Gwynedd 3 - Criccieth/second attempt at the castle and its closed this time/Find the A55 the North Wales Expressway

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After a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to persuade the sat nav that there was such a place as Criccieth the only thing left to do was input it manually. Hopefully once in it would remember Criccieth for the future and recognise our attempts at saying the name . The sat nav took us back the way we have come . This surprised me as I could see the coast road up to Maentwrog which seemed a faster option and perhaps a prettier one as it hug the coastline . . However sat nav knows better and took us what seemed like the long way round .

Eventually though she brought us into Criccieth . The weather was still wet and blistery but the town looked somewhat more inviting than Barmouth. The sea although rough looked more impressive . I wanted to live by that sea. The sun came out at times and shone on the grey bulk of the castle which dominated the town. It was a Monday and the place was quiet . Just a few locals parked up on the very large and empty car park . Would we have got Gabby on the carpark ? The habit is still strong to look for motorhome size pitches even though we don't need one. I could see in the distance vans parked on a green field right up to the sea edge . It looked a good spot for an overnighter assuming the council allowed it .

We were trying though to see Criccieth castle and this was our second attempt at it . If you read the blogs you might remember driving in Ziggy way back in the Spring . Having coffee at Hoffi Coffi in Bala and having a puncture near to Llyn Celyn - the infamous reservoir built by the English to serve English cities . A body of water that drowned Capel Celyn , displaced the villagers , drowned their school, their chapel , their graveyard and set in motion the movement to protest against what was happening in Wales at the time . Cofiwch Treweryn still stands today as the insult of being paid 6d a year for the next thousand years for our water .

We walked into the town which was small with no sign of a cafe open nor any of the tat shops. If you had not bought your kiss me quick hat, your kayak or bucket and spade in Barmouth you were not going to buy it here as far as we could see . I could see that the resort would be popular with families as the beach looked clean and the castle inviting . It is a Cadw castle so free entry for us today . Or at least that is what we were thinking as we headed for it . The town apparently styled itself as the Pearl of Wales on the shores of Snowdonia . It looked pretty nice to us even on this quiet day .

As we walked we saw the postbox . The new fashion of crocheting hats for postboxes was alive and well in the town . The large box sported a rather nifty crochet blue and yellow flowered top . It had been there a while and was supporting Ukraine loud and proud . No-one had stolen it so it must have been cared for and much loved .

The castle when we arrived outside was magnificent if you like your castles . Being Welsh you love them because they bring in tourism but equally hate them for what they stand for. Edward I in his conquest of Wales invaded this part of Gwynedd and killed the prince of Wales Llewellyn . Revolt followed revolt against English rule as Edward forced the people to accept his eldest son as the Prince of Wales . A resentment that still continues to this day . . The Cadw blurb told us that Criccieth castle is truly a castle to capture the imagination crowning its own rocky headland between two beaches. Crowning its own rocky headland between two beaches it commands astonishing views over the town and across the wide sweep of Cardigan Bay. True so it was no wonder Turner felt moved to paint it. By then it was a picturesque ruin – destroyed by one of Wales’s most powerful medieval princes, Owain Glyndŵr. Our hero and a true prince of Wales . We never did get to see the castle inside . Tuesday - closed all day . Could not believe our luck . In the end we walked away past the houses painted in bubblegum colours and back to the car with no name . " Hey BMW - take us to the A55. "She fancied the E55 in Europe . We gave up and asked her to take us home which she duly did .Another good trip out and a good run out for the car . Where to go next then ? That was the next thing on our minds .

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Comments

[Home and Away]

SATNAV...
I had the same problem when traveling around Scotland...the satnav always took me the scenic route on very narrow roads rather than the fastest route. Have you checked your settings?

[JenGog]

sat nav
I think ours took up up the fastest way as the roads are better . The coast road would have been pretty but slower . Glenn has not had chance to work his way round anything much in the car yet . The thing is complicated beyond belief . He is reading the manual at the moment . But apparently with BMW they dont go into detail . You have to buy a much bigger version of the manual to learn how to change things on the computer on it . I have said "Leave it all alone ". Its safer - just drive it as it is set up LOL . Too much gadgetry for me . Hope Linda is Ok now she is home .

[Home and Away]

sat nav
Our car has 24 computers and everything is automatic. It has taken me three years to understand how to use it. And rental cars are the same. Imagine driving a rental car and not knowing how to use anything! I suggest that Glenn visit a BMW dealer when they are not too busy and have them help with the settings he needs the most. My dealer helps me. Yes, Linda is doing well now that she is home. I help a lot...

[JenGog]

too many computers
Gone are the days when you looked under the bonnet and knew what was under there . This one is the same . You can swap it between so many different modes of driving . Glenn is investigating sports mode which apparently sounds awesome and goes faster. I just cant be bothered with it all . My MINI is bad enough . Everytime it tells me my tyres need air I have to get the manual out to reset the computer . I never remember from one time to the next . I swear I was happier before all that technology . Now I dread seeing the screen light up blue and tell me my tyres need some attention I used to be oblivious until I looked at them and thought they are flattish . The IT guy spent an hour setting it all up to do what our favourite things are but in all honesty we would have needed to be there four hours I reckon to cover everything . Trouble is it is a five hour round trip to go back and to be honest I doubt they would want us back to go through everything in minute detail . The car recognises Glenn when he gets in and he can get it to do what he wants . He enjoys reading up on it whereas I never read anythign until it goes wrong :) . Good to hear things are good with Linda now .