The smallest house in Great Britain is located in Conwy, Wales. Notice the size of the trash can compared to the door!
Our day to explore north Wales started out on a bit of a sour note for one of our fellow travelers staying at the hostel. As we were preparing to leave the hostel, in Chester, the chap on duty reminded us not leave anything of value in our car as one of the cars parked out front had the drivers side window smashed during the night. Fortunately our car was fine.
We headed towards Conwy on the north coast of Wales and at Chelsea's suggestion we got off the main highway (A55) and took the roads that went right along the coast through the towns of Flint, Prestatyn, and Rhyl. These appear to be pretty much towns that cater to English families on seaside week-end holidays. At least the sun was shining some of the time and seeing just a bit of blue sky brightened my spirits.
We arrived at Conwy, site of a defensive castle built in the 1200's during Edward I's conquest of Wales. We walked along the medieval city walls and it amazes me the engineering feats that Edward employed to maintain his power in Wales. The walls are a great way to see the city!
After Conwy, we drove to Caenarfon to tour the castle there. This was another of Edward I's building feats and where his son, Edward II, was born and declared the first Prince of Wales. By this time it was raining steadily and we pretty much had the whole castle to ourselves. Chelsea is really up on British history now and she fills me on a lot of historical tidbits while we are touring. Caenarfon is also where the current Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) was officially crowned Prince of Wales. Caenarfon is also a marvel of defensive engineering, but a lot of the features were never completed.
I can't imagine residing in a castle like these. I'm sure they were always dark and dank!
After the castle, we drove to Bewts-y-coed thru Snowdonia National Park. This is gorgeous, rugged country but unfortunately, it was raining and foggy all the way. We stopped in Bewts-y-coed for an afternoon snack and a bit of souvenier shopping.
We completed the loop and arrived back at our hostel around 6:00p, got on the internet to complete our lodging reservations for the remaining nights before we get to London and then went and had Indian food for dinner on Lower Bridge Street in Chester.
Tomorrow is another long haul in the car! We're headed south to Bath!
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