Spring Break: North Wales Day 4

Telford suspension bridge
Celtic burial grounds
Maria being concerned for the baby lamb.
Jump shot in the town with the worlds longest name!

Day 4 of our North Wales trip is certainly one that will live on in infamy. What made this day so... interesting was the fact that it consisted of two THREE HOUR TOURS ( Gilligan's Island tune in the background). I exaggerate, they were really only two (or so) hours long, but it was a marathon.

The first tour of the day was of Conwy castle, an impressive structure built for King Edward I as he attempted to conquer all of the UK. Our tour guide, Neil, was incredibly knowledgeable and told us all about how the castle was fortified against attack but also outfitted to be a pleasant home for the King should he decide to visit. The castle was the most complex castle I have ever been to, but also the best explained. Neil told us about the 7 layers of defense that protected the main gate from attack. There are little holes the archways so that soldiers can shoot high speed darts directly into invaders. There are also "murder holes" directly above the main gate, so nasty things can be dropped onto invaders if they manage to get that close. The castle was completely thought out, no detail forgotten. We learned that the bread oven is on the first floor so that the heat dries the stones of the castle walls and so that the rooms above it smell like bread (early air freshener!) When we thought the tour must be about near an end, Neil tood us down to the small Telford suspension bridge that spans the river right up to the castle. Neil is not a fan of this bridge because Telford found the need to knock down part of the ancient city wall and part of the castle to put the bridge where it was. We were now SURE the tour was over, but Neil kept going. He brought us to a church and then beyond to his favorite lunch spot, where he finally took his leave.

This left us with very little time to get lunch in the town, so most of us just joined Neil at the pub and ordered cheap soup and sandwiches. We joined the rest of the group and the Geier's. We beat the Geiers to the bus because Geier's sons wanted to go back to the castle and explore it more... apparently they have a list of castles to visit in Wales and are determined to see all of them. We then drove to the island of Anglesey, known as the heart of Wales because of its agricultural contributions to the mainland. We went to a shabby but homey little museum dedicated to the two great bridges that span the Menai straights. There, we donned neon yellow vests and set out on our second two + hour tour. We walked across the bridge, stopping every few yards so that our tour guide could educate us. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy on the bridge and most of us just huddled together to endure the wind rather than listen completely to our guide. When we made it to the other side, we crossed back over and were sure that our tour was close to being over. However, we went down below the bridge, out back, around, through, and finally back to the center. By that time we were all exhausted and fairly cranky, but we tried not to show it.

Our next stop was an ancient Celtic burial ground set back from the road a bit down a peaceful path. When we arrived, we realized that three lambs were stuck inside the fencing that surrounded the burial ground. We were all distracted by the plight of the lambs and their moms, who were baaing in a very distressed manner. We tried to herd the lambs out, and two of them squeezed under the fence when we approached them. The one that couldnt get out had brown spots and was running back and forth with its mom right behind. Maria and I were both really bothered by the stuck lamb, so I tried to let it out by opening the gate. I didnt get far before Professor Geier yelled at me not to mess with it. Needless to say it put a damper on the burial ground, which was really just a mound of dirt.

The next burial ground we visited was a bit more exciting. Even though we couldnt go inside, it was practically hanging off into the ocean and it was a spectacular view with the sun low in the sky. We frolicked in the ocean and chased the waves until Eric (Professor Geier's son) fell down in the water and got a bit wet and sandy. We then tried to get the sand off of our shoes the best we could before tramping back on to Dave's coach.

Our last stop of the day was the fair town of Llanfairpwllgwyngogerychwryndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch for dinner. We did the whole touristy photos in front of the really long train platform and gift shop, then went to dinner early, as there is nothing to do in LlanfairPG (as I will call it from now on so I dont have to type out the whole name ( and yes, I have learned to say the whole thing)). Dinner was awesome, especially desert. I got sticky toffee pudding and it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten! Then it was back to Caenarfon, where we watched Shawshank Redemption and knitted. We all brought our computers to pretend to do work, but that didn't really happen...