Farewell to Aberdovey

It is with sadness that we bid farewell to the Richards Clan. They are always so gracious and hospitable to their Aussie cousins and we had plenty of good talks and lots of laughs.

Trying to organise a less formal photo!

On our way to pick up Geoff's possum jumper which he had left at the Snowdon Railway. Even though we had traveled this route when coming down the scenery looked quite different on the way back up.

After successfully retrieving the jumper we Had to make a decision about where to head for next. It is school holidays and so busy up here in Snowdon National Park. Walkers everywhere and absolutely no parking anywhere we wanted to stop. Eventually we decided to go the direction we could get accommodation for the night. We managed to find a room at a luxury hotel for half price at Llangollen so that's where we headed.

On the way we called into the charming village of Betws-y-Coed ('Prayer house in the Wood'). The sun was shining, people were playing on the green, everything was sparking. It's a lovely place to be. We walked along the river. The river did lose a little of its gloss when Geoff pointed out the lovely colour of the river water was due to treated sewage coming from an adjoining treatment works!

Built in the 14th century this church is the oldest building in Betws y Coed. The church houses the fine stone effigy of Gruffydd ap Dafydd Goch, a Norman font, and many interesting features.

We indulged in a Kelly's Cornish ice cream cone and then headed off the Llangollen.

 

Greenlaning

Day 2 of our Landrover adventure involved Greenlaning. I am still not 100% sure of how it differed from yesterday's 'scenic drive'.

(Geoff answers and continues blog )

The scenic trip was a little less bumpy and technical and I was very glad Anthony was driving. As with many British roads which earlier were wide enough for people, horses and carts the drove roads (for Australians-travelling stock routes) are not designed for modern vehicles. However old Land Rovers can get through.

As is common our club in Australia getting the convoy going is a bit like herding cats.

 

Up into the hills again but not so lucky with the weather.

As the leader was by himself and there were many gates to open I jumped in with him to open the gates, he had a S1 mid 1950s no seat belts !

We passed the wreck of a wartime Mosquito. It is hard to imagine flying in the terrible Welsh weather in these mountains.

Back to civilisation

And a trip with Thomas and his friends.

Meeting of engineering and art.

 

Fleur joined us for the train trip.

After this we returned to Aberdovey and had a lovely tea with the Richards clan and Patrick, Margaret and William. Yummy Sphag Bol made by Fleur.

 

 

Cousins, friends and Landrovers

Today was our first day of our 'Trails and Rails' experience. This was a landrover event organised by a local Landrover and train enthusiast. Geoff had found the event on the net before we came and we had invited Anthony and Patrick to join us on the fun and of course provide the Landrover and the local knowledge to know where we had to meet!

This Minerva was built in Belgium for NATO under licence to Land Rover so is of great interest. The owner had gone the full monty with NATO uniform and coms equipment.

 

We set off at a fast pace and met up at Abergynolwyn.

As in Australia it was a bit like herding cats and it took a while for everyone to meet up and get going.

We started off with Geoff driving so Anthony could drink his coffee. Patrick and I were in the back on little side seats. There were some comments about Geoff driving slowly in the narrow lanes and he was nicknamed Captain Slow.

The day was quite fine and the scenery was just spectacular

Nice shot of our convoy heading for the clouds- Land Rover heaven??

The clouds cleared away revealing the sun shining on Fairbourne

 

The tracks are usually metalled where the wheels go as these are still public roads. They are kept in good condition.

We saw many standing stones and remains of ancient domestic buildings.

 

 

This shows two walls running side by side but clearly not a trackway. I asked if it was a ceremonial path our guide said it was the result of a boundary disputes

Fairbourne has a scaled down steam train ride, we had discount tickets so how could we resist.

 

We went to the Talyllyn railway, the inspiration for Thomas the tank engine.

The Talyllyn Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for 11.67 km from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe under-investment the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.

We had missed the last run for the day so had a look at the museum.

When we got back to Aberdovey there was an enormous afternoon tea as there were old friends of Anthony and Patricks there and their daughters who were Fleur's friends.

When they had left we had a lovely tea. It was the best chicken and leek pie I had ever tasted.

Great day!