Summer 2020: North Wales and Snowdonia

Hello my friends! As promised here is episode 2 of my Summer adventures. This week I give you, North Wales and Snowdonia.

(Self-portrait beside Lake Bala)

Snowdonia

For my fortnight in Wales I was based at the incredible, Plas Penaeldroch in the heart of Snowdonia. Mike and Carrie are excellent hosts and the house manages both to feel enveloped in nature, and be a mere 10 minute drive south-west of Betws-y-Coed. Snowdonia National Park is full of beauty, especially in late August when I visited. There are walks suitable to every grade of walker, from the valley rambler to the serious climber. I used this book for a lot of my walks in the National Park and found my comfort zone was in the 'moderate' level walks, I left the 'hard' paths to the more adventurous! 

(Plas Penaeldroch)

In addition to hill-walking in Snowdonia I also really enjoyed some gentler rambles including around Llyn Tegid. This is Wales' largest natural lake, there are lots of watersports available on the lake, and I spent a lot of time thinking about Mary Jones. Mary walked 26 miles to a church on the banks of this lake just to buy a bible in Welsh! The other bonus of valley walks, such as that between The Ugly House and Betws, is the proliferation of coffee shops at either end. Coffee and cake is never far away, even at the base of the slightly more ambitious walk about Llyn Idwal. 

(Cwm Idwal)

A note on transport: It is possible to do Snowdonia by public transport but when I was there the buses were not running to timetable and there were significant delays (of upwards of 1 hour!). Whilst the towns and famous walking routes were quite busy it was always possible to find a quiet route and free places to park if you go 500m beyond the tourist hotspots. If you are visiting the parks in peak season do arrive early (before 9am) as they quickly fill up. Do also be aware that Snowdonia is famous for its hills, the roads can be narrow and steep.

(Gorgeous Snowdonia) 

Anglesey

I know plenty of family and friends who really rate Anglesey but I had never visited until this Summer. When it was raining in Snowdonia you could almost bet that it would be sunny on the island so I made a couple of trips across the Menai Strait. I was guided by my walking book to both Puffin Island and Newborough Beach. As with Snowdonia it pays to arrive early - getting out of Newborough by 11.30am was really challenging. Saying this, the sights are worth it in both cases. Sandy shores, glimmering water, and the mountains in the distance. These landscapes are steeped in peace and also offer plenty of historic interest. Although I only made a couple of trips to the island, I would like to return to explore it properly.

(Puffin Island)

  (The mainland from Puffin Island)

(Newborough)

Northern towns and their castles

Following the prompting of my walking book I explored a number of towns on the coast and their attendant castles. Here I will touch on just three: Caernarfon, Harlech and Portmeirion. 

An afternoon with the royal town of Caernarfon pairs well with a trip to Anglesey on the basis of location. They have a very nice thirteenth-century castle there, and you can pretend you are at the investiture of the Prince of Wales whilst you are there. When I visited there was a lot of construction work happening within the grounds of the castle which, in addition to COVID restrictions did limit the experience a bit but I'd still say it was a nice way to spend an hour or so. The rest of Caernarfon seemed dwarfed by the castle and I didn't find that much more to do there. 

                (Caernarfon Castle)                      

The same could not be said for Harlech. I don't think I would even have considered visiting Harlech without the walking book but I am so glad I did. This location does come with the warning that one of its roads was in the Guiness Book of Records for being the steepest road in the world! But Harlech has plenty to recommend it including but not limited to: castle, golfing range, incredible sand dunes, and WILDERNESS, which houses both a cafe and a wool shop - this is close to perfection for me! Needless to say I emerged from the shop with both cheese on toast and a couple of balls of wall. If cheese on toast isn't your thing Harlech has lots of coffee shops to find your fix. I concluded my visit to Harlech by doing a 7 mile walking route which took in the town, surrounding fields (I got so lost!), and a final stroll along the bay. Its a strong recommend from me.

(Harlech, really very steep, and very beautiful)

And finally, Portmeirion. I had a vague recollection that Portmeirion was famous for making pottery but I had no idea about the resort. Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis over a 50 year period in the twentieth century and is inspired by villages in the Mediterranean. It is a slightly surreal experience where you know you are in Wales but the architecture doesn't match the context. I have never been to Disneyland, but I suspect its a bit like Disneyland. I had a perfectly nice morning in Portmeirion, but felt I had 'done it all' over 2 hours or so. 

(Portmeirion)

Well, that my friends was my experience of North Wales, honourable mentions to the towns of Bangor (perfectly pleasant but a bit beige), Porthmadog (nice indy ceramic shop!) and Towyn (so, so damp when I visited). Next time: The South West; Gloucestershire, Dorset and the New Forest. 

The Isle of Man: Vikings and sunsets

I had to be in Bristol by 9am on Monday so I thought, why not go via the Isle of Man? Like many of my other adventures this particular trip was motivated by Viking-hunting and involves an adventure with a hire car.

The first thing that surprised me was the plane I flew on. It was a tiny little thing, holding maybe 50 passengers and boy did it make a racket! Yes I know, a bit like someone else you know! I was not prepared and turned my music up full-volume in an attempt to screen out the noise.

For this trip I stayed at an AirBnB. The listing was for a crofters cottage, but as I was staying alone the host suggested I stay at their house which used to be a school. When I landed on the Isle of Man it was dark and  I was in a hire car - when will I learn?! Unfortunately rather than having a postcode to plug into the sat-nav I only had some printed off directions which relied on being able to see the landmarks. You know the sort - 'turn left at the white pub, if you hit the sea you've gone too far!'. Honestly, its a minor miracle I made it - and in a Nissan Micra the clutch for which was difficult to find!

