, leaving from Llanberis, at the foot of the mountain. There was a small steam engine and a single third class car, same as the cars of the little train that we took the day before.
A lot of people were there at the station, all wanting to go to the top of the mountain with that train. We heard the engine whistle and started to move.
The way to the top is winding and as we went up higher and higher, the landscape around us became more and more fascinating. On one side we had the mountains and the valleys, and on the other there was an abrupt opening, and we could see houses and the road winding at the foot of the mountain.
We could hear the engine puffing heavily, as if it was nearly giving in to the load that it had to carry up.
At a certain moment we had a very beautiful view when in a valley we saw a lake surrounded by mountains. The legend has it that in that lake King Arthur’s sword – Excalibur was thrown and that at the bottom of that lake the king’s body was sunk in a canoe, after he died in a battle.
When we reached near the top we were engulfed by fog, which at times was dispersed by the wind. The station is at 1065m altitude. Looking down the mountain we had a beautiful view of the railway winding down in the valley.
We climbed on foot the 20 metres left to the top and of course we had a photo taken as two conquerors when we reached up. We had a coffee at the coffee shop there and took the train back.
After this we went to the fantasy village of Portmeirion, stopping for refreshments in Beddgelert, a small town in the mountains, with houses and villas made of stone, flowers everywhere, a nice and quiet place.
Portmeirion village is the work of the Welsh architect Sir Clough William-Ellis, who for 50 years starting 1925, created a lively coloured fantasy in an Italian Mediterranean style.
This village is purely touristy, it has no inhabitants, but has all the features of a living village or town: customs house, houses of various shapes and colours, church, great square, park, gardens, town hall, hotel, etc.
On the other hand, every house is a shop, restaurant, coffee shop, various businesses, aimed at the tourists. Because many materials saved from other constructions were used, such as the Colonnades brought from Bristol, or a 12 century castle, the architect named this village the “house of the fallen buildings”.
Located at the edge of a forest on the sea shore, Portmeirion is an architectural jewel, a life size toy village, and the colours of the houses spread a lot of joy: yellow, orange, blue, pink, light blue, lilac.
We had a very good ice cream and walked through the alleys in the village and great square, where at that time they were shooting for an opera concert.
To be continued...
On 9th July morning we left to conquer Mount Snowdon. At the exit from Betws-y-Coed there is a house built entirely from stone and is called The Ugly House. The legend has it that this house was built in 1475 by two outlaw brothers.
It is said that the one who could build a house over night and by sunrise smoke came out on the chimney, could have the land for free. The border of the small property could be extended as far away as the owner could throw the axe from the four corners of his new dwelling.
One would choose a lone and isolated spot, all materials gathered, friends were called to help and at sunset the work started. It is supposed that the rule was not enforced too strictly, and it was enough if the walls were superficially built and smoke would come out a chimney that was hastily put up.
This house is located at the edge of the road, nicely sided by forest with a mountain behind. All the way to Mount Snowdon we admired superb views with mountains, forests and lakes.
Not having enough time on our side, we chose to go to the peak with the cogwheel train, leaving from Llanberis, at the foot of the mountain. There was a small steam engine and a single third class car, same as the cars of the little train that we took the day before.
A lot of people were there at the station, all wanting to go to the top of the mountain with that train. We heard the engine whistle and started to move.
The way to the top is winding and as we went up higher and higher, the landscape around us became more and more fascinating. On one side we had the mountains and the valleys, and on the other there was an abrupt opening, and we could see houses and the road winding at the foot of the mountain.
We could hear the engine puffing heavily, as if it was nearly giving in to the load that it had to carry up.
At a certain moment we had a very beautiful view when in a valley we saw a lake surrounded by mountains. The legend has it that in that lake King Arthur’s sword – Excalibur was thrown and that at the bottom of that lake the king’s body was sunk in a canoe, after he died in a battle.
When we reached near the top we were engulfed by fog, which at times was dispersed by the wind. The station is at 1065m altitude. Looking down the mountain we had a beautiful view of the railway winding down in the valley.
We climbed on foot the 20 metres left to the top and of course we had a photo taken as two conquerors when we reached up. We had a coffee at the coffee shop there and took the train back.
After this we went to the fantasy village of Portmeirion, stopping for refreshments in Beddgelert, a small town in the mountains, with houses and villas made of stone, flowers everywhere, a nice and quiet place.
