Holiday on Pen Llyn - fourth and final post

This is just a final round up post of things from our holiday on the Lleyn Peninsular. We had deliberately timed it to be away during the European Championships, because I like holidays where we do stuff during the day then go home and watch football in the evenings. It worked well with mealtimes.

We took my European Championships wallchart with us!

I filled it in studiously. The asterisks are games we watched. The day Switzerland got a last gasp equaliser against France then beat them on penalties was an exciting day.

In Criccieth we saw one of the installations by the Football Association of Wales honouring members of the Wales squad.

But away from football we enjoyed the beaches...

...and scenic cliff walks.

And we followed instructions and didn't fall headlong into the sea.

We visited Nant Gwerthyn, which is closely linked to the revival of the Welsh language in the mid-20th century.

Siaradais i Gymraeg yn siopia a bwytau. Prynias i llyfr yna yn siop llyfrau Gymraeg yn Pwllheli. (I spoke Welsh in shops and cafes. I bought this book in the Welsh bookshop in Pwllheli.)

The book is 'Wales on Stamps of the World', and, yes, it's in Welsh. I found I understood more of it than I expected. It has inspired me to consider a new philately project.

In Porthmadog we called into the Purple Moose Brewery shop. Cathy found a friend who matched her hair!

The village we stayed in had a field with horses in. Something tells me this horse knows he's a good-looking horse.

We also had a pair of seagulls who clearly had learned to beg for food from people staying in the cottage. They were quite happy to walk up to the patio doors and peck for attention.

And if you tried to ignore them, they would seek a bit of height to try and eyeball you again.

But we are resistant to the charms of seagulls, even though these seemed slightly less obnoxious, and a good deal cleaner, than Cardiff's sky-rats. We ignored them and eventually they gave up and flew off.

Our week seemed to be over very quickly, which is the sign of a good holiday!

Holiday on Pen Llyn - the Welsh Highland Railway

I love going on a steam train. This was slightly unexpected because we had to book in advance and I thought we were going on the Ffestiniog Railway from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, but instead we had booked on the Glaslyn Venturer train on the Welsh Highland Railway that went from Porthmadog in the other direction, to Beddgelert.

Our train was pulled by a double-header of Double Fairlie locomotives. 

Double Fairlies have two boilers. This photo is a better illustration of what they look like.

My Mum was paying for the trip and she said she wanted to be in the Observation Car. So we rode right at the very end of the train, like royalty. Here we are practicing our waves for the commoners.

The route heads across the road, stopping all the traffic, then alongside the estuary next to the car park where we had left the car. We got to see it as we steamed past. It's the red one.

The opening stretch of the line just heads in a direct line towards the mountains.

Then it climbs up through the Aberglaslyn Pass. The scenery is specatacular. Even on an overcast day!

There are rocky cuttings...

...and tunnels.

We arrived in Beddgelert. I made my travelling companions pose for the obligatory photo with the station sign.

We walked down into Beddgelert and queued up outside Glaslyn Ice Creams. We all had different flavours and we all agreed they were delicious.

And then we got back on the train for the journey back. We had much better views this way because on the way there we were directly behind the locomotive. 

We held up the traffic again when we arrived in Porthmadog. Mum said that she had been stuck waiting for trains to go past so many times in Porthmadog it was nice to actually be on the train this time!

Because the Welsh Highland Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway are linked and services connect at Porthmadog Station, that means there is plenty to see there. This is one of the Ffestiniog locos.

The coaches for the Ffestiniog Railway are teeny-tiny.

When we got back, there was a diesel loco doing some errands at the coaling stand. I love watching proper service manouevres like this.

So, it wasn't the day out we expected, and it was still really lovely. We got to buy ice creams from one of my favourite ice cream shops and see some spectacular Snowdonia scenery from the comfort of our seats in the observation car. 

Holiday on Pen Llyn - Ynys Enlli / Bardsey Island

I love visiting islands off the coast of Britain. A few years ago we managed a trip to Lundy. On this holiday we decided to visit Bardsey, or to call it by it's proper name, Enlli.

The island is in the background, Honest.

