Day 2 8/11/08 - Wales

Oswestry -> Llangollen -> Harlech -> Criccieth -> Caenarfon -> Bangor -> Colwyn Bay -> Llandundo

Highlight

• Very bad weather yet again, rain and wind.
• Llangollen was a small cute town, pity not much was opened. We picked up some welsh cake from the bakery.
• To Plas Newydd – nice garden with shrubbery by the river.
• Valle Crucis Abbey – was very much like Tintern, but abandoned and very muddy due to the rain.
• To Llangar Church, which was a long walk and probably not worth it since the weather was crap.
• To Harlech Castle, but it was raining really hard, and there were a lot of places to climb, which were muddy and slippery, so not a good idea.
• Criccieth Castle – was mostly in ruins but the view was very nice, when it’s not overcast.
• To Caernarfon, but unfortunately the castle was under renovation, so we couldn’t get a good picture.
• People actually speak Welsh here! What a difference to Cardiff and the south.
• Stopped off for too long a lunch at Black Boy Inn. Read the reviews here.
• Finally made it to the castle around 2:30. We climbed several towers while the rain held out, then headed down to see the various exhibits: Princes of Wales and The Royal Welch Fusiliers, but we didn’t finish the displays as we got kicked out early. It wasn’t that interesting anyway so no loss there.
• Tried to go to the Segontium Roman Fort, but it was getting dark, so we couldn’t see very much.
• A brief stop at Bangor, but the weather was so bad and it was so dark, we couldn’t see the Menai Suspension Bridge or Victoria Pier.
• Our hotel was very nice. Cosy and a bit old, and very hard to open the front door. Our room was beside the road though and the road noises were quite bad.
• We didn’t know this, but Pen-y-Bryn is run by the same company who ran The Armoury. So the décor and menu were pretty similar. We didn’t mind though, and ate more great food. Read the reviews here.

Food

• Welsh cake
• Black Boy Inn:
  • traditional Caernarfon lob scouse (£8.95) – chunks of steak cooked with onions, root vegetables and potatoes in a great stokc, served with chunky bread
  • Sardines with Salad
  • Snowdonia Ale from Purple Moose Brewery
• Pen-y-Bryn:
  • Braised half shoulder of Welsh lamb with dauphinoise potatoes, vegetables and rosemary sauce (£13.95)
  • Slow roast belly pork with roasted apple, sage & onion mashed potato and vegetables (£11.45)
  • Eton Mess (merigne with fresh raspberries, strawberries and cream) (£4.95)