My hosts were really excellent though. They made me a flask of tea every morning and let me borrow their Ordnance Survey Map for exploring. They even set me up with a chance to meet an academic hero at a classical concert. The event began with a rousing rendition of the Manx national anthem - I was like a fish out of water.

A cup of tea atop Snaefell

When you have a kooky interest sometimes a sat-nav just will not cut the mustard! One day I went looking for a Viking ship burial which was on a random promontory near the coast; it was literally turn down the road marked 'quarry' and look for sign-posts.

What is the postcode for this?

Abbeys, castles and museums
Even in the off season the Isle of Man has plenty to do. There were lots of familiar sites from my days as a student. It was amazing to me to sit in the ruins of Rushen Abbey, walk the ramparts at Castle Rushen (Peel was shut) and to see the Jurby cross in person complete with raven and symbols of Ragnarok.

The Manx are really on top of their museums; I found both the Manx Museum and the House of Manannan were good quality museums, although the latter is not for you if you are phobic of statues. The Manx Museum was, for me, the one redeeming feature of Douglas which is a tired seaside town.

House of Manannan

Natural beauty
The Isle of Man is beautiful. It is like Wales, if Wales were a rich, tax haven. Rolling hills, dramatic coast, the Calf of Man; all make for sensational scenery. One afternoon having seen the Jurby Cross I raced the sun to Niarbyl and watched the sunset. Watching the setting sun always puts things into perspective.

Niarbyl

Speaking stones
Sometimes you don't have to go far from home to find people doing life and indeed heritage very differently. If you happen upon Maughold you would have thought its just a sleepy village without as much as a pub to its name. But take a closer look at the churchyard. In a three-walled hut in the grounds you will find 150+ fragments of crosses some of which are more than 1000 years old. And here's the clincher - you can touch them. No glass to mediate you and the experience of runes and pictures carved as monuments so many years ago. If carving is your thing, you really must visit before they all get put behind glass and monitored by CCTV.

On Sunday I drove the coastal road all the way back to the airport accompanied by David Bowie's greatest hits on the stereo. Boarding the plane I waved goodbye to the Isle of Man and was just about ready for the 9 o clock meeting.

Maughold Crosses

Edinburgh 2: East Lothian

As we were camped outside Edinburgh near Wallyford (classic name I know) and with four wheels we were really at liberty to explore the wider area around Edinburgh. Here are some things we enjoyed...as ever props to photographer friend for photos.

Goblin Ha!
Some of the castles in East Lothian are jolly expensive...case in point Edinburgh Castle. So I did some research into places that were free and stumbled across this beauty. The sat-nav refused to take us there, the bemused Scots we encountered questioned our intentions and told us it was 'bloody spooky', we thought it was wonderful. Goblin Ha! is the remains of Yester Castle, the home of Sir Hugo de Gifford aka 'The Wizard of Yester' who is said to have built his castle with the assistance of some hobgoblins. To get to the castle we parked on the road beyond Castle Park Golf Course, walked through a private farm, through a field of grass with accompanying dovecote which we pondered, through a second gate, through a wood and then we arrived. Photos of the journey below. 2 things of note here: 1. turns out you can just park at the golf club, its probably an easier walk, 2. turns out you can get into the creepy subterranean hall, for more info see this video. Turns out Goblin Ha! is also the inspiration for several stanzas of Sir Walter Scott's Marmion.

Yellowcraig Sands
Now I have to admit to a) being tipped off about this dear little cove that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island, b) getting a tad hyperbolic because the beach was beautiful. We got to eventide and I decided that a half hour drive to watch the sunset at Yellowcraig was the perfect way to end a long day. We were not disappointed. When we parked the car it seemed everyone was walking in the opposite direction, but we walked the 5 mins across some bluffs to this exquisite setting and forgave the fairly intrusive but ultimately temporary engagement shoot, our only company for the first half an hour or so. For me there is something so calming about standing with my toes in sea water, with no noise but birdsong, and the only jellyfish beached (see below!) moments like this reset my anxiety counter and are really treasured.

Tantallon and Dunbar
We were ultimately headed south but en route I persuaded my kind friend to try one last historical haunt and a seaside town for fish and chips with mixed success.

Tantallon Castle offered buckets of atmosphere, house martins for photos and generations of earls called Archibald Douglas (great name). I really enjoyed  playing the tour guide, reading aloud bits of the guide book and generally larking about the ruin - we got a good hour and a half out of Tantallon - some amazing photos - and all for just £5.50 each.

Dunbar on the other hand was less successful. I know this may come as a surprise but I don't always guess places right. Dunbar was on our route home and seemed like the perfect place to stop for fish and chips, but to be honest, there was one bar open prepared to feed us fish and chips, and they took ages. When our food came it was proper 'eat the view', fished from the surrounding waters but I was an 9.75 on my hungry scale (eat your hand is 10!) by the time it arrived. Dunbar like Musselburgh was a decidedly average, suburban town. There are gems to be found on the East Lothian coast, Gullane looked nice from the car window, but Dunbar is not it.

Anyway, by the time you read this I'll be away again (I know, lucky girl) I'm off to Germany and beyond. Looking forward to updating you on all the best places to find beer and happiness on the Continent. Cheerio!