#harlech castle

LIVE

I’m a morning person and have always enjoyed time to myself to explore and take in my host country before anyone else is awake. Travel journal, postcards, and DSLR in hand, I headed in the direction of the church, past a local school (Ysgol in Welsh) and up the lane to a small quarter mile path that led to a cemetery. The path had tall hedges on both sides with wildflowers cascading toward the ground. To my right and left were wheat fields and a cow pasture dotted with white farm houses. I found a bench in the center of the graveyard by a great old tree and watched the sunrise as I wrote and breathed in the crisp morning air of Gresford.

After a home cooked meal of scrambled eggs, toast, and tea, the roomies and I headed into town to meet up with the rest of the group for our bus ride around Northern Wales. We drove through the Snowdonia region past beautiful green rolling hills, quaint Welsh houses and villages, and hills of slate abutting a lake. An hour into the drive, we stopped on Mt. Snowden to stretch our legs. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect! Blue skies, green grass, and bold views met us as we explored a nearby hiking path.

After taking pictures and walking around, we boarded the bus and about an hour later reached Caernarfon. The old city was located inside an enclosed stone wall that Edward I constructed so the English could safely colonize Welsh lands. The town itself was really cute- lots of shops, flags, and pageantry hanging overhead as we wound our way to the castle.

Caernarfon Castle was quite large and impressively intact. I wandered off and randomly chose my point of entry. I walked along the outer wall, went in and out of narrow hallways, climbed towers that led to other towers only to end up in another tower with the bedchambers. The rooms were octagonal shaped with hardwood floors, high ceilings, big fireplaces, and a fantastic echo. Up a nearby spiral staircase (super steep, movies fight scenes lie- there’s no way you can be agile) I was led to the top of a tower with an incredible view of the castle grounds. Straight in front of me was the harbor filled with boats and in the near distance was Angelsey Island where Prince William and Princess Kate live.

After successfully not face planting on my descent, I ended up in a multi-floor museum of Welsh military history. Interesting stuff, of course, but I was short on time so I moved fast through the exhibit and stuck around for a 30 minute video of the castle’s history. I dipped out of an impromptu rehearsal in the castle and headed into the town to look for souvenirs and explore. I sat in the town square and wrote a postcard, then I went down to the water before heading back to the bus.

Next on the agenda was a visit to Harlech Castle, a half hour away from Caernarfon, and home to one of the best golf courses in Wales. The streets to the castle were very narrow and up hill, much like a Tuscan hill town. Harlech was less of a touristy castle and wasn’t as large. Some of my group went inside, but I stayed on the outside enjoying the views of the valley and the stonework of the castle. My roomies and I even sat on some nearby picnic benches and enjoyed a lunch of french bread, pesto, cheese, Pringles, and apples (so decadent). It was an idyllic way to spend the afternoon before heading off to the last attraction of the day: the Llechwedd Slate Mines.