In via iterum

Wales Trip Day 8: Out of Wales

Harlech Castle

This was to be our final day in Wales and we had a few events planned so having done most of the packing the night before we got away promptly and slipped through Porthmadog before the traffic got too bad. Our first port of call was the beach of Llandanwg, just below Harlech, where we released the (amended) message in a bottle. Sadly, we got an email the following week from the people who found it: the next day on the same beach! They said they re-released it and would let us know when it was found again but we haven't heard anything since. When we move to the USA we are travelling by cruise ship, so we will have another go somewhere in the mid-Atlantic.

After that we headed back up to Harlech to visit the castle. Harlech is one of the best preserved castles in the UK, which is to say it has been a ruin for centuries. Built by Edward I as part of his ring of steel around Prince Llewellyn's heartland, it has a notable history. Llewellyn's forces beseiged it, but the English kept it supplied by sea. A century later it was used by the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndwr as a base, and it has the distinction of being the last castle to surrender to the victors of both the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. Somewhere in all that (sources differ as to which incident is the origin) lies the inspiration for the words of the rousing hymn, 'Men of Harlech'. During the Commonwealth (1649-1660), most castles were blown up on orders of Parliament, leaving limited or badly damaged remains, but sleepy Harlech was left to rot, and thus most of its outer defences are intact, and it is possible to walk around the ramparts or to climb its keep.

After Harlech we went to have a picnic at a place I remember from childhood - Cwm Bychan, which is a valley behind Harlech. At the head of the valley is a lake, but below the lake are a series of waterfalls and islets carved by the stream that flows from it. The waterfalls are what I remember the most - they are not very tall (perhaps 6 feet or so) but above and below each one is a deep enough pool that can be swum in (at least by a child). They are also picturesque, so we planned to stop beside them for our picnic. Unfortunately, whoever owns the land has erected a wall closing them off, as well as putting up a fence across the area near them where people used to be able to park. Other parking spots have boulders across them. This is presumably to entice people up to the car park by the lake. Looking around on foot, I confirmed that this was the spot I remembered because there is a hole in the wall that someone has knocked through and it is possible to get in and look. I think this is an area that could be visited still if you parked lower down the valley and hiked in, but not by a family with younger children by car. Sad really.

Cwm Bychan

We found a nice spot lower down the valley by an old stone bridge. The stream was low and the boy had fun throwing stones into the pools. We had a barbecue and used our Volcano Kettle to boil water to make up some soup. So despite being defeated at our original objective we were able to have a nice time.

Volcano Kettle

From Cwm Bychan we headed over the top of the hills, through a blasted heathland, bare and empty apart from the sheep and then down onto the road that leads from Harlech to Trawsfynydd. This was a steep and narrow road - enclosed in sections by gates, which we had to back around on a couple of times when we encountered other vehicles, but one which afforded fantastic views over to Portmeirion and Porthmadog.

View over Porthmadog and Portmeirion

From Trawsfynydd we headed out of Wales via Bala. This was a very pretty drive and we made good time - as everywhere else in Wales the roads were excellent. The Principality may be a Labour heartland, but its rulers have clearly eschewed Labour's war on the motorist. We headed across Shropshire in search of a place to spend the night and eat. We had an abortive stop on the outskirts of Oswestry, where we attempted to go to a Little Chef (we went in, we were seated, we were ignored, we left), and passed through the middle of Shrewsbury in a vain search for a hotel (there was somw flower festival on). Flagging from the long day, and with daylight fast fading we were extremely grateful to find a Days Inn outside of Telford.

posted by j @ 7:51 AM