A mighty castle, fish and chips and a little rain....

The intrepid travelers arrived in Holyhead, Wales, refreshed and ready for the next step. Slightly ahead of schedule, we picked up tickets for the next leg of the trip and went to wait at the Holyhead train station. The train was along presently and we boarded, an “ask the conductor to stop in Conwy” anxiety was the only cloud on the horizon. You see, this train stopped at our destination only if requested, and we had yet to request.

The landscape gradually changed from moors to small sheep farms to regular farming country. The train was comfortable, stopping frequently, leaving our doughty group to marvel at villages with extra long names, a Welsh specialty.

In rapid succession, we stopped at Gwybodaeth, the slightly more pronounceable Rheilffordd, but outclassed completely by Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. (See below)

Bonnie assumed the task of verbally wrestling with the acerbic conductor over the pronunciation of Conwy. He (Con-way), she (Con-wee). Later, Bonnie’s view was upheld by the B&B owner in Conwy.

The castle in Conwy was the second Welsh castle we had seen over the years. The first, a majestic ruin farther south in the town of Caerphilly, was less a castle in the Neuschwanstein or Windsor style, more a dark, grey fearsome fortress, secure behind moats, and double walls. I was anxious to see if Caerphilly was the exception, or a pattern for Welsh fortifications.

Pleased to see the train stopping at Conwy (our entreaties to the conductor worked), we exited at the deserted stop, wandered around a bit, then asked for directions to the B&B at a small grocery store. A short walk and we were there, very nice owners, even nicer rooms.

It was cloudy, with occasional spits of rain as we went on a search for dinner. I have been to Wales three times, each time it was cloudy, with occasional spits of rain. I find it fits the territory. After all, would it be Wales with a cow’s skull, buzzards and saguaros?

Our dinner was very good, if noisy. Seated a few feet away was a group of local real estate sales people. Nothing gets salespeople noisy like a few too many bottles of wine. Mussels, a Conwy specialty, were on the menu so these marvelous, fresh delights appeared and all was well.

Up early the next morning, fortified by a Welsh breakfast, we set out to find Conwy Castle. Lo and behold some of its extensive walls started across the street from the B&B so there we were.

Conwy castle was built starting in 1283 by the English to combat the Welsh king, Llewellyn the Last, thus testifying to its success. It was massive undertaking with walls facing landward and its back to the sea. The logic? If all landward supply routes were cut off, the English could supply the castle from the sea, the English Navy already a formidable presence.

We wandered about the town, looking at walls; climbing up into vast towers; looked into wells built for water supply. From the tallest towers we could see the Afon Conwy, the estuary of the River Afon, the arm of the sea that was Conwy’s lifeline, small boats and fishermen plied the bay in the shadow of this wonderful structure built so many years ago.

Of course, all the climbing and looking generated a need for lunch so it was off to the fabled fish and chip shops of Conwy. Thick cod, crispy chips, and a side of mushy peas are all one needs to get back into the fray.

Conwy is a tourist town. But unlike the run-of –the-mill tourist town they work very hard to keep the town still livable by ordinary citizens and they succeed. It would be a nice place to live, surrounded by history, clean air, fresh vegetables and abundant sea food.

But the scheduling clock continued to tick. Choosing to leave from a regular station, we needed to go to LLaddudno Junction, across the River Afton. My blessed family went by taxi, shepherding the luggage. Me, being me, walked the bridge across the river and met up with everyone at the train station.

Next stop – London, where we would meet up with Lisa on Sunday.

There's a name. . .