Nineteenth Century Railways and Flying Like Superman

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I looked out the window around sunrise to see if it would be worth going out for some photography - it wasn't as it was still raining.

We went back to the hotel for breakfast - another opportunity missed when they asked for our room numbers. We went to breakfast early (rather than five minutes before it closes, which is our usual routine), which was a really good move. Portmeirion does not open to day visitors until 9.30am and we had the whole place completely to ourselves, so it was a great time to wander around again to enjoy and take some photos, particularly as the rain had stopped and the sun was actually shining.

At 9.31am, it was suddenly heaving.

A lot of people were there for a wedding that was taking place in the village. It wasn't Prisoner themed though - presumably the groom was overruled.

I went to The Prisoner Shop for a Number Six badge and some postcards, and then we went to the Portmeirion pottery shop for some mugs.

We packed the car and then drove back to the castle to check-out.

"What room number?"

"I am not a number, I am a free man!"

YES, I did it!!

We had a busy day planned and the first stop was the steam train to the top of Snowden. Well, actually it is only to about three quarters up at the moment as the top section is closed due to line maintenance.

On the way there, we needed to stop and wait at a level crossing for a different steam train to pass and then whilst a man slowly got out of his hut to manually open the level crossing gates. Are North Wales railways still back in the 1800s - the RMT must be even more opposed to modernisation here than they are in the rest of the UK?

That old fashioned quaintness ended when we got to the carpark for the railway, where there was one of the worst evils on modern life - number plate recognition cameras and ticket machines that were clearly deliberately not working. We joined a group of people who were all confused as to whether they had successfully paid the extortionate £11 fixed daily rate. Whilst the machine said "Transaction complete", it did not print a ticket so there was no proof. We debated all swapping phone numbers so that we could make a collective claim against the carpark when the inevitable fines arrived. Luckily, we were able to check with our bank to confirm that the transaction had not gone through.

They will have made hundreds of pounds today in what we were convinced is a legalised scam. Do not go to the first carpark as there is another one just down the road, which is not trying to rip everyone off and is only £4.

The train journey was not what I was expecting. I had envisioned a steep funicular like railway up the side of a mountain. It was actually quite gradual, although the poor little steam engine was struggling at some points. It followed alongside a busy path, which is the longest, but the easiest of the walking routes to the top of Snowdon.

The views on route were stunning, although a large part was spoilt where the side of another mountain had been effectively stripped bear by a slate mine - which had apparently been the world's largest. It's now a hydro-electric plant, although I can't see how a slate mine would logically convert to provide hydro-electricity.

We stopped half way up to fill the train with water, whilst a diesel training passed us on its way down.

Whilst not at the top, it was still comparatively very cold when we got off the train. Quite a lot of the walkers were obviously not expecting it to be so cold and were not dressed accordingly (and neither were we). The views were actually better than they would be at the top as we could see the slope disappearing into the clouds just above us. We had 30 minutes to brave the cold and enjoy the scenery before we needed to be back on the train to go down again.

The steam engine actually pushes the carriage up the slope and they are not linked together. On the way down, the engine is basically just a brake and gravity is doing all the work.

Talking of gravity powered journeys, our next stop was the world's fastest zip-wire. This seemed like a great idea when we booked it, but when we saw the zip-wires disappearing into the distance above another disused slate quarry, we wondered whether our wills were up-to-date.

We got kitted up in kind of sling-like suite, some googles (in case we hit any insects on the way down) and a crash-helmet (which would be very reassuring if I was plunging to my death 500 feet above a slate quarry).

There was a relatively small practice wire first, presumably to check whether anyone would freak-out before getting to the main wire. Even that was a great zip-wire though and, I am sure, would be the main attraction in other places.

Once we had survived that, we got on a bus (more like a slate lorry with a few seats in) which took us up the winding road to the top, passing some huge, horned mountain goats on the way.

The zip-wire was amazing, potentially reaching over 100 miles per hour, and even though the lower end was a speck in the distance, it was over in a few seconds, with the quarry, a lake, a road and a field flying past below, before the brakes kick-in and we came to a sudden halt.

I'm not sure what the accident rate is like on that road, when drivers see what looks like Superman and his friends flying by.

We stopped at a pub (back near the Swallow Falls) for an evening meal, before, the long, long drive back home.

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Photos

Snowdon View
Looking down from the current train stop.

Portmeirion View
Enjoying the people-free view in Portmeirion.

Portmeirion
The fountain in the middle of "The Village".

Prisoner Shop
It's not just me, obviously.

Snowdon Train
The steam training waiting to push the carriage from the bottom of Snowden.

Slate Quarry
A blot on the otherwise stunning landscape.

Zip-wire
How scared should we be?

Zip-wire
The view to the bottom of the zip-wire (the little green patch at the top centre of the photo).