No walks planned for today after our 6.5hrs 'on the trail' yesterday, but we fancied a trip over to the coast and particularly a visit to Portmerion. It was yet another stunning day, the temperature peaking around 21c with little breeze, and again not a cloud in the sky - and only a 30 minute or so drive to Portmerion.
We set off at 10am and took the A470 up through the beautiful Crimea Pass with it's stunning views, and over towards Blaenau Ffestinog. I had planned a walk over in this area later in the week, but after discovering that Blaenau was heavily industrialised (well at least it was in the past) with slate mines and lots of 'spoil' surrounding the town, I decided that it wouldn't be the most scenic of walks so we'd not bother venturing back down here again.
After another 15 minutes or so we arrived at Portmerion - normally £10 per adult to get in, but thankfully I had a voucher that got us in for £1, an offer they had on up until 31st March - great timing. We spent about 2 hours in the village, it was great to look at but a lot smaller than I envisaged, and we were glad that we hadn't paid £20 to get in. Some of the buildings were beautiful, it was a great setting and had some lovely short walks, but in our opinion not worth the money if you had to pay full price. Even our ice-cream cones were £2.95 each - and no they weren't large cones with flakes protruding out like a Hedgehog's spikes. And if I'm being honest, they were certainly more 'ice' than 'cream'
That said, it was good to see the place after hearing and reading so much about it, and the guy that developed it was successful in proving that you could build such a place without ruining the nature of the area. What was great to hear was people speaking Welsh, in the previous day and a half we hadn't heard a single person speaking any Welsh and it's a beautiful language and accent to listen to.
Around 12:30 we headed over to Porthmadog - it still makes me chuckle that it's pronounced 'Port Madoc' - obviously a little dissimilar to how it's spelt. Mind you, nothing like most of the translations of English to Welsh! We had a good stroll around the harbour, and managed to see the steam train that runs to Blaenau Ffestiniog and back, with it's well appointed carriages. As the sun was still beating down we took 30 minutes to sit on a bench and have a sandwich and a drink for our lunch. There wasn't a great deal in Portmadog to see, so we headed further along the peninsula to Criccieth.
As we pulled down towards the sea-front it was great to see the castle high on the rock above the town - I'd read about it in a book back in the cottage, but completely forgotten that it was there. It really looked imposing like a black knight overseeing the town, guarding it from the perils of invaders the sea. Donna stayed near the car as I walked along the promenade over to the beach beneath the castle. Donna's shoes had rubbed her feet a little and there was no point in making the potential blister worse - better to let it settle before our long walk tomorrow.
I wasn't away from the car too long, heading back after taking a few photos and Donna was enjoying relaxing on the bench listening to the sea. We had a quick chat and decided to head to the end of the peninsula, so back in the car again. I knew that Donna wouldn't be able to do much walking, but I thought the view would be worth the visit.
As we headed along the road I took the wrong turn at a small roundabout, turning towards Abersoch, but as my mate Darrell had been there before and said what a picturesque place it was, we decided not to bother turning around. However, when we got into the small town we couldn't see a road to take us to the sea-front, and as Donna wouldn't be able to walk there if we parked at the top of the town, we aborted the visit and decided to just head back to the cottage.
On route back I managed my customary purchase of walking gear - purchasing some Gelert walking trousers for £40 and a Berghaus t-shirt for £22. I knew of the brand Gelert, but only realised when we drove past their factory and later read on the internet, that they are a Welsh brand based in Porthmadog, having started life in Beddgelert. No wonder the outdoor shop on the same industrial estate was 90% Gelert equipment. I didn't care though as the trousers were exactly what I'd been looking for.
Now just the 15 or so mile drive back to Dolwyddelan, and time to sit out on the decked patio in the afternoon sun, chilling out before tomorrow's challenging walk.
We set off at 10am and took the A470 up through the beautiful Crimea Pass with it's stunning views, and over towards Blaenau Ffestinog. I had planned a walk over in this area later in the week, but after discovering that Blaenau was heavily industrialised (well at least it was in the past) with slate mines and lots of 'spoil' surrounding the town, I decided that it wouldn't be the most scenic of walks so we'd not bother venturing back down here again.
After another 15 minutes or so we arrived at Portmerion - normally £10 per adult to get in, but thankfully I had a voucher that got us in for £1, an offer they had on up until 31st March - great timing. We spent about 2 hours in the village, it was great to look at but a lot smaller than I envisaged, and we were glad that we hadn't paid £20 to get in. Some of the buildings were beautiful, it was a great setting and had some lovely short walks, but in our opinion not worth the money if you had to pay full price. Even our ice-cream cones were £2.95 each - and no they weren't large cones with flakes protruding out like a Hedgehog's spikes. And if I'm being honest, they were certainly more 'ice' than 'cream'
That said, it was good to see the place after hearing and reading so much about it, and the guy that developed it was successful in proving that you could build such a place without ruining the nature of the area. What was great to hear was people speaking Welsh, in the previous day and a half we hadn't heard a single person speaking any Welsh and it's a beautiful language and accent to listen to.
Around 12:30 we headed over to Porthmadog - it still makes me chuckle that it's pronounced 'Port Madoc' - obviously a little dissimilar to how it's spelt. Mind you, nothing like most of the translations of English to Welsh! We had a good stroll around the harbour, and managed to see the steam train that runs to Blaenau Ffestiniog and back, with it's well appointed carriages. As the sun was still beating down we took 30 minutes to sit on a bench and have a sandwich and a drink for our lunch. There wasn't a great deal in Portmadog to see, so we headed further along the peninsula to Criccieth.
As we pulled down towards the sea-front it was great to see the castle high on the rock above the town - I'd read about it in a book back in the cottage, but completely forgotten that it was there. It really looked imposing like a black knight overseeing the town, guarding it from the perils of invaders the sea. Donna stayed near the car as I walked along the promenade over to the beach beneath the castle. Donna's shoes had rubbed her feet a little and there was no point in making the potential blister worse - better to let it settle before our long walk tomorrow.
I wasn't away from the car too long, heading back after taking a few photos and Donna was enjoying relaxing on the bench listening to the sea. We had a quick chat and decided to head to the end of the peninsula, so back in the car again. I knew that Donna wouldn't be able to do much walking, but I thought the view would be worth the visit.
As we headed along the road I took the wrong turn at a small roundabout, turning towards Abersoch, but as my mate Darrell had been there before and said what a picturesque place it was, we decided not to bother turning around. However, when we got into the small town we couldn't see a road to take us to the sea-front, and as Donna wouldn't be able to walk there if we parked at the top of the town, we aborted the visit and decided to just head back to the cottage.
On route back I managed my customary purchase of walking gear - purchasing some Gelert walking trousers for £40 and a Berghaus t-shirt for £22. I knew of the brand Gelert, but only realised when we drove past their factory and later read on the internet, that they are a Welsh brand based in Porthmadog, having started life in Beddgelert. No wonder the outdoor shop on the same industrial estate was 90% Gelert equipment. I didn't care though as the trousers were exactly what I'd been looking for.
Now just the 15 or so mile drive back to Dolwyddelan, and time to sit out on the decked patio in the afternoon sun, chilling out before tomorrow's challenging walk.
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