We spent two nights in Caernarfon at the Bron Menai Guesthouse, which was excellent. From here, we took short day trips around Snowdownia, visiting Abersoch, Portmerion and Porthmadog. And we got bit of history touring the immaculate castle at Caernarfon, built in 1280’s.
One of the main draws for us to Wales and Snowdonia was the mountains. Monday, was our day for a hike up Mount Snowdon – the highest peak in Wales and England. We hiked the Pyg Trail up and the Miner’s Trail down, taking us just about 6 hours round trip, with an hour or so at the top. We couldn’t have asked for a better day weather wise.
Continuing our mountain adventure we stayed two nights in Betws-y-Coed, a town hidden by forests just below Mt. Snowdon. I’d highly recommend a meal at The Bistro, if you’re ever headed that way. The next day we visited the old Victorian Slate mines at Llechwedd were we were able to tour several caverns below ground.
Wednesday came all to quickly and we set off back towards Holyhead to catch our ferry back to Dublin. But first we made a lunch stop in Conwy. First we toured the Conwy Castle, also built in the 1280’s. It was very similar to Caernarfon Castle, but the scenery made it worth the visit. We also visited Plas Mawr, the finest surviving town house of the Elizabethan era (1500s) to be found anywhere in Britain. Thirsty from all that walking we had to stop into the Albion Ale House for a pint of their finest. This was maybe one of my favourite parts of the trip, sitting in a pub at 3pm on a weekday, having a pint (of craft beer!) with 3 older welsh gentlemen and their dog (who loves Welsh Pies), yapping on about what Welsh men yap on about. It was great. For lunch we picked up a few award winning savoury pies from Edwards of Conwy – they were delicious.
Back on the motorcycle and 4 hours later we were home in bed.
Don’t worry Wales, I’ll be back.
Submit a Comment