Precarious Welsh Weather, but more Lovely Castles

Note to self for my next trip to Wales:  Cherish a blue sky day and make the most of it.

   

That day was yesterday, I'm afraid.  It seems the Welsh weather changes on a dime (wait...they don't have dimes.  Does it change on a 10 pence piece?).  Bad weather put a big damper (pun intended) on this morning's plans, but by afternoon we were romping up and down castle walls and making up for it.

Here's today's route:

Readers will recall we had fabulous weather as we drove through Snowdonia yesterday.  All looked promising for today's train ride up Mt. Snowdon, Wales' tallest mountain, until we woke to absolutely pouring rain -- the worst we've had the whole trip.  You can't change the weather, of course, but I definitely wished I had done Mt. Snowdon yesterday. Sigh.

I finished my scrambled eggs and bacon (which is slightly different from our American variety.  We use the fattier pork belly; the Brits use pork loin).  Noel hurried us out to the van so we could make the 9:00 a.m. early bird train up the mountain on time.  I tried to summon some optimism that the weather would clear, but the drive to the station made that hard to do.

It could be worse, I suppose.  Mt. Snowdon is a mecca for hikers, and I saw many of them drenched to the bone, traversing any of the 6 trails to the 3,559 ft. summit.  Wouldn't you want to rethink your possibilities for the day?

Enthusiasm seemed lacking amongst the train riders as well.  Apparently one can ride either diesel or steam trains.  I think ours was diesel, but honestly I couldn't tell.  In fact, I couldn't identify much of anything beyond the windows.  It was a sorry state of affairs.

Only the hardiest souls queued up for the ride in this weather.

We couldn't see a THING!

Another stunning view from the train.  It could have been worse...see those HIKERS?!

After a (long!) hour's ride, we reached the top.

  The Visitor's Center (which I would call a snack bar) is said to be the highest in the UK.  I was pretty amazed how many happy-looking hikers warmed themselves inside.  The girl in front did admit to me that shorts were probably a miscalculation.  I think they all took the train back down.  

I exited the Visitor's Center and found this path.  The steps behind me lead to the actual summit of Mt. Snowdon.  I'll bet it's beautiful on a sunny day.  Normally I would feel obligated to make the full trek regardless, but the whipping wind, pelting rain and absence of ANY view convinced me that half way up was sufficient.  I guess I lost my mojo.

I know I'm smiling...trust me, it's a facade. 

I felt a tiny bit guilty for abandoning the actual summit when I saw these two ladies.  

They hardly look wet!

These BBC guys were filming a documentary of some sort.

After a 30 minute layover, we boarded the train for the return trip.  The view didn't improve, but I enjoyed commiserating with the couple across from me.

Noel picked me up at the station and we took a minute to regroup.  We originally planned to drive north to see the lighthouse at South Stack, but that seemed fruitless in such bad weather.  We decided to stay nearby instead, and visit Caernarfon and Conwy Castles, two of the most iconic castles in Wales.

I shook off the morning's disappointment and off we went.  In fact, the weather cleared considerably.  We had rain off and on for the rest of the day, but nothing like the Snowdon deluge.

Castles!

I learned there are roughly 3 major types of castles in Wales:  

1.  Norman castles -- built soon after William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England and was crowned King William I after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  We remember him, cleverly, as William the Conquerer.  William fitz Osbern, a good friend of William's, started construction on Chepstow Castle in 1067.  We visited it earlier in the trip, remember?

2.  Native Welsh castles --  built by the Welsh Princes and Lords.  Two of the most famous of these guys, Llywelyn the Great (Llywelyn Fawr) and Rhys ap Gruffudd (the Lord Rhys) each built several castles.  Fewer than 30 of the surviving castles in Wales fit into this category.

3.  Edwardian Castles -- built by Edward I of England after he conquered Wales in 1283.  This requires a mini history lesson.  "Braveheart" fans will remember King Edward I, or Edward "Longshanks" (so named for his 6'2" height), for his brutal invasion and ultimate control of Scotland.  That's where he acquired the more menacing moniker, "Hammer of the Scots."  However, more than a decade earlier,  Edward practiced his battle tactics on the Welsh.  In two campaigns, Edward defeated and slew Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, grandson of Llywelyn the Great, then invested his own son and heir, Edward, to be Prince of Wales.  This tradition continues to the present day.

During his Welsh campaigns and after his victory, Edward I constructed 10, strategically-located castles in North Wales called his "ring of iron."  All were within a day's march of each other and all had access to the sea, which allowed them to be easily resupplied. We visited two of these today, Caernarfon and Conwy. 

Edward Longshank's "Iron Ring" Castles

Caernarfon Castle

Caernarfon Castle is the largest and best known in Edward's iron ring.  In modern times, Charles, son of Queen Elizabeth II, was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon (Car-NAR-von) in July of 1969.  Since then he's been promoted to King Charles III.  Charles already named his son, William, to succeed him as Prince of Wales.  Will the investiture take place at Caernarfon as well?  Buckingham Palace isn't saying.

The statue is David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain from 1916-1922.

