Wales - Day 2

This was the DAY 2 of  the 3D2N Wales excursion on Saturday,  20th December 2014.

Bodelwyddan Castle
This was such a sudden diversion from our intended itinerary. We checked out from Travelodge at Wrexham around 8am and the sky was still dark. 

Our initial plan was to go straight to Conwy city to visit the magnificent ruins of Conwy Castle by the sea. But...we saw Bodelwyddan Castle which was just next to the main highway enroute to Conwy Castle. The day was still early so we decided to just checked it out.

However, Bodelwyddan Castle is closed on Saturday. It seems that there is a hotel just next to or behind the castle because we tried to find parking but all was fully occupied by the hotel´s guests. 

Our only choice was to park right in front of the castle but not too long after parking our cute compact car, we were asked to go as we were not supposed to park here. 


¨Bodelwyddan Castle, close to the village of Bodelwyddan, near RhylDenbighshire in Wales, was built around 1460 by the Humphreys family of Anglesey as a manor house. Its most important association was with the Williams-Wynn family, which extended for around 200 years from 1690.¨ -Wikipedia

More information about Bodelwyddan Castle here at http://bodelwyddan-castle.co.uk/.

Conwy Castle
The real deal..hehe from our original itinerary. Conwy Castle was suggested by our friends as they said it is one of the many castles in Wales which is near the sea. 

It´s pretty breathtaking with the cloudy skies giving it a mysterious and somber background. I wish I knew how to pronounce Conwy in Welsh but I am pretty sure I will ruin the awesome original pronunciation. It will be ridiculous..hehe. 

If you want to conquer Wales coast path, check out this awesome website : Wales Coast Path.

Enjoy the pictures of Conwy Castle and the area around it!!






Conwy City
After checking the exterior of Conwy Castle, we decided not to pay the admission fee to see the interior. The castle left only the ruins. :(

But..we decided to check out the city instead. By the time we walked towards the tourist information centre, the sun was shining brightly outside. It´s quite rare to get this kinda weather in the UK so I enjoyed it while it lasted.

We stopped to buy some souvenirs here. I bought a fridge magnet and five pieces of postcards here which was a lot more cheaper than the other souvenir shop across the road.

I was amazed with the restroom´s technology. You need to pay to enter - 20p per entry but I was glad that the restroom was really clean.

Look at the small garden of herbs! You can try to eat them. 
Pretty neat idea.


Conwy city, a very short walking distance from the tourist information center.

The bottom two pictures - Smallest house in Great Britain!

Very quaint restroom there.

After walking for quite a while, we decided to sit down for a cup of cappuccino near the smallest house and I was wondering if Illy would taste better than Costa but in the end I still prefer Costa. Hehe..

More pictures of the Conwy Castle.

Ffestiniog
Alright...and it was now the time to explore Snowdonia!! By car..hehe. We didn't carry the right gear to hike up the mountain and we didn't plan to. Lazybums..huhu.

Anyway it's freezing cold, but still I wanted to have a picture once without my jacket and the brave smile was a worthy one with a picturesque background like that. Subhanallah...brrrr..cold!

There is a Ffestiniog train service if you want to explore Snowdonia
from this side of the mountain. 

Check this site out for the train to Snowdonia:
http://www.festrail.co.uk/

Subhanallah..now we were at one of the peaks of Snowdonia.
Breathtakingly beautiful. 

Portmeirion
Okay..not the Portmeirion pottery guys! Initially I had the same idea but this is Portmeirion Village. The place is an Italianate tourist village in Gwynedd. 

I wish that we had been here in summer. This place must be more awesome then. Anyway, it is a gorgeous place and if you have not been to any similar places before, it is worth a check. 

At the time, the admission fee is 10 Gbp for adult but if you have a student card, there´s a pound less.




I miss this time...gorgeous scenery. Subhanallah. 

If you want to go to Portmeirion Village, check out their website:
http://www.portmeirion-village.com/visit/

Labels: