Day 13 & 14 Castles, Abbey & busy roads!

Sunday-Monday! Buck House Hotel Room 5
The last 2 days have been really full on with lots of driving to see sights! Distances are far but due to traffic, narrow roads and people +++++ everywhere as it’s Easter weekend, the journeys have been slow.... that’s good in one way as I get to take pics easier and bad in another as we have had long full days getting home around 7pm so we are very tired.....

We are staying at Buck House Hotel a Room 5 this time. A quaint hotel a few 100 years old.....

Easter Sat saw us head out to the northern Coastal area of Wales.... we managed to see a couple of Castles from the outside as too expensive to go to all of them, so we decided to circumnavigate some and only see a couple from inside!

We tried to find the first castle Ewloe Castle only to get a bit lost on a muddy track that was very difficult to use putting mud all over our boots then trying to get down a slippery slope we decided that this Castle wasn’t worth falling in the mud, so we set back for the car. It is raining lightly today so makes it a bit hard looking...

Next stop was Flint Castle this one was a freebie thank goodness, so a quick whip around before heading to the next one up the road....Rhuddlan Castle this one blew us away as we came across the marshes towards it... what a sight, we also got to go into this one... looking around just before crowds arrived. From the top of the castle you could see the river flowing towards the sea, also all the township around as with nearly all the castles now surround by suburban sprawl.

Then onto Conway, tourist Mecca.......What blew us away especially when we drove towards the Conway Castle was its sheer size, absolutely unreal. We felt so small against its huge features just driving towards it.... with 100’s of people around today, it became impossible to get a parking spot to stop and look so sadly all I could do was take pics from the car! Not ideal with something of this magnitude really needed time to look slowly, this was time we hadn’t planned on. Conway is on the coast so we were able to see some of the coastline.... as everywhere else the ocean goes out a long way and all you are left with a murky mud flats.... the odd boat high and dry. This makes their coastline look unattractive to us, but I guess to the brits it’s the norm....

Across to towards the eastern point of Wales we stopped at Beaumaris Castle this one was crawling with people as well. We did find a spot to park, at a cost... set off to look and realised it was just far too crowded and too expensive so a look around the outside, tried to find a lunch spot but gave up on that as well.... people, people everywhere.... so back in the car by now it’s 3pm and getting hungry so lucky I bought a bit of fruit and some bickies so we munched on them hoping to find somewhere to eat.... We arrived at the Eastern most point if Wales Holyhead to look for some Roman ruins, driving around and around the very tiny narrow streets of Holyhead with no signs to show us where to go we gave up, on food and finding the sites.... So setting the Nav for home headed back down the Hwy this time instead of through the villages. Driving through the villages are unreal as you get to see better scenes but much, much slower. Got back in Tim fir a meal, I chose a prawn cocktail knowing that it wouldn’t be like home.... but in all honesty it was terrible.... it didn’t last too long in my tummy at all.... Got to talk to Kristian, Kate and James for my about to be Birthday here in the AM, but my birthday at home now...

Getting meals in Wales has been just awful, tasteless gluggy food.... to be honest we haven’t had one meal you could say wow that was lovely....how can you stuff up mashed spuds, well they did at our hotel... not sure what they did but it was stodgy thick and a big lump on the plate with no flavour... even the chips are flavourless.
We eat to sustain ourselves definitely not for enjoyment...

Our 2nd day of sightseeing here was my birthday. Starting with breaky at the hotel, wow oh wow the scrambled eggs were amazing the first tasty meal I have had.... sadly could only have a bit! A walk along the Dee river here in town after breaky.

Bonus if today is the Sun is out Yeah..... so I took a few pics of the bridge again with the Sun on.

We set the Nav for Valle Crucis Abbey, in the Snowdonian NP. Ohhh wow what an amazing day of magnificent scenery. Snow capped mountains, deep valleys, craggy Rocky Mountains, all adding to the unreal views... Pretty villages again crawling with tourist plus, plus.... Heaps of people tenting it.... not sure how they cope with it in this weather... plus 100’s of people walking everywhere, over mountains, down in the valleys, along the canels and fast flowing rivers.... so much to take in as we drive your mind is in over drive...

We made it to the Abbey well worth the visit.... we meet an Australian woman who has been travelling since Aug she won’t head home until a July.... she has been to so many countries, started her trip as a volunteer at a Bamboo Camp for Elephants.... She told us it was the most difficult thing she had ever done, they worked them really, really hard all were women over 50 paying good money to be there and all for what was from the sound of it slave labour.... She then went to Africa tripping around then Europe where she would have stayed longer only to realise she had clocked up her Schengan Visa Days all too quickly... it really is a problem for the long term traveller who wishes to see these countries and has the money to do so... part of the issue of crack down now is all the refugees with no money and no homes... there has to be away if sorting it out so travellers can stay linger and be legal...

We did stop for lunch at a village called the Crown Inn.... ohh my glory the meal it was honestly like pig slop.... looked like it and tasted like it. It really is becoming a waste of our money eating out here hopefully the food well I prove up north...

We drove heaps through the valleys and mountains as the scenery was just so amazing. Getting home late again, but feeling better than yesterday as mainly scenery compared to traffic of yesterday’s run.... nothing amazing happened for my birthday, Johns not into birthdays like I am. So pretty much an ordinary day other than him asking did I enjoy my birthday... what was I going to say No... of course I did but always lovely to share it with others... Thank goodness for FB they know how to make you feel loved with all the wonderful wishes....

Day done another just horrible meal, sadly I couldn’t eat again. I will be losing more weight at this state of affairs as the food really has upset my gut something chronic... Just have to make up with it after we hit Europe!

All in all unreal feats of man made buildings, unreal natural scenes it has been a great day all in all for my birthday.... Thank you John for bringing me here to see it all.....Read more