North Wales: Land of Castles

a map of Wales showing our drive from Swansea in the south to Llandudno in the north with a stop at Aberaeron

We got underway just after nine in the morning following the trusty GPS Josephine's convoluted but accurate directions to get us out of Swansea. After a few hours of driving, William asked what I had planned for a beautiful spot for a coffee stop. I took from his tone that finding an auto stop along the motorway was not going to fit the bill.

the pastel houses of Aberaeron

After a quick perusal of the map, I pulled the coastal town of Aberaeron out of thin air. And what a lucky pluck it was! William was enchanted for a number of reasons, soon to be divulged, and Robert could not stop taking pictures.  What was truly unique about this sea-side town was the buildings, both retail and residential, which were all painted pastel shades and which we surmised was a plan of the local council to attract tourists. Well it worked!!

boats in the protected harbour of Aberaeron

We wandered around braving the wild winds and waves crashing against the cement boardwalk, noting the cute hotels, and marvelling at the keystone harbour which must test the mettle of any captain who wishes to negotiate the narrow entrance from fierce ocean to calm anchorage. 

In one parking lot William found a blue vespa which he coveted, which enhanced my choice of stop, and then we found a perfect bakery cum coffee shop where his morning coffee stop moved from appreciation of a cute village to adoration of the confection he ordered to go along with his coffee.

As usual we took our coffee outdoors so that Rob could enjoy his ciggie poo. Our coffee orders were always the same: two cafe latte and one americano. It was the decadence of the accompanying treats that varied from day to day. 

the Scottish scone in the Welsh village

 In Aberaeron, William ordered a massive scone filled with whip cream and accompanied by blackberry jam and he swooned over the high caloric treat from the first mouthful to the last. In our whole trip, William never found a better treat than the Aberaeron scone, made daily, we were told by a Scottish lady in this lovely Welsh village.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

And so we moved on, further north along the coast and then through the Cambrian Mountains.

coastal view just north of Aberaeron

I had received ten out of ten for the morning coffee stop in Aberaeron. Unfortunately I wasn't so successful with my next bit of trip planning. I had read that Betwys-y-Coed was a lovely little town, at least according to Rick Steeves. We found it to be dark and depressing with its heavy grey-stoned buildings, the bridges across the river, its massive trees and its crowds of tourists wandering around. We settled for a quick drive through and continued on to our B&B in Llandudno.

 I was back on track because the B&B, Stoneleigh, with our charming hostess, Anna, more than met everyone's expectations.

Llandudno around its bay

As we walked from our lodging on a leafy street to the downtown area for dinner, Rob,as usual, was snapping pictures left, right and centre. We waited and finally got to our seafood restaurant where we had a very nice meal.

 Rob excused himself at the end to have his cigarette, we assumed, while we had dessert. About fifteen minuted later when we were leaving, Rob was nowhere to be found. We thought, "Oh well, he is a big boy. He has either found a pub or he has gone back by himself."

Rob, the wanderer

About 45 minuted later when I was tucked in bed but not asleep, Rob knocked on my door. It seems he was having a beer at an outside table at a pub two doors from the restaurant. We didn't see him and he didn't see us. But Rob didn't know where we were staying or how to get back to the B&B.  Just how did he manage it? Well he called up the pictures he had made on his camera and walked his way back to our lodging one frame at a time. Now that was enterprising and deserved a glass of scotch which is just what the two of us had. Cheers to the problem solving man!

We reviewed the story over a breakfast of porridge for Billy boy and smoked salmon and eggs for the problem solving wandering brother, Rob and fruit and yogurt for myself, the self-appointed tour director. Then we were off on our next adventure: a walk in the rain along the sea-shore to the more famous tourist town of Conwy.

Conwy Castle

the impressive sands from Llandudno to Conwy

It was a long stretch of the legs to reach the town and its dominant castle. It did not disappoint us as a day-trip destination but we were glad that we had not stayed there.

A local bus brought us speedily back to Llandudno after lunch. The last part of the day's outing was to ride the cog railway up to the top of the headland where we tried to admire the views despite the cold temperatures. Halfway up to the top is an excavation of a very old mining site which would have made for an interesting stop if it had been earlier in the day and we hadn't been so tired and so cold.

Three on a walk in Llandudno

Back at the B&B we shared our impressions of the day over a glass or two before we headed out for dinner and then toddled off to bed.
All things considered, Llandudno had been a worthwhile stop and we felt heartily refreshed and replenished as well as more than a little bit pampered before the next leg of driving began.