Portmeirion village is the work of the Welsh architect Sir Clough William-Ellis, who for 50 years starting 1925, created a lively coloured fantasy in an Italian Mediterranean style.
This village is purely touristy, it has no inhabitants, but has all the features of a living village or town: customs house, houses of various shapes and colours, church, great square, park, gardens, town hall, hotel, etc.
On the other hand, every house is a shop, restaurant, coffee shop, various businesses, aimed at the tourists. Because many materials saved from other constructions were used, such as the Colonnades brought from Bristol, or a 12 century castle, the architect named this village the “house of the fallen buildings”.
Located at the edge of a forest on the sea shore, Portmeirion is an architectural jewel, a life size toy village, and the colours of the houses spread a lot of joy: yellow, orange, blue, pink, light blue, lilac.
We had a very good ice cream and walked through the alleys in the village and great square, where at that time they were shooting for an opera concert.
To be continued...
Jun 23rd, 2006, 05:47 AM
#6
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,282
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
More great stuff, Gabriel - your descriptions are so poetic. You should get a job with the British tourist board !
I didn't know about Cardiff Castle's roof terrace - I didn't see it when went on the tour, so should go back.
I'm sorry you didn't find Cardiff very nice. My husband is Welsh (from Swansea) so I'm sort of biased, but we visit Cardiff two or three times a year and really like it. I think you would have been there before the new Wales Millennium Centre (opera house etc) and the Assembly Building were built at Cardiff Bay. We love the WMC and if you go back, the tour is very interesting. The Assembly Building is also rather nice is a fairly modest way, was designed by Richard Rogers, and you can also book a tour of it.
Another place I believe is worth a visit is also Castell Coch, a small rather fairytale type pink castle built as a folly, but I haven't visited it yet myself.
Looking forward to further instalments.
I didn't know about Cardiff Castle's roof terrace - I didn't see it when went on the tour, so should go back.
I'm sorry you didn't find Cardiff very nice. My husband is Welsh (from Swansea) so I'm sort of biased, but we visit Cardiff two or three times a year and really like it. I think you would have been there before the new Wales Millennium Centre (opera house etc) and the Assembly Building were built at Cardiff Bay. We love the WMC and if you go back, the tour is very interesting. The Assembly Building is also rather nice is a fairly modest way, was designed by Richard Rogers, and you can also book a tour of it.
Another place I believe is worth a visit is also Castell Coch, a small rather fairytale type pink castle built as a folly, but I haven't visited it yet myself.
Looking forward to further instalments.
Jun 23rd, 2006, 09:56 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you, Caroline for your feedback!
I'm so glad you enjoy my report.
Yes, I was a bit cautious when I mentioned about not liking Cardiff so much, but I did say that we were there for one day only, therefore we may have missed some things, which you just confirmed.
I'm so glad you enjoy my report.
Yes, I was a bit cautious when I mentioned about not liking Cardiff so much, but I did say that we were there for one day only, therefore we may have missed some things, which you just confirmed.
Jun 23rd, 2006, 01:46 PM
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cont'd...
After we had lunch we continued our journey and stopped at Caernarfon Castle, probably the most impressive castle in Wales. It was built in 1283 by King Eduard I and was a strong symbol of England’s domination over the Welsh.
Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon in 1969. We crossed the Britannia Bridge to the Island of Anglesey. On the way we stopped to take a picture of the old bridge that connected the island to the mainland, Menai Bridge, built in 1819-1826.
When it was finished this was the longest suspended bridge in the world. Our main destination on the island was the house museum of Marquess of Anglesey, Plas Newydd (The New Place).
Located in a superb landscape at Menai Strait, with a lake at the back and surrounded by the forest hills of Snowdonia National Park, this magnificent mansion was built in the 18th century by James Wyatt.
We admired a few paintings by the famous caricaturist Rex Whistler. Some of the paintings offered different images or gave different meanings to the scenes, when looked at from different angles.
This museum also houses an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Rex Whistler. Besides this exhibition, there is also a small military museum, with objects from the campaigns of the First Marquess of Anglesey.
He was in charge of the cavalry at the battle of Waterloo, at that time being Count of Uxbridge. After the victorious battle he was made Marquess of Anglesey.
The mansion is covered on some areas ivy or some other climbing plant, with redish or green leaves, giving it a beautiful appearance. We couldn’t leave without stopping for a while in the small dendrological park and in the superb garden full of flowers.
I remember that 25 or 30 years ago I read somewhere in a newspaper that the town with the longest name in the world was in Wales and the name was: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch.
