A really good friend, J, invited me to go to Wales with him and his friends for the long Easter weekend. We drove up with A on Friday morning, enjoying the countryside along the way (eweing season - all the little lambs were out) and trying to find the house that A had booked. The house ended up being an old chapel with some art hung on the walls for sale with beds and a kitchen.
We stayed in a small village that there is no way I can pronounce (Llwyngwril). Welsh apparently don't like a lot of vowels in their native tongue.
The little village is highlighted on the train chart that we walked down to find before the next day's adventures. The train had a little depot covering and notices that you had to wave down the train to get it to stop.
On our little walk down to the train depot
On the walk down to the seashore - surrounded by mountains, sheep and villages.
Beautiful sunset and seashore covered in pebbles
A look down the very cold coastline. After our little hike down to the sea and train station, we booked a table at the only pub in the village. They also had a local talent on tap for the music that night....local being the operative word. Food was good and the people watching was hilarious.
We got up early to catch the train that runs once/hour. After flagging it down, we did the wonderful train trip up through several villages and towns to Porthmadog.
Just a short video of the most incredible train trip I've ever taken. Sheep running in the fields, right next to the shore, incredible mountains.
View from the train, beaches becoming sandy.
Train got a little spooky when crossing a few of the bays - straight over the water on a very skinny rail bridge built for what looked like one train.
The water is right there!
Gorgeous "marshes" on the final leg into Porthmadog.
Once in Porthmadog, we took a STEAM train up through the mountains. It was really gorgeous.
Waterfalls on the route up through the mountains. We stopped at the last village to shop for Welsh slate, which is a specialty of the area.
Then we stopped in Barmouth on the way back to get some ice cream and walk on the beach. The weather was incredible, nothing but blue skies. We also got groceries for the evening and cooked a fabulous pizza dinner.
Cold but beautiful beach. Actual UKer's were in shorts. I was still bundled up!
That night we played Reading Monopoly as all of the group I was with work in Reading. I didn't understand a lot of the inside jokes about Reading, but the wine probably also had something to do with that. Fun evening!
Then it was off the next day for a lunch in Royal Leamington Spa...mmm Sunday Roast.
Thanks to J for inviting me!
No comments:
Post a Comment