We couldn't complain about the weather forecasters today - they did say that we'd wake up to rain and we sure did. It wasn't that heavy, but persistent and with the wind it was occasionally blowing sideways! So, a leisurely start to the day and no plans to do a walk - I got carried away and RAN to the local shop for today's newspaper, and Donna did her magic to find a spot in the cottage where we could pick up the owners WIFI - they live next door but the walls are so thick it's very hit and miss - mainly miss. So we were set for a leisurely couple of hours.
Just after 11am we jumped in the car and headed the 25 miles or so north to Conwy. When we came in March we visited Caernarfon and loved seeing the castle and the old walls around the town, so having read about the delights of Conwy's main claim to fame we had planned to go there on a rainy day - which of course it was.
We arrived around noon (and achieved record fuel economy in the Yeti - 66mpg) and parked up just to the side of the castle - a bargain at only £2 for 8hrs. How easy it would be for the local council to charge far higher prices in a 'tourist town' - but they deserve a big pat on the back for not doing so.
Our first venture was up onto the town walls for our first view of the town and then we headed towards the castle which is built on a large rocky outcrop at the end of the bridge over the estuary. We paid our £4.80 (if I remember correctly) and of course fell for the lovely lady's sales spin on the guide at £4.50 - well I say we fell for it, we purchased one at Caernerfon and for the money the guides are packed with information.
We spent around 90 minutes in and around the castle and it's numerous rooms, halls and towers - a really worthwhile visit if you're ever in the area. There was however the usual frustrating sight that we see too readily in places of beauty - rubbish thrown by idiots who seem to find some pleasure in doing so. There's a 91ft deep pit with water in the bottom, and floating in the water was all sorts of plastic bottles and debris. These people need locking up!
Anyway, rant over. After finishing at the castle - and I took over 100 photos there so hoping there are a few good one's amongst them, we headed down to walk along the quayside where we noticed the red house famous for being the smallest house in Great Britain. It would have been good to have been able to have a look inside it, but we suffered the off-season curse of it being closed. It was now mid-afternoon and we hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we took a small detour into the town to purchase some lunch to take back down to eat near the water.
If I'm being honest our detour wasn't just to the sandwich shop as we did spy an outdoor clothing shop so I couldn't resist a visit. We had a quick look around the shop and Donna asked me to try on a coat. I moaned a lot spouting about how I didn't need yet another coat (I do have a love of coats), how an XL would never be big enough, but after huffing and puffing I relented and tried it on. As soon as I looked in the mirror I was transfixed - and £215 later the jacket was mine. A Rohan Waymark coat - beautifully made and it looked GREAT on me if I say so myself :-) I just couldn't resist...
So, a great afternoon all round. We'd been lucky as the weather had got much better as we got to Conwy - it was dry with the odd break in the cloud. And to prove our fortune as we drove back we hit more murky wet weather about 5 miles south of Conwy as we met the hills. Back to the cottage and yet another battle with the log burner to try and get a roaring fire going. After 2hrs of trying and a few £££ of firelighters and kindle we gave up....storage heater it is tonight.
Just after 11am we jumped in the car and headed the 25 miles or so north to Conwy. When we came in March we visited Caernarfon and loved seeing the castle and the old walls around the town, so having read about the delights of Conwy's main claim to fame we had planned to go there on a rainy day - which of course it was.
We arrived around noon (and achieved record fuel economy in the Yeti - 66mpg) and parked up just to the side of the castle - a bargain at only £2 for 8hrs. How easy it would be for the local council to charge far higher prices in a 'tourist town' - but they deserve a big pat on the back for not doing so.
Our first venture was up onto the town walls for our first view of the town and then we headed towards the castle which is built on a large rocky outcrop at the end of the bridge over the estuary. We paid our £4.80 (if I remember correctly) and of course fell for the lovely lady's sales spin on the guide at £4.50 - well I say we fell for it, we purchased one at Caernerfon and for the money the guides are packed with information.
We spent around 90 minutes in and around the castle and it's numerous rooms, halls and towers - a really worthwhile visit if you're ever in the area. There was however the usual frustrating sight that we see too readily in places of beauty - rubbish thrown by idiots who seem to find some pleasure in doing so. There's a 91ft deep pit with water in the bottom, and floating in the water was all sorts of plastic bottles and debris. These people need locking up!
Anyway, rant over. After finishing at the castle - and I took over 100 photos there so hoping there are a few good one's amongst them, we headed down to walk along the quayside where we noticed the red house famous for being the smallest house in Great Britain. It would have been good to have been able to have a look inside it, but we suffered the off-season curse of it being closed. It was now mid-afternoon and we hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we took a small detour into the town to purchase some lunch to take back down to eat near the water.
If I'm being honest our detour wasn't just to the sandwich shop as we did spy an outdoor clothing shop so I couldn't resist a visit. We had a quick look around the shop and Donna asked me to try on a coat. I moaned a lot spouting about how I didn't need yet another coat (I do have a love of coats), how an XL would never be big enough, but after huffing and puffing I relented and tried it on. As soon as I looked in the mirror I was transfixed - and £215 later the jacket was mine. A Rohan Waymark coat - beautifully made and it looked GREAT on me if I say so myself :-) I just couldn't resist...
So, a great afternoon all round. We'd been lucky as the weather had got much better as we got to Conwy - it was dry with the odd break in the cloud. And to prove our fortune as we drove back we hit more murky wet weather about 5 miles south of Conwy as we met the hills. Back to the cottage and yet another battle with the log burner to try and get a roaring fire going. After 2hrs of trying and a few £££ of firelighters and kindle we gave up....storage heater it is tonight.
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