We saw Liverpool very briefly as we opted for a tour of
Northern Wales. It turned out to be a great decision. It was absolutely
stunning! On our bus ride to Wales, we had a brief presentation on the history
of Wales and saw thousands of sheep (they outnumber people 3:1 in Wales). Our
first stop was Conway. What an amazing little village nestled around an Iron
Ring Castle constructed by the English to control Wales in the 1200s. We walked
along the city walls, which were actually the walls of the old castle fortress.
The views of the water and main castle were spectacular. After our walk around
the fortress walls of the village we came down (was quite a climb to get up on
the walls in the first place) to street level to explore. There were many
quaint little specialty shops and some cozy little eateries. We stopped for ice
cream and coffee, and, believe it or not, Mississippi Mud flavor was advertised
on the chalk board behind the counter (hahaha…we talked with the proprietor
about it a bit). Carmie and the kids really enjoyed the ice cream, and I loved
the creamy cappuccino. We left the village of Conway and headed for Snowdonia.
The weather was surprisingly good with sunshine and warm temperatures. The
drive through the mountains was stunning (a couple more thousand more sheep sightings
along the way). We stopped at a mountain village for some great photo ops in a
valley with majestic peaks all around for 360 degrees. We also hiked up a beautiful
waterfall. We left the mountains for a village called Betws-y-coed (“prayer
house in the woods”). It was an amazing little spot with beautiful hills and
lush green forests all around. We had some fish and chips (a bit greasy and
rather flavorless to be honest). Cameron and I went behind a strip of shops and
found an old train converted into a café and strand of shops. Beyond the shops,
I caught a glimpse of a stone entrance into a cemetery. It looked really old.
Our tour guide told us that the relatively new (1800s) Anglican church was the
prayer house in the woods that the village was named for. I went into a model
train shop and asked the cashier about the cemetery. She told me it surrounds
the prayer house in the woods built in the 1200s (namesake of the village). Wow…I
quickly ran over to the cemetery entrance and nestled in the trees found the
church. It was gorgeous on the outside and fully maintained on the inside (open
to the public) with candles burning. It was breathtaking. I hurried back though
the cemetery, gathered Cameron at the model store and re-joined the girls to
return to the bus (of course after grabbing a beer with a new buddy I met on
the ship). Our final stop was Pontcysylite, home to an aqueduct / canal built
in 1795. Not an aqueduct to deliver water, but an aqueduct constructed as a
waterway for transporting goods across valleys by horse drawn boats (it made
the journeys and transport of good for trading in the region much easier at the
time). We took a brief walk out on an aqueduct trestle traversing a valley…it
was stunning…views of the rocky rapids below (a sheer drop)…wow…the kids loved
it. The mountains and forest were beautiful. This topped off our tour of
Northern Wales. We headed back by bus to Liverpool and rejoined our friends on
the ship. Now another sea day and next stop Dover!
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