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  • Day 7

    Day 6: Caernarfon & Welsh Countryside

    August 14, 2017 in Wales ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We headed for Caernarfon at 8:45 am. This was to give us a bit of a break after the long driving day yesterday. On our way to Caernarfon we made a short stop at q seaside town for a scenic photo opportunity. The town, Daresbury, was where Charles Dodgson who under the pen name Lewis Carroll wrote “Alice in Wonderland” had lived. On the seaside promenade was a bronze statue of the mad Haller.

    After some photos and a stroll along the promenade, we headed for Caernarfon Castle. The castle was started in 1283 by King Edward I to take control of Wales. Our guide was very good. There is no doubt in my mind that she is proud to be a Welsh. After the tour we were free to explore the ruins. John and I walked the upper wall of the castle and climbed wheat seemed like at least 80 steps, but probably wasn’t more than 30. The steps were q challenge for my knee, but I “soldiered on”.

    After the Castle we found a shop where we could get Cornish pasties and sausage rolls. We didn’t realize that you needed to slate you wanted to eat in (not do ”take away”) so once we realized our mistake we just paid the difference to eat in. After lunch we returned to the bus. Some of us were dropped off at Conwy to explore the castle there. Emboldened by my success climbing the towers of Caernarfon Castle, I agreed to explore Conwy castle. We had also decided we would tour the Plas Mawr Elizabethan Town House. We were able to purchase a combo ticket at Conwy Castle. The combo ticket was £16 per person, but John asked if they gave a senior discount and it turned out they did, so the tickets only cost us £7 each! We climbed 2 towers at Conwy (I refused to climb a 3rd).

    Then we walked A short distance to the Elizabethan Town House. The tour included an audio tour. In each room you “synced” with a device in the room to get information about the room. The narrator portrayed a character associated with the house (owner, wife, servant, etc.). The tour was very informative.

    After the tour we walked back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. After dinner we got packed and ready to check out tomorrow. The drive to Stratford-Upon-Avon and Oxford is not supposed to be as long a day as the travel day to Conwy was.
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