We stayed in a 17th century holiday cottage, in the village of "Ysbyty Ifans" (literal translation "Evans Hospital" - there used to be a hospital there, run by the Knights Templars).
This is a tiny village, about 7 miles outside of Betws-y-Coed, with very little in the way of amenities, i.e. a telephone box, and a post office that only opens on Wednesday afternoons. There's a children's playground and a rugby pitch at the back of the cottage which meant that the boys had somewhere relatively safe to play in the evenings.
I say relatively safe. Frodo befriended a local lad, who was staying next door. Welsh was his first language, so this meant that their level of conversation in English was just about the same. Frodo learnt how to ride a go-kart down a very steep hill, balance on a high wall, jump off the wall avoiding the rocks and sneak into a cemetery to run around the gravestones. I heard screams and crying one evening and had to rescue Frodo's friend, who had managed to topple a gravestone onto his legs, and got them trapped underneath it. He was fine afterwards, so I guess that he won't be playing in the cemetery for a bit.
We arrived on Saturday evening. Sunday was spent shopping in the nearest supermarket - 11 miles away in Llanrwst, and then bumming around the cottage, playground and playing field.
On Monday we crossed the Menai Straits to the Isle of Anglesey and visited the town of Beaumaris and it's Castle.
The castle is considered to be the most perfect example of a concentric castle (castle, within a castle). It's defences certainly looked excellent. It has a water filled moat, and you can get walk around the walls, both on top and internally. The castle doesn't stand out much, since it isn't built on raised ground, and it was never completely finished - not enough money to put the top level on it, so the turrets and battlements do look a little "short".
I discovered afterwards that we'd entered Anglesey via the Britannia Bridge - originally built by Robert Stephenson (wor Geordie's lad). We'd spotted the better known Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge on our way to Beamaris, so decided to go back across this bridge.
We snapped a shot of the bridge as we crossed it. Also the chimneys of a rather gothic looking house on the way to the bridge.
On Tuesday we visited Criccieth Castle, and the nearby beach.
This castle is a bit of a ruin, but it does stand out impressively on a high hill at the end of the beach.
Wednesday was a trip to Carnaerfon Castle, and then Llandudno West Beach. Caernarfon is a walled town, and the castle is in really good condition - which is probably why they use it for investing the Prince of Wales.
Thursday we went shopping in Conwy. Parked by Conwy Castle. We were specifically visiting a toyshop that sells Edix Modular Mediaeval Village components. We bought a keep to add to the castle that the boys already have, plus some more figures - a jousting knight, a king and a saracen mounted on a dromedary.
We also visited a sword shop, but decided to leave it until our next visit in August to buy a sword. Prices looked good, and much cheaper in the shop than on the website e.g. you could get a "Braveheart" sword for 75 quid, whereas it's 175 quid on the website.
The last castle of the week was Harlech Castle on Friday. This year we drove into Harlech up the gentle incline of the top road, rather than approaching from the bottom road and having to negotiate the impossibly steep 1 in 4 hill that we had to get up last year.
We had to visit the Cemlyn Tea Rooms, since Novelist Supermum had included them in a novel, and wanted to know what they looked like. We had some delicious toasted hot cross buns there. We drank latte's, and the boys had milk. I was tut tutted at as I helped Frodo draw a face and write his name in the condensation on the window, which overlooked the castle.
Afterwards we went to Harlech Beach, which is the best beach in the area, and launched our dragon kite for the first time. Not enough wind to start with, since it was a bright, sunny, still day. However it picked up enough to get the kite aloft and give both Frodo, and Samwise a turn at controlling the kite in the air - although they preferred to chase it and try to catch it's tail.
One feature of the cottage is that you have to watch out for mice, which come in from the field outside. One night I heard a gnawing noise and opened the hall door to find two mice sitting there looking at me, as if they wanted to come in and watch the telly. Had a mouse that got into the bedroom run across my pillow on another night, and we spent an hour on the last night trying to chase a baby mouse out of the living room.
The boys didn't want to come home - no tears this time. We promised them that we would be back in August. I want to take the Snowdon Mountain Railway to the top next time, but since it will be peak season I'd better make sure of it and book the tickets in advance.
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a good week with a fair few castles.
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