It is quite a jaw breaker with its 58 letters and is in fact a sentence: 'St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave'.
From Plas Newydd we visited this village. We stopped of course at the railway station, because there was the place where we could see written the full name. On the station building there was a long, long sign board on which it was written: “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysili ogogogoch”.
Well yes! We looked closer, we made a few steps away from it, we tried to read the name of the place, but we gave up finally, afraid not to break our jaws!
Our last destination that day was the medieval town Conwy, lying among hills on the shores of a bay at the Irish Sea. We entered one of the three old gates of this time forgotten town.
Surrounded by its old walls, together with the castle and the narrow streets, Conwy looks very similar to the town built by King Eduard about 700 years ago. The town walls are among the most beautiful and complete in Europe, with a length of 1200 metres, 21 towers and 3 gates.
We climbed the walls and took pictures with the town and the surroundings. Walking the streets we had the impression of a travel back in time. We reached a small red house with only one window at the ground floor and one at mezzanine.
This was the smallest house in Britain. At the door was an old lady dressed with a red mantle, a black hat covering her white head scarf. Both the house and the old lady looked nice and they didn’t escape our camera.
From there we left for Llandudno to catch the train to Chester, our base for the following four nights.
But about this, in a separate report covering my trip to England.
End of report.
After we had lunch we continued our journey and stopped at Caernarfon Castle, probably the most impressive castle in Wales. It was built in 1283 by King Eduard I and was a strong symbol of England’s domination over the Welsh.
Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon in 1969. We crossed the Britannia Bridge to the Island of Anglesey. On the way we stopped to take a picture of the old bridge that connected the island to the mainland, Menai Bridge, built in 1819-1826.
When it was finished this was the longest suspended bridge in the world. Our main destination on the island was the house museum of Marquess of Anglesey, Plas Newydd (The New Place).
Located in a superb landscape at Menai Strait, with a lake at the back and surrounded by the forest hills of Snowdonia National Park, this magnificent mansion was built in the 18th century by James Wyatt.
We admired a few paintings by the famous caricaturist Rex Whistler. Some of the paintings offered different images or gave different meanings to the scenes, when looked at from different angles.
This museum also houses an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Rex Whistler. Besides this exhibition, there is also a small military museum, with objects from the campaigns of the First Marquess of Anglesey.
He was in charge of the cavalry at the battle of Waterloo, at that time being Count of Uxbridge. After the victorious battle he was made Marquess of Anglesey.
The mansion is covered on some areas ivy or some other climbing plant, with redish or green leaves, giving it a beautiful appearance. We couldn’t leave without stopping for a while in the small dendrological park and in the superb garden full of flowers.
I remember that 25 or 30 years ago I read somewhere in a newspaper that the town with the longest name in the world was in Wales and the name was: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch.
It is quite a jaw breaker with its 58 letters and is in fact a sentence: 'St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave'.
From Plas Newydd we visited this village. We stopped of course at the railway station, because there was the place where we could see written the full name. On the station building there was a long, long sign board on which it was written: “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysili ogogogoch”.
Well yes! We looked closer, we made a few steps away from it, we tried to read the name of the place, but we gave up finally, afraid not to break our jaws!
Our last destination that day was the medieval town Conwy, lying among hills on the shores of a bay at the Irish Sea. We entered one of the three old gates of this time forgotten town.
Surrounded by its old walls, together with the castle and the narrow streets, Conwy looks very similar to the town built by King Eduard about 700 years ago. The town walls are among the most beautiful and complete in Europe, with a length of 1200 metres, 21 towers and 3 gates.
We climbed the walls and took pictures with the town and the surroundings. Walking the streets we had the impression of a travel back in time. We reached a small red house with only one window at the ground floor and one at mezzanine.
This was the smallest house in Britain. At the door was an old lady dressed with a red mantle, a black hat covering her white head scarf. Both the house and the old lady looked nice and they didn’t escape our camera.
From there we left for Llandudno to catch the train to Chester, our base for the following four nights.
But about this, in a separate report covering my trip to England.
End of report.
Aug 12th, 2006, 02:15 AM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,085
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi gabrieltraian,
Re:Cardiff.
I just noticed this thread, I know your visit was a few years ago but I feel it may still be relevent to people planning a visit to add my 2 penneth worth.
It is a real shame that your first immpression of litter etc impacted upon your trip.
