May 31, 2016. The roads to Penmon were tiny, narrow and at times fairly rough, and the one thing we really hadn’t expected was to come upon was a ‘toll road’. However, there were a number of old stone structures relating to the original 6th century monastery at Penmon to explore, and these were included in the ‘admission’ price, along with Black Point Beach and Puffin Island lighthouse just off in the distance. The 12th century church.The door to the church.Inside the church the arched windows glowed. A very simple diamond-pane stained-glass window. Stained glass window with a story.Candela ..read more

May 28, Saturday. (Route map in the middle of the post.) Jet lag hit with pangs of starvation but there had been no pubs on our route until we hit the Red Lion in Northup at 7:30 in the evening, a place we had noted at the very beginning of our loop drive that day.I made no note of what we ate – and took only one photo, the beer tap, with no note on that either. I suspect it was our first experience of flat British-type beer served warmer than we liked. Obviously neither the beer or the food were very memorable. After dinner we stopped at Ewloe Castle ruins which was right next to the Rabbit R ..read more

From the impressive Conwy Castle with its medieval walls we carried on to the slightly strange (at least to me) St Grwsts Church. The slouchy guardian creature at the entrance of the Church, built in 1470. Carved graffiti on an ancient wooden bench.A carved wooden head cut into a railing.The rafters and upper gallery. The tombs were the most fascinating thing to me. This coffin has a skull, crossbones and red flowers on the end. A breathless angel.The tomb of a knight.The tomb of a one-month-old baby dated 1639.Another elaborate tomb.Sign explaining the highlights of St Grwst’s Church. More ..read more

October 16, 2014. After driving a circle route past several small towns steeped in history we arrived back in Penafiel and decided to explore a bit before we headed to Valladolid where we were planning on spending the night. On the way up the hill to the Penafiel Castle we passed these ‘chimneys’ which we were told were ventilation for the underground wine cellars.More wine cellar vents and the Penafiel Castle at the top of the hill.We didn’t go inside the castle but the exterior looked good.The castle was so perfect that it didn’t look real.Looking down from the Penafiel Castle at the field ..read more

Sunday, May 29, 2016. Going along the north coast of Wales between Denbigh Castle and Llandudno we hit a massive traffic jam, as if everyone and his aunt were out for a Sunday drive along the seashore. The slowdown was possibly the amusement park that had reared up along the road. YES! Masses of pedestrians clogged the road and when Al stopped to let them cross there was a screech of brakes behind us. A second later an irate motorist pulled up beside us and yelled, “You could have caused an accident stopping like that mate!” We found out later from our landlady that in Wales there is NO stoppi ..read more

The weather has been very cold in Vancouver since January, and either perpetually raining or snowing, none of which has helped my mood any, especially when combined with very intrusive and noisy construction around our apartment. In March the building construction made our place unliveable. After a week or so of couch-surfing in our damp city we headed out on a small road trip to the Okanogan, much dryer. Finally seeing the sun after so many months lifted my mood considerably.It also became warmer and warmer in the third week of March culminating in a 15°C in Osoyoos. We stopped at Liquidity ..read more

May 31, 2016. From the mid-term/bank holiday craziness of Llandudno we headed straight to Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey. The fast road was not without its beauty – In my journal I mention Queen Anne’s Lace, buttercups, pink flowers and masses of purple Rhododendrons in spectacular bloom amidst the dark scrub. Once in Beaumaris we booked a B&B for that evening and then checked out the local ‘Craft Fayre’. This jeweller used only local stones for his jewelry.Red jasper, green chert (a type of flint) and slate being made ready for uniquely local pieces of jewelry. The friendly jeweller ..read more

May 31, 2016. Al standing on a rock at Black Point Beach. Electric green seaweed in a tidepool.  The Puffin Island Lighthouse just off Penmon.Someone posted an old photo of this same lighthouse in somewhat rougher weather than we were experiencing! Our view of the lighthouse with striated rocks in the foreground.More rock formations. The sand was coarse and strewn with pebbles and rocks. Lonely Planet map for May 31st drive along a mass of tiny backroads leaving from the town of Beaumaris to Penmon and its medieval structures, and then on to Llanddona Beach and back to Beaumaris. Mor ..read more

June 1, 2016. From Beaumaris we did a zoomer to Amlwch and a semi-zoomer to Trearddur where we  stopped at South Stacks which doubled as a bird sanctuary . (Map at bottom) Clifftops covered with drifts of pink Sea Thrift flowers at Holyhead South Stack on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Looking down the cliffs at the sea green water.  Lighthouse at Holyhead South Stack. There was an admission charge of £5 per person to go down some 400 stairs to see the lighthouse up close. Then of course you would have to go back up the 400 stairs – the £5 charge did not include an elevator! An ol ..read more

May 30th, 2016. We had a good start to our day-trip with a stop at Conwy Castle and its medieval ramparts, followed by the slightly weird St Grwst Church. After this we headed into Snowdon Park and were immediately stalled. We had arrived just in time for what was apparently the busiest weekend of the year in Wales. AND it was sunny, something that happened only rarely in Wales, and according to the thrilled locals, never more than three days in a row. So EVERYONE was out and about. Although a number of interesting walks presented themselves we could not find a single parking spot ANYWHERE ..read more