Holyhead

The weather transformed remarkably as we headed north from the Iberian Peninsular, across the serene Bay of Biscay and up the Irish Sea to the north West tip of Wales. We arrived in Holyhead to overcast skies and temperatures we had not experienced before leaving Sydney.

Everybody was glad of the respite from the baking heat as we headed off the ship to our fleet of buses to tour the countryside. From Holyhead, we travelled across the green landscape on the Island of Anglesey and across the narrow channel to mainland Wales and Caernarfon Castle and town.

At this point, Piney emerged to look around and view the town and the ancient monument to English domination of the Welsh which is the Castle.

Unexpected things we noticed at this point included the percentage of Welsh speakers in the population and the apparent central role of ice cream shops in Welsh culture. Who knew?

From the coast, we headed into the scenic grey of the Snowdonia national park. Majestic peaks devoid of trees were covered instead with sheep and abandoned slate mines. Quiet Lakes looked frigid and full of Welsh noir detective novels. In the midst of all this, we arrived at the National Slate Museum car park.

The Grey slate buildings of the museum were somewhat overshadowed by the narrow gauge railway which is an obsession in these parts with the toy engines and rolling stock maintained by volunteers.

We proceeded through the mountains to the village of Betws-y-Coed where we decamped to the Royal Oak hotel for lunch and a pint. It was here we first came into contact with the Gin Coup glasses which are now the way to drink Gin in greater quantities.

Our last stop was back in Anglesey at the village with the unpronounceable name. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

This brilliant marketing ploy of a place name is still working its magic today with multiple busloads of tourists stopping to snap photos and shop at the enormous shop at the site. Piney made another appearance.

Finaly, back to the ship in time to dress for dinner.