You are right thare is a litter problem sometimes, particularly when there are large crowds of people gathered, as you found, the graduation time is a party time and rightly so, the guys n gals have worked hard to achieve what they have achieved so they have every right to party !!!
Sadly the council are quick to take our taxes and not so quick to spend them clearing up..lol
But the real problem is why people throw their rubbish down on the floor.
Cardiff Hosts innumerable events, only tomorrow we have a football game at the Millenium stadium which has been hosting games whilst the new Wembley is being built. This attracts 100'000 visitors so you can imagine the problems with traffic, litter etc..
Anyway despite the initial thoughts I found your report to be quite positive about what you did see. The Castle of course if fabulous, Castle Coch as Caroline says would have capped that visit off for you as it was also a Burgess design. Caerphilly Castle is I think the largest castle in Europe, although I stand corrected if I am wrong.
The museum and the Civic center are beautiful as you mentioned and it's a shame you didn't get to the museum of Welsh life at St Fagans, as you would have loved it there.
Cardiff bay is developing still, it has been transformed from a tatty old redundant dock to what you see today, the Wales Millenium Center is now a pretty impressive building as is I guess the Welsh Assembly building. All worth a visit..these were not there when you visited.
Your Hotel was quite well positioned and you would have been in the thick of things there.
I hope you come back again and see a little more of the fantastic cosmopolitan city with beautiful museums castles and architecture.
Ciao
Muck
Re:Cardiff.
I just noticed this thread, I know your visit was a few years ago but I feel it may still be relevent to people planning a visit to add my 2 penneth worth.
It is a real shame that your first immpression of litter etc impacted upon your trip.
You are right thare is a litter problem sometimes, particularly when there are large crowds of people gathered, as you found, the graduation time is a party time and rightly so, the guys n gals have worked hard to achieve what they have achieved so they have every right to party !!!
Sadly the council are quick to take our taxes and not so quick to spend them clearing up..lol
But the real problem is why people throw their rubbish down on the floor.
Cardiff Hosts innumerable events, only tomorrow we have a football game at the Millenium stadium which has been hosting games whilst the new Wembley is being built. This attracts 100'000 visitors so you can imagine the problems with traffic, litter etc..
Anyway despite the initial thoughts I found your report to be quite positive about what you did see. The Castle of course if fabulous, Castle Coch as Caroline says would have capped that visit off for you as it was also a Burgess design. Caerphilly Castle is I think the largest castle in Europe, although I stand corrected if I am wrong.
The museum and the Civic center are beautiful as you mentioned and it's a shame you didn't get to the museum of Welsh life at St Fagans, as you would have loved it there.
Cardiff bay is developing still, it has been transformed from a tatty old redundant dock to what you see today, the Wales Millenium Center is now a pretty impressive building as is I guess the Welsh Assembly building. All worth a visit..these were not there when you visited.
Your Hotel was quite well positioned and you would have been in the thick of things there.
I hope you come back again and see a little more of the fantastic cosmopolitan city with beautiful museums castles and architecture.
Ciao
Muck
Aug 12th, 2006, 08:57 AM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Muck,
Thank you for your updates.
Indeed it is good to add an update, since the threads regarding Wales in general and Cardiff in particular are not so frequent.
Yes, there are many places to be visited, but alas, one has only this much time and even worse, this much money, which makes it difficult to choose.
But if I come again, I will have an added advantage, of course.
Cheers,
Gabriel
Thank you for your updates.
Indeed it is good to add an update, since the threads regarding Wales in general and Cardiff in particular are not so frequent.
Yes, there are many places to be visited, but alas, one has only this much time and even worse, this much money, which makes it difficult to choose.
But if I come again, I will have an added advantage, of course.
Cheers,
Gabriel
Aug 12th, 2006, 12:27 PM
#12
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,085
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Please do come again.
Just to let you know,I can say
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch.
If you want to eat an elephant chop it up into small pieces.
Llanfair---pwllgwyngyll--gogerych--wyrndrobwll--llantysilio---gogogoch.
It's easy...lol
Muck
Just to let you know,I can say
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch.
If you want to eat an elephant chop it up into small pieces.
Llanfair---pwllgwyngyll--gogerych--wyrndrobwll--llantysilio---gogogoch.
It's easy...lol
Muck
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
gabrieltraian
Europe
13
Sep 22nd, 2006 09:25 AM
gabrieltraian
Europe
26
Aug 20th, 2006 01:40 AM
