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Published: August 6th 2007
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Everything I saw from June 7th and 8th is impossible to capture in words or even pictures. Everything was so beautiful and you really have to see it to take in everything. My pictures do not do it justice.
After a very long train trip (which I slept most of the way through) I arrived in Holyhead. The train did stop in Bangor (about halfway between Holyhead and Shrewsbury) and apparently Prince Charles was there. I didn’t get to see him but I did see a lot of policemen! Holyhead is a very ugly industrial town, but it is where the ferry terminal to Dublin is located. I met a young German couple who were going to the same hostel I was and we shared a cab to the hostel (the hostel is a couple of miles out of town). The youth hostel is out in the middle of nowhere- no internet and usually no cell phone signal, but it is beautiful. The boys would love this hostel. It is geared toward people who want to rock climb, kayak, scuba dive, and many other outdoor activities. It is about a 15 minute walk to the coast and a public beach.
The hostel is bordered on one side by camping grounds and the rest by farms. I went for a walk out to the coast and it was quite beautiful (much better than the very cold North Sea). I could see the outline of Ireland through some of the mist. The beach is a natural sand one so the sand was very fine. There are two nature trails that lead up the hills from the coast. I walked the easier one on my first day.
On my way back to the hostel I stopped at the pub (owned by the youth hostel) to get some food. I ran into the German couple again and they invited me to eat with them. I was very happy they were there because out of about 40 people she and I were the only females. They moved to London about a year ago because it is very hard to find jobs in Germany right now. We had in-depth discussions about the differences between the US and most European countries. They were genuinely horrified by the number of Americans without health insurance. Also the price of education was very surprising to them. (I will
talk more about some of my observations and thoughts in another entry)
I went to bed fairly early because traveling (even by train) makes me very tired! I was woken up several times in the night by the noise from the two stag (bachelor) parties going on. Mostly the guy in the next room getting sick kept me up, but that is what comes with hostel territory.
The next day I went back inland to Llanberis (pronounced clanbearis) to see Mt Snowdon. I have never seen mountains before so I was very excited to do this part of my trip. I was not disappointed either. Llanberis is a small town located on a lake at the foot of the mountains. It is quite beautiful and they take every advantage of their location. There are at least 3 railways (steam, coal, and rack and pinion) operating as tours and there are several boating tours. I went on the Snowdon Mountain Railway. It goes up the mountain itself. It was only going 3/4's of the way up because they are remodeling the station at the top. Some of the engines are the original (1896) engines. The engine car is behind
the carriage car so that it pushes the carriage car up the mountain and then controls the speed as it comes back down. The train only moves about 5 MPH and if it exceeds 7 1/2 MPH automatic breaks kick in. They have no accidents since 1896 except for the first run (they added the automatic breaks and extra rack and pinion to the track.
The ride up is a little unsettling. Several times you are literally looking over the edge straight down into a valley. Course it doesn’t help matters when a VERY large Austrian lady is sitting next to you and you are hoping the car doesn’t tip over. The ride up takes about 45 minutes and you go through alternating bits of green slopes and rocky ledges. You can also see the ruins of the original Roman settlement. There are also some ruins of a medieval village. There are tons of sheep (what part of the UK doesn’t have sheep???) on the way up. They are not scared of the trains so they come right up to the carriage.
When we stopped (at
2256 feet) and walked around I must admit I was a little freaked out. There are a lot of loose stones (almost like gravel) on the ground and I was afraid I would slip and start falling down the mountain. I couldn’t actually see the summit because it was very misty but I could see a lot of the range around Mt Snowdon. It is surprising how much the temperature drops as you go up.
The ride back down was more interesting because I snagged a window seat. There is actually a waterfall right by the tracks. I didn't get a very good picture. I feel like I am being redundant by saying it was incredibly beautiful but I just do not think there are words to describe the place. Wales is just as beautiful as England but it is very different. Instead of rolling hills, Wales has a more rugged terrain. It is still as green and lush as England but there are surprising bits of rugged landscape. The people are like that too. Very kind but very proud and independent. I was surprised at hearing as much Welsh as I did.
I made it back to
the hostel fairly late in the day and spent some more time with the couple I had met. The next day I went for a walk out on the coast before leaving at 2:00 PM for my ferry to Dublin. Continued in another blog!!!
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Anne
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So glad you enjoyed Wales!
Guess it lived up to your expectations. Good that the weather was better than at Whitby! Sorry your arrival in Ireland was so traumatic - probably just some power crazy official throwing his weight around. Enjoy Dublin - my mother-in-law was born there and I've always wanted to go. Should probably be typing this in green..... Love you!