Saturday September 22nd 2018 Part 2 - Port Dinorwic

Driving back along the A487 with the clouds gradually clearing and the sun deciding to show its face I did a detour down to Y Felinheli, otherwise known as Port Dinorwic. It was a quaint little place set on the edge of the Menai Strait and I hadn't been there for a couple of years so it was worth taking another look. A couple of rows of attractive cottages faced the water and a long grassy area with parking spaces along its edge separated the road from the shingle beach. 

At one end of the green was the sailing club enclosure with its rows of private yachts on trailers and at the other end was the start of a large modern housing estate. Walking along by the sea wall I spotted a heron perched on the end of a seaweed covered breakwater, and though I thought it would probably fly away before I could get a photo it didn't and I managed to get several shots while it stood there posing.

It was quite a distance to walk through the estate to the marina so I drove round instead and with very few people around there was plenty of space to park at the roadside. Nothing much seemed to have changed since the last time I was there so it only took fifteen minutes to wander round and get a few photos before returning to the van and setting off once more.

Driving back towards the A487 I passed an intriguing looking place set back off the road; with fancy iron gates and long high stone walls there was nothing to see except lots of trees and the roof of a gate keeper's cottage just inside the gates. A fancy plaque on one wall told me that this was the grounds of Vaynol Hall and was 'strictly private' - a shame really as it looked just the sort of place I like exploring, although later information has told me that the estate and hall are sometimes open to the public for various festivals and concerts.

With the last photo taken I hopped back in the van - which I'd momentarily parked in a bus lay-by - and continued my journey back to the camp site with no further stops, then after making a brew and a snack meal I settled down in the van for the rest of the evening, only venturing out again later on to take the dogs for their bedtime walk.

Saturday September 22nd 2018 Part 1 - Dolbadarn Castle and Llanberis

I woke just before 7am that day to a sky heavy with grey cloud but with no wind, not even the whisper of a breeze - a great time to take advantage of the calm and get the tent up while I could, though I decided just to use it for storage and meal making and continue sleeping in the van for the next three nights.

In spite of the very grey sky I was determined to go out somewhere and after having the van cleaned by the local fire crew as part of their charity car wash day I decided on a drive over to Llanberis on the mainland to explore Dolbadarn Castle which I'd found out about after my previous visit to the town in June. The lakeside car park was quite a distance from the castle though and as I would be leaving the dogs in the van for once I went in search of a car park closer to it - the nearest one was £5 for all day, which would have been okay if I'd been staying all day but I only needed a couple of hours at the most so I went to look elsewhere and had a real stroke of luck. The next nearest was the car park for Electric Mountain but the attraction had closed the week before for major refurbishment and the car park ticket machine was also closed up so the parking was free - and with the van backed into the shade of some tall trees I was sorted. 

Access to the castle was by a bridge over the river running alongside the road, followed by a steep path through a wooded area to the rocky crag where the castle sat. Built in the early 13th century by Llywelyn the Great it originally had a courtyard, a hall, an east building, two towers and the keep, and was protected by a curtain wall about 15ft high although that now is only about 3ft high at the most. Of all the original buildings only the keep still stands with steps outside leading up to the main doorway, and the thick walls housing an interior spiral stone staircase which can still be climbed - of course I climbed it, and though going up was no problem going back down was a different matter. The staircase was in a steep and tight spiral which changed direction halfway down, and with very narrow steps and no handrail or safety rope to hold onto it's certainly not for the faint-hearted. No wonder there's a 'safety' notice fastened to the outside wall!

When I'd taken as many photos as I could in spite of the grey skies I made my way back down to the road and along to the Mountain Railway station. I was only going out of curiosity as I'd been told ages ago that it wasn't cheap to take the train to the top of Snowdon - I can't remember now who told me but whoever it was they were right, and at the advertised prices and the fact that they don't allow dogs I certainly won't be going up there.

Walking back towards the village centre I noticed an old church set up on a slope behind the houses so decided to take a look. This was St Padarn's Church, built in 1884 and funded by the Assheton Smith family who owned the rights to the nearby slate quarry; it was enlarged in 1914 with the addition of the Lady Chapel and the completion of the nave, and in 1921 a 2-manual and pedal 7-stop pipe organ was installed.

While I was wandering round in the church I could hear the occasional whinny of a horse somewhere outside and when I went back through the grounds, via a different path to the one I'd gone in on, I saw a small stable yard at the back of a large building and half a dozen ponies tethered to the fence. The first two had rather a sad look about them but they were all munching away on bundles of hay so I guess they were happy enough. As I passed the end of the yard I noticed a big white van with the words 'Film Horses' on the side, and though I didn't know it then that small stable yard was just a part of something much bigger.

The building itself was actually the Dolbadarn Hotel and the ponies were presumably part of the trekking centre belonging to it, with later information telling me that the 'film horses' were exactly that - horses trained and used in film and tv work, with many credits including Robin Hood, Game of Thrones and Warhorse. Sometimes it surprises me the things I find out just by wandering round and doing a bit of Googling afterwards.

 Back at the van I released the dogs and took them for a walk along the lakeside; it was still very cloudy so there was no point going too far in case it decided to rain so with just one more photo taken I returned to the van and set off back towards the coast.

As I was driving back through Llanrug I decided to call and see my cousin Dave - he hadn't been in when I called in June and as he doesn't live far from the main road it would be a shame to pass through without stopping so I took a chance and this time he was in; his wife Hilda had gone out but he made me a coffee and we had good chat and a catch-up of family news. The weather had been brightening up while I was there and the sun was coming through in fits and starts so rather than go straight back to Anglesey I decided to stop off somewhere on the way and I was glad I did as it turned into a really nice late afternoon.