Another super dooper day was in prospect. We awoke from our slumbers in a Dolgellau car park and moved off to find a lay-by nearby because we wanted to cycle along a traffic free cycle path to Barmouth on the coast. The cycle path ran alongside the Afon Mawddach estuary. It was soooo beautiful.
This bridge was only a tiddler compared to the one below.
The railway bridge is half a mile long with glorious views in all directions, especially in this sunshine.
Our thirteen year old Wales guide book told us that Barmouth was a bit like Blackpool.....well, I think the guide book did it a dis-service. The beach was brilliant, wide and with dunes. The mountain scenery was great. The town was pretty with a good range of shops and cafes.
This photo was looking back at the town from the beach.
OK it did have a small funfair and an amusement arcade but to me it was the perfect British holiday combination. I felt so pleased that I practiced a waltz on my own. We had our lunch on the beach and cycled back to the van. We travelled onward to Harlech further up the coast to satisfy my craving for a castle.....I had been in withdrawal for a few days.
Janice set the sat nav for a car park near Harlech but I ignored the directions to head for Harlech village and the castle. It got rather tricky in the narrow lanes especially when a bus came the other way. We managed to reverse a bit and squeeze through. I nearly went down the steepest street in the world at nearly 40% gradient according to the Guinness Book of Records. Seven miles extra driving I found the car park we had aimed for in the first place.
What a lovely place.
View from our car park.
The castle was built by Edward I of England but it fell to Owain Glyndwr (not Owain the slightly camp North West weatherman) in 1404 who crowned himself the King of Wales. It was recaptured and was held by the House of Lancaster for 7 years before it was captured in the War of the Roses and the song the ‘Men of Harlech’ recorded story of the siege.
I’m not saying it’s steep but......
In the evening we walked on the beach for the sunset.
We finished the evening with a glass of whiskey sitting in the front seats of the van with all the lights off. Looking ahead at the lit up Castle and we sung ‘Men of Harlech’ with the passion of a quarter blooded Welshman (remember my Grandad was born 100 yards into Wales).
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