On to Wales

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After a good breakfast, we left the Grafton Grange Farm to move on to Wales. Before we left Bakewell, we stoppped at Haddon Hall. This hall is a medieval hall,,still used by the family and fairly intact. The weather was not so good, with rain forecast, although it was only grey to begin the day. We walked over a small bridge to the Hall. It was quite large, with some defensive protection, but certainly not a castle. It also had a small, tiered garden, with different levels accessible from different areas. There were some very old tapestries, and also quite a bit of furniture from the medieval times. By the time we had seen the hall, the rain was beginning. We had a three hour drive to get to Porthmadog, so got on our way. A stop for lunch around 1.30 at a Starbucks on the motorway was brief so that we could get to Conwy castle . Conwy is a very large castle. It is one of the many that Edward 1 built to keep the Welsh in line. It is situated on Colway Bay, and has a spectacular view of the surrounding area. The castle is now in disrepai, but it is quite obvious that it was a huge castle in a strategic position. It is connected into the walls of the town. We climbed a number of the towers and walked along the ramparts. The sun was out by now too, so we took quite a few photos. We drive on to Porthmadog. We found our B&B quite easily and settled in. We walked around the town, down to Tremadog. Our host had reccommended a couple of places to eat, so we went to have a look. It was also nice to walk out our muscles after sitting in the car most of the day. We decided on the Square restaurant and made a booking. By the time we had asked back, it was time to get in the car to go to dinner! Great meal too! We enjoyed it so much, we booked again for Saturday night.

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