Snowdonia and Wrexham

05 - 06 July 2024

On Friday, Julie found a terrific hike up to Dinas Emrys, you may remember this mountain from the story of the fighting red and white dragons.

While the English were fortifying the lowlands in Wales, the Welsh kings/princes would hide out in the mountains (like Dinas Emrys) and foray into the lowlands to attack the castles when they were less well defended. They gave Edward I and Edward II fits.

Julie and Anthony had lunch at the visitors center before we sat out on our hike. There were carvings and signs conveying the history of the area.

Waterfall on our hike. On the way back there were people swimming in the pool beneath the falls. Thankfully, they had bathing suits on.

Julie not falling in

Julie climbing over a fence from field to forest.

Julie liked the juxtaposition of the flower against the barbwire. Then the world told her this was foxglove, very dangerous, so maybe not so different after all.

At the top. We did not hear any dragons.

First hike since hurting her foot. Julie was very happy.

Pictures from the road back to Llanberis

This seagull thought the hood ornament was an easy catch. It must have worked on that fish for 5 minutes!!!

We had the last train of the day to the top of Mount Snowdon. What do you have a few minutes before your train leaves, go see a castle, specifically Dolbadarn castle.

Julie and Anthony at the top of Mount Snowdon

We rode the Snowdon Mountain Railway up from Llanberis to Snowdon. As you can see there are a ton of folks at the summit.

At 3560 feet tall, Mount Snowdon (aka Yr Wddfa in Welsh) is the highest mountain in Wales and the highest mountain in Britain outside of the Scottish Highlands.

Photos on the way to the summit station.

While we were there, the clouds rolled in and shrouded the peak.

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn (Gwenllian of Wales) was the daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales. Gwenllian had a tragic life. Her mother died in childbirth. Her father and uncle were killed fighting the English in 1282 and 1283, respectively. As a baby, Gwenllian was taken by Edward I to England. She was confined to a convent in Lincolnshire until her death at age 52. She never returned to Wales.

Julie and Anthony had a late dinner at the Eryri Bar and Lounge at the Royal Victoria Hotel. We usually don’t say anything about restaurants unless they are extremely good or extremely bad (or probably good but we have no idea because the kitchen is closed). The Eryri Bar was not good, don’t eat there.

Saturday Morning Anthony found a Parkrun at nearby Penrhyn Castle. It is picturesque 5K through the grounds, 3 laps, beginning and ending at the castle.

It was a wet run with hills in a great setting, with glimpses of the castle along the route.

After the run (and a shower for Anthony), we packed up the car and headed West to Wrexham,on the way back to merry olde England and Nottingham.

Julie and Anthony are big fans of a TV Documentary called Welcome to Wrexham. In 2020, Rob “TV Money” McElhenney convinced his buddy Ryan “Movie Money” Reynolds to buy a down on it’s luck soccer (football to everyone else) team. Welcome to Wrexham tells the story of Rob and Ryan working with locals in Wrexham to rehabilitate the Wrexham Club. The show features numerous locals, and the Turf, the bar adjacent to the stadium. We stopped by the Turf hoping to get lunch or a pint, but it was a madhouse. We snuck a couple of photos.

Entry to the Wrexham Stadium, called the Racecourse. Unfortunately, the shop was closed, so we weren’t able to spend a rediculous amount of money on kit.

Since we weren’t able to eat (or drink) at the Turf, we went downtown and had lunch and a pint. We walked around town, and got some dessert at a vendor at a local fair.

We found the future home of the Ryan Rodney Reynolds Memorial Park.

Julie found the miner’s statue used in the opening credits of Welcome to Wrexham

Maps: 1) Snowdonia 2) Penrhyn Parkrun 3) Trip to Nottingham

05 - 06 July 2024

Nottingham and York

Anglesey