Answers on a postcard...

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Dual language signs

One of the things I love about being in Wales, is seeing the dual language signage.

It is, quite rightly, everywhere!

Returning to England, the road signs look so naked!

Last day

Bus Stop Quarry made a lovely end to the holiday. The weather was perfect, the climbing was good and there was even entertainment laid on.

 

The views were beautiful.

Bus Stop Quarry

Before leaving Wales, we took a trip to Bus Stop Quarry, where there are some dramatic slate faces and edges.

Of course, there was yet more climbing!

Llanberis Pass

The Nant Peris river tumbles down Llanberis Pass...

and the rays of the sinking sun tinge the tops of the crags...

...culminating in a beautiful sunset sky.

Dolbadarn Castle

At the southern end of Llyn Padarn is the 800 acre Padarn Country Park and towering overhead is the ruin of Dolbadarn Castle.

Built sometime before 1230 by Llewellyn the Great, the purpose of the castle was to guard the route through the mountains. The tower is built of slate and contains many chambers. It has a diameter of 40 feet and walls 8 feet thick. It once rose 3 storeys high, but fell into disuse after the conquest of Wales by Edward I, who built the castle at Criccieth. It is now listed as a World Heritage Site.

Llyn Padarn

Llyn Padarn is the result of millions of years of Earth movement and volcanic eruption, combined with an ice age.  It is a glacial lake, dammed by a moraine and fed by the River Seiont, which is the same river that reaches the sea at Caernarfon, around 10 miles downstream.

The llyn is approximately 2 miles long and has a narrow gauge, railway running down the length of the north shore, with trains pulled by steam engines rescued from the nearby Dinorwic Slate Quarries.

We didn't ride on the train, but we waved at passengers as we were busy kayaking on the lake.

We hired them from here. It was really good value and we had the range of the whole lake :)

Caernarfon harbour

Some photos of the river and harbour at Caernarfon.

The Harbour Offices date back to 1840.

A quick trip round Caernarfon

Picking back up on our short Wales trip...

Caernarfon (Welsh: Fort in Arfon)  is at the southern end of the Menai Strait; the body of water separating mainland North Wales from the island of Anglesey, and is probably best known for its castle; the location where, in 1969, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II became Charles, Prince of Wales.

The castle was built by Edward I of England between 1283 and 1330 and was intended to be the seat of English rule in Wales. It stands on the banks of the River Seiont, as it nears its mouth at the sea.

Just across Castle Square is the Presbyterian Church of Wales which was built in 1882 and conducts a weekly Sunday morning service in English.

And in front of the church is a war memorial which is topped by this griffin and was designated a grade 2 listed building in March 2002.

Down the side of Castle Square is the statue of Sir Hugh Owen (1804 - 1881), a significant Welsh educator who pioneered higher education in Wales and founded the University of Wales in Aberystwyth.

And further on again, is David Lloyd George; Prime Minister of the UK from 1916 - 1922, at the head of a coalition government. (Currently, even the word 'coalition' makes me shudder!) He guided the country through the first world war and was then a significant figure at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919.

Although he was actually born in Manchester, Lloyd George was of Welsh descent and the only prime minister ever to have English as a second language. He left Manchester when only a few months old, living first in Pembrokeshire and later in Caernarfonshire, from where his mother came.

Lloyd George is the constable of Caernarfon Castle.

Why not?

One of the great things about being on holiday is that there is more freedom; the freedom to say 'Why not?!', so, why not nip just down the road from Tremadog to Porthmadog to buy Chinese take-away, and take it 4 miles down the coast to the lay-by where we could sit and eat looking over Criccieth castle. Dark? So what?

Since 2006, one or both of the lads have been going to Criccieth for the annual Pathfinder and/or CYFA camp. They have loved it and this place will always hold a special significance for them.

So, Chinese eaten and back to the tent. Yes?

Not quite because, while we are out, why not drive over Pen y Pass to have a look at the mountains in the dark? And so, we ended up back in the lay-by with the view of Snowdon (causing some consternation to the family illegally settled down for the night in their camper van - 'No overnight parking!' Worried faces peeped out through the curtains to make sure our car wasn't sporting a blue light and the word HEDDLU).

No clouds enshrouding Snowdon this time!

And we eventually crept off to leave the campers in peace.

A couple more days off posting (What again?) because I am going up to Cumbria to collect Mark.

Yet more climbing

Back down to the foot of the crags and it was Ben's turn to lead a route. He chose a relatively easy one because he was going to be followed up by a novice.

Mark belayed him up...

...and was then on hand to shout advice and instruction to the inexperienced second...

...who was delighted to reach the top.

A crag with a view

From the top of the crags above Tremadog, the view was spectacular. 

Starting from the North East and moving clockwise...

1. Cnicht 

The pinnacle of this mountain makes it very distinctive, especially from the south west, but in reality, Cnicht is a long ridge with a pointy bump at the end. At 2,260 feet it is not especially high; certainly not high enough to join the Welsh 3,000s, but it is a rewarding walk. The name Cnicht comes from Old English, rather than Welsh, and means Knight. Years ago, when I stayed at Tremadog on a school residential, the dormitory I stayed in was named Cnicht.

2. Moelwyn Mawr

At 2,526 feet, Moelwyn Mawr is higher than Cnicht, though still not a 3,000. Its summit overlooks the Vale of Ffestinniog and its small high lake, Llyn Stwlan is used as part of the water source for the hydro-electric power station at Tanygrisiau. Moelwyn Mawr is Welsh and translates as 'Great White Hill'.

3. The Cob

The Cob is a sea wall causeway built in 1811 by William Maddocks. It stretches for 1.4 miles, spanning the mouth of the Glaslyn River, and carries a road, a cycle path and the Ffestinniog narrow gauge railway. The Cob was constructed to reclaim the land of the Treath Mawr from the sea and it was on this reclaimed land that the town of Portmadog was built. Until 2003, the Cob was privately owned and charged a toll. Because it had been set by an Act of Parliament when permission to build the Cob was granted, the toll continued at a fixed rate for almost 200 years - 1 shilling (latterly 5p) per car! Now, the Cob has been purchased by the Welsh Assembly and the journey is free.

In the foreground, you can see the ongoing construction of a new road; a by-pass which will hopefully relieve some of the traffic congestion in Porthmadog and improve the town immensely.

4. Criccieth Castle

Finally, looking south west, down the Llyn Peninsular, is the unmistakable shape of Criccieth Castle, about which I have posted before.

Back to Tremadog and the sun stayed out!

This two days later when we made a return trip to Tremadog. The climbing was good and the views were spectacular. More on the views tomorrow, but this is Mark leading an E1 grade climb, seconded by Ben.

I took the easy route, round the end of the crag