The approach reminded me a bit of that mist covered island at the start of Jurassic Park 3. Atmospheric would be a perfect word for it.

It's a mark of life in a pandemic that even on an island outpost surrounded by sea, you're welcomed with hand sanitizer.

We chose to walk up to the lighthouse first.

From by the lighthouse, you get a good view along the length of the island towards Mynedd Enlli.

Then we walked back.

This meant we walked back past the beach where all the seals were lounging around and mucking about with their flippers in the air. You are most definitely not allowed to pester the seals by going near them, but that doesn't stop them from being curious and watching you intently.

Later, as we waited for the boat home we heard the seals "singing". That was quite a unique experience. 

On the slopes of Mynedd Enlli, is the ruin of the old abbey.

There really isn't much left of the abbey. There is a chapel behind it though. There are sometimes spiritual retreats on the island, following in the steps of the Celtic saints. 

The trees are a giveaway of the prevailing wind. I love island trees that look like this.

On the way home, the boat captain drove very close to the island shore so we could see the seabirds. These kittwakes are the males who had been unlucky during the mating season and were now left in a bachelor flock while the successful males helped raise a chick.

But the absolute highlight was the puffin nests, with the puffins proudly standing guard in front of their burrows. 

After that slight detour, the boat sped back to the mainland and that was the end of our trip to Ynys Enlli.

Holiday on Pen Llyn - Portmeirion

For the week that crossed over from June into July, I was on holiday on the Lleyn Peninsular with Cathy and my Mum. When we got there on the Sunday, we discussed what we were gong to do in the week. We already had a couple of things booked, and then Portmeirion was suggested. We had never been, and Mum had been some time ago with my Grandma, and said she would like to go again, so we went online booked our tickets and set off the next morning.

All that I really knew about Portmeirion was that is was where the sixties TV show The Prisoner was filmed, that it was supposed to be an Italian village in Wales, and that you had to pay to get in. That latter point was something my Dad objected to, which is probably why we never went as a family when I was younger. It's a shame because I think he would have really liked the quirkiness of the place. (Also, I knew the Portmeirion brand of tableware.)

It wasn't really what I expected but in many ways it was so much more. 

Portmeirion is really a little cliff-enclosed valley on the seashore. The buildings have been arranged mainly around the edge of the valley, with a large central square.

There is also a smaller 'town square' that you reach up some steps.

As I was reading the guidebook, I started to get really drawn in to the surreal world of Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect who created Portmeirion. He was a believer in architecture as a form of art. Why else would you paint fake windows on a row of houses except to make them look better?

The little upper windows aren't real

The onion dome minaret was added to hide a chimney that he thought looked ugly.

He also built a chantry, where nobody ever chanted. He just liked the word.

And he also decided his village didn't have enough domes. So he built one!

There are a lot of clever aspects to the building work. For example, this tower uses perspective to trick you into thinking it's taller than it actually is. The upper levels are smaller in turn so the building looks taller.

He also very cleverly used natural rock outcrops to add height to a lot of buildings too.

The buildings are covered in fun little foibles. Plaques, murals and statues in niches: animals and fish and nymphs, and just about anything. I really liked this dragon.

This lion has a slightly startled expression.

But this one was just having a good time!

There was also a great story about this copper statue of Hercules.

Apparently, Clough Williams-Ellis bought the statue in Aberdeen, and drove with it on the back of a pick-up truck all the way from Aberdeen to Portmeirion. In the days before motorways, that would hve been an epic trek. I've been to Aberdeen. It's a long way from North Wales.

Another thing we didn't expect were the woodland walks. Cathy was very excited to find a giant redwood tree.

There were some other beautiful mature trees as well.

We walked around in a loop that brought us to the novelty "lighthouse". Again, it was pretty, if not very functional.

Although the view over the estuary was magnificent.

So, what was my overall impression. it was a bit bonkers, but it was also brilliant. My friend Heather has described it as like walking through a film set. The thing that came to mind when I was there is that it felt like a life-size model village, and we were the toys that had come to life. 

It was a great way to start our week away, and it's one of those places I feel it would be worth visiting again, particularly at a different time of the year.