Dave had his first "English breakfast" this morning. Two huge sausages, fried tomato and mushrooms, eggs, toast, potatoes, and bacon. He couldn't finish it. I'm sticking with tea and toast. We left the B&B with the sun shining and the promise of a beautiful day. Not far down the road we came to the Devil's Bridge which was amazing. We had to pay one pound to go through a turnstile that we barely fit into. I don't know how anyone much larger than us would be able to get through it. We walked down a number of steps surrounded by a very lush forest. Water dripping everywhere as it came down from the surrounding mountains. There are very rare plants and trees found here. We learned this from a "machine" that you had to wind up to hear what the guide had to say. :)
The caldron, under the bridge, is two very large half circles cut into the rock from the water that rushes by at a furious speed. To the left was a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall with "boiling" water. It entered the caldron and then roared out the other side to continue its downhill journey. In 1000, the first bridge was built so people could cross this. Another bridge was built on top of that in 1701 and then the bridge being used today was built in 1901. This was a delightful stop that Hannah would have loved. The rocks, Hannah, the rocks! (Side note: In the 1750s people mined copper, silver and lead in the area.)
We were headed to the coast of North Wales where those castles I mentioned yesterday are located. Since our B&B didn't have wifi, I still needed to blog and so we needed to find a place for me to do that. Coffee shops are a great choice but as wonderful as all these small towns are that we drive through, there's just isn't any parking and so we had to keep searching. We arrived in a larger town and saw a sign for the library. Libraries have Internet! So off we went. It turns out that it was the National Libray of Wales which means you do research there by asking for a book and someone brings it to you. No borrowing of books. The only way we could access the Internet was to become members of the library. We're now able to use the library until June 30 of 2019. Photo membership cards and all!
Long story short, the Internet was down for awhile and this really stalled us out. In addition to needing to blog, we also needed to get a place to stay for the night and to book ferry tickets to Ireland and back. Heading there tomorrow. Two hours later, we were down. It was now 2 pm.
On our way again, we drove past a "holiday home park" which is like a campground with single wide like trailers. They all sit very close together on the dirt, but by the water so I guess it's nice. Maybe. We both didn't sleep that well last night so we pulled off the road and had a 10 minute cat nap. It was now raining. It only got up to the high 50s today. We heard that it's a very cold and wet June.
Our goal was to see Harlech Castle built by Edward 1 in the mid 1200s. We arrived as it closed. It was located high over a valley with a view of the water. It was very plain and beautiful. The rain was coming down sideways, the wind was blowing, it was cold - and it was perfect! In the books I've read about the castles in Wales, this was often the kind of weather they talked about. I was a happy camper but disappointed we couldn't get inside.
After a snack in another old pub, we headed to Aberdunan Hall (started as a mill in 1352) - our hotel for the night. It's located in the Snowdonia National Park - a.k.a. The enchanted forest. We spent some time doing some research for our trip to Ireland tomorrow. The Internet worked and was fast. A gift!
We read for a bit and that was our day. (Yesterday, I finished a book about the history of tea which I bought after I arrived here. Loved the book. I know Rich. Why would anyone read a book about tea?!)
One thing I learned today: There are showers here that need to be turned on with an electrical switch in order to get any water. We had to call the owner of the B&B to help us figure this out.
One new thing I experienced today: A coleslaw and chicken sandwich. It would have been fine except for the "dirty sox" cheese they put in there.
Most powerful moment of the day: Standing in the wind and rain looking at Harlech Castle. I was born about 400 years too late.
One pleasureable experience: I have a library card for a library in Wales. How neat is that??!!
I have heard about the weather before,now I know it is true. The waterfall sounds intriguing. Elaine
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