Noel gave me a quick introduction to Caernarfon in this video:

We continued our tour outside the walls.  On the video, I misspoke about the date of Charles' investiture.  It was 1969.

I was astounded not only by the size of the castle, but by the fact that Edward imported a whole town to live inside its walls.  All the inhabitants within the walls were English or their allies. The pesky Welsh people remained beyond the castle fortifications.

I made a new friend.  He made me promise to send him my blog.

Noel continued the tour along the shops inside Caernarfon's walls.

I'm sure one could spend days exploring the walled town, but we had another castle to see and perhaps something tasty on the way back to Betws-y-Coed.

Conwy Castle

Off we went to Conwy Castle, which is smaller than Caernarfon, but extremely well preserved and really iconic.  

These two trained their eyes on us.  We met up with them again later.

This is where the knights parked their trusty steeds back in the day.  Edward I encouraged ride sharing since spaces were limited.  See that little round hut near the white van?  Valet parking for the wealthier knights, of course.  (just checking to see who's actually reading this!)

Noel and I climbed up on one of the access points.  Check out the video.

What did I tell you?  This bird perched himself at the narrowest part of the walkway and demanded food.  We didn't have any, thank goodness.  They're very aggressive.  I watched one swoop down and steal a slice of pizza right out of a man's hand!

Here's a good example of Edward I's castle design.  All of his Iron Ring castles backed up to the sea so they could be easily resupplied.  Conwy took only 3 or 4 years to build, whereas construction on Caernarfon, Edward's "crown jewel," took 47 years.

 "Is this where I'd pour the boiling oil over the wall?"

That's a beauty!

Like Caernarfon, Conwy's walls enclosed an entire English town.  No Welsh allowed.

Cheesy but true.  Apparently the last occupant was a man who was 6 ft. tall!  Check out the video for an inside view.

The hostess is wearing what is considered Welsh traditional dress.  I thought her hat seemed a lot shorter than the really tall, stovepipe hats, called Welsh hats, I've seen in pictures, but this woman told me those were only for going to chapel on Sundays.

This hat just looks silly.

No need to be grumpy. I won't make fun of  Welsh hats anymore.

Whether or not this style truly represents a Welsh "national" dress is somewhat controversial.  Some scholars say it's more like a composite of clothing styles worn by rural women in various parts of Wales during the 19th century.  Others say it's a sort of marketing ploy.  The idea of a "national" dress was promoted (or concocted) by a wealthy woman named Augusta Hall, Lady Llanover in the 1800s.  As a devotee of folk culture, she tried in vain to encourage everyone to adopt this style of dress.  When her efforts failed, she settled on forcing her servants to don the scarves, Welsh hats and dresses called "bedgowns."  Read more about it here.

Noel took a break while I toured this 16th Century home of  Robert Wynn, a wealthy merchant from the Elizabethan period.  Admission included an audio device for a self-guided tour.  First up...the kitchen!

Mrs. Wynn:  "But Robert, it was on sale!"

Mr. Wynn wanted to score points in case the Queen stopped by.  E R = Elizabeth Regina.

Interesting motif.  Not sure I'd choose it for the family room.

The plasterwork in the house was pretty attention-grabbing.  I liked these guys on the ceiling.  They form the coat of arms of Mrs. Wynn's family.

Somebody's coat of arms, just not sure whose.

Our whirlwind tour of Conwy completed, we jumped back in the van for a quick trip to Llandudno, which is a little like a Welsh Cape May, NJ.  It's a Victorian seaside town built specifically as a resort in the late 1800s.  These days it's a bit past its heyday, but the "promenade" along the sea still attracts a lot of visitors.  Well, at least that's what I was told.  It looked downright desolate when I was there!

Llandudno seems to attract visitors "of a certain age."

Well, enough of deserted, elderly beach towns.  It was my last night in Wales and I told Noel I can't go home and say I didn't eat any Welsh Rarebit during my visit. Noel knew just the place nearby -- Tu Hwnt i'r Bont tea room, which means "beyond the bridge."

Off we went.  As we neared our destination, Noel stopped the van and pointed to this guy up on the wall.  He likely belongs to the owner of this estate.  I've never seen a peacock outside of a zoo!  I snapped a photo and we continued our quest.

Here's Noel as he drives over the bridge to the tiny, 15th Century "fairy tale" house. 

At last!

After all that, my Welsh Rarebit wasn't really as I expected it to be.  I remember my mother making something more like fondue, with more liquid-y cheese.  This was....well, different.  More like cheese and mustard under the broiler for a minute, accompanied by a LOT of mayonnaise and a few greens.  Oh, and a little pot of some kind of onion stuff I was never going to eat!  

I almost forgot to take a photo, but I stopped mid-mouthful to record it for posterity.

The Welsh cakes were much better!

And the ice cream I had afterward was better yet.

Alas, my last day of touring drew to a close.  Noel and I headed back to Betws-y-Coed and the "Talking Point" for my last night in a Welsh bed.

But we still have an adventure or two before I fly home, so stay tuned for one more installment.

Yes, only ONE MORE!