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!