Wales: Day 3 Conwy and Llandudno

On our third full day in Wales, we headed North to the coast. We began our day in the walled town on Conwy.

Conwy Castle is yet another castle built by Kind Edward I during his conquest of Wales in the mid 1200s. The town was originally designed for the English people who were brave enough to move to the area and help build the castle. The wall built around the town still stands strong.

By far, Conwy Castle was our favorite! The layout of the castle was much more detailed than the others we had seen. We were able to climb a steep circular staircase, and see the view from one of the highest battlements(I get frightened just looking at the pictures I took!). The view was spectacular! We could see the Conwy Estuary below, and views of the whole town with the wall surrounding it. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our time in the castle.

• We got to walk along the town wall to get to the castle.
• As with a few castles we've seen, Conwy Castle was built on a rock.
• This is a model of what the original town layout was with the castle and surrounding wall.
• If you look carefully, you can see the wall surrounding the town,
• and how the wall went all the way to the sea.
• Walking into the main gate to the courtyard.
• This is the room that was under the great hall. You can see the holes where the floor level would have been, and the remains of a chimney to the left.
• The dungeon!! There was one trap door down to the dungeon, and no way out!
• Some views from a battlement.
• The courtyard from above.
• An oven.
• A sleepy Collin.

After our time in the castle, we found lunch at a small cafe, and it was Welsh Rarebit for everyone!

We then walked to a National Trust site called the Aberconwy House. This house is Conwy's only remaining 14th century merchant's house. We got to tour the house and hear stories from the tour-guides, which always adds so much.(A picture I found of Aberconwy House from centuries before. If you compare, you can see how the street level has risen over time.)

We then took a walk on Conwy's suspension bridge (which is only for pedestrians), and then a walk through the town to get back to our car. This is a picture of the town square.After our time in Conwy, we headed across the river to the nearby town of Llandudno. We decided to take a tram ride up the Great Orme. The Great Orme is a peninsula that has beautiful views of the sea and town. Here are a few pictures of the views.

• We were all excited about riding the tram, even Collin!
• We saw some mountain goats on the way up!
• You could also take cable cars to get up to the top.
• The town on Llandudno below.
• 
• Views of the sea on both sides of the Orme.
  

Up at the top, there was a playground with a really long slide that the kids enjoyed. On the way back to the tram, I got hit in the mouth with a football, and had to deal with a swollen lip for the rest of the day. Oh well....

We finished up our day by walking the boardwalk and pier in the town of Llandudno. The pier was filled with shops, food stalls, etc., but fortunately (for our wallets' sake) everything was closed as it was almost 8pm. It was still neat to see the views of the water and the town, which really looked like a nice resort town.

Wales: Day 2 Harlech and Criccieth Castles

On our second day in Wales, we drove about 45 minutes south to see Harlech Castle, a World-Heritage site. The castle is located on a cliff overlooking Cardigan Bay (part of the Irish Sea). As with many castles in the area, Harlech Castle was built by King Edward I during his conquest of Wales. Construction began in 1283, and was completed a mere 7 years later.In this picture, you can see where the chimneys and floor levels would have been.The views from the castle were fenominal! You could see the Snowdonia Mountain range in one direction, and the crystal blue bay in the other.We all enjoyed climbing to the upper level to see the views. I took a lot of pictures!!After our time at the castle, we walked around the town of Harlech for a little bit. We enjoyed lunch at the Castle Restaurant, where I tried Welsh Rarebit. I had heard of this meal before, and always thought it was rabbit. But no, it's actually a glorified grilled cheese. It's basically an open-faced sandwich, which is topped with a cheese sauce mixed with mustard, egg-wash, and sometimes ale. It was yummy! After lunch, we found a souvenier shop that sold Welsh ice cream. Yummy again!

We then drove around the bay to another castle called Criccieth Castle. This castle was built in the early 13th century and was also instrumental in the war between England and Wales.
Again, the views of the bay and mountains were gorgeous.
When we were done walking around the grounds, we headed for the beach. Did I mention that the weather was outstanding? The kids waded in the water (which wasn't too cold), and Collin had his toes dipped in the sea for the first time.On the drive home, we took an incredibly scenic route through the Snowdonia Mountain range. The views were just unbelievable! We even saw Mt. Snowdon, which is the highest peak in all of Great Britain with an elevation of 3,560 miles above sea level.(A cute little farm we spotted down in the valley.)We stopped for dinner at a small inn/restaurant that was selling brick-oven pizzas. The pizza was the best we have tried over here! A great way to finish up our day!