Blogs from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe

We love flying off to far-away places, but it is nice to be able just throw everything we need (and a lot more that we don't) into the boot of our car and drive off with no worries about baggage allowances and what is or is not allowed through airport security. It's about four hours' drive from the Home Counties to North Wales and, once we crossed the border into Wales, the scenery became stunning and covered in sheep (we wondered how the farmers manage to track them down come slaughter time). Whilst the scenery took a turn for the better, the weather took a clear and instant turn for the worse - rain followed by more rain. The roads also took a turn for the worse, with the dual carriageway ending just before the border. ... read more

The weather forecast was important in our decision making this morning. We want to go up Snowdonia, but the weather needed to be good. It was clear from both the forecast and the sky that today was not the day! Instead we decided to travel on the Ffestiniog railway. We decided to travel from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniogg. We went down to the station early to buy tickets. The carriages were already waiting at the station, we only had to wait for the engine to arrive and couple on. There was also another train to Canarvon, that was due to leave a little after our train. It actually arrived at the station first! There was a bit of consternation as to whether we were on the right train, but the helpful volunteers soon had everyone back ... read more

Yesterday, the sun shone, we wore short sleeves, and we took a train ride on one of the most spectacular routes in the whole of Wales - from Machynlleth (known as 'Mach')to Porthmadog. In places, the line ran right beside the sea and, in others, it gave us views of mountains we simply couldn't hope to enjoy from a car. The day's outing was an absolute bargain too - two hours there and two hours back, a Day Rover ticket for us oldies with Senior Railcards cost just £5.95 each! We could have hopped on and off along the way (although we didn't) and we could have travelled another half hour each way as far as Pwllheli for the same price. You're dying to know how to pronounce Pwllheli aren't you? Well, the 'w' is pronounced ... read more

Yet another cold and rainy Welsh day saw us on yet another historic Welsh Highlands slate train, this time the Ffestiniog Railway, which runs from Porthmadog to Ffestiniog-Blaneau. The engines used on this railway are Fairley Patent engines, a double boiler articulated engine that looks like two engines joined back-to-back. The route of about 20 miles was more of a valley run compared to its sister railway, the Welsh Highlands railway which we had travelled on earlier in the week. While there was less spectacular scenery, the run was still very pleasant, passing through dense forests and past some fantastic waterfalls and lakes. There was even another castle or two to be seen for good measure. Unlike the other days, there was to be no sunny breaks in the weather all day, so we headed off ... read more