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North Wales – an ancient land of castles, craggy mountains and deep mines, it is a corner of Britain yet to be discovered by overseas visitors. Welsh is spoken locally but everyone also speaks English and signs are bilingual. My biggest challenge was pronouncing names of towns such as Pwllheli, Llangollen or Betws-y-Coed (pronounced Betoos-ah-Coyd).

North Wales – A Land of Mountains and Mines

Angelica
2006-04-05 12:36:34

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we become seated upstairs when a strong wind whipped across Llandudno Bay, grey clouds turned to black and we were caught in a deluge. Risking decapitation while the bus lurched under an archway near Conwy Castle, we slid down the pole to the lower deck.

A walk along the Llandudno promenade and pier are mandatory and provide the perfect venues from which to take photographs of the curving townscape of terraced hotels. Later, for a bird’s eye view, we took the century-old tramway on a mile-long climb up to the summit of the Great Orme. The area is a nature reserve criss-crossed by marked trails. The elusive wild goats that roam the grassy Orme are descendants of a pair of Kashmir goats presented to Queen Victoria by the Shah of Persia. The views are spectacular and as I scanned the coastline, I remembered the worlds of Percy Shelley who in 1812 wrote, “Steal, if possible, my revered friend, one summer and come to Wales.”

Snowdonia National Park: http://www.snowdonia-npa.gov.uk

Llechwedd Slate Mine: http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk
Llandudno: http://www.llandudno-tourism.co.uk
Visit Britain: http://www.visitbritain.com
Wales Tourist Board: http://www.wtbonline.gov.uk

Great places to stay:
Wild Pheasant Hotel, Llangollen: http://www.wildpheasanthotel.co.uk

Bryn Derwen Hotel, Llandudno: http://www.bryn-derwen-hotel.co.uk

Good places to eat:
Porthmadog: Yr Hen Fecws, Lombard Street
Ruthin: Medieval Banquet, Ruthin Castle
Llandudno: Bryn Derwen Hotel
Local Fare
Cadwaladers ice cream
Native Lamb
Glamorgan sausages
Caerphilly cheese
Laver bread
Welsh cakes
Souvenir Shopping:
Slate coasters
Botanic Garden Portmeirion pottery
Wooden Welsh Love Spoons

Welsh Language:
Aber - mouth of a river
Afon – river
Caer – fort
Cymru - Wales
Glyn - valley
Llan - church
Porth - port

Images by Hamish M. Jackson
Email: crestlyn@axionet.com
Web: http://www.axion.net/crestlynn