Our trip to Northern Wales (Travel & Conwy)

Because of Paul's shift-work schedule, he was able to take 2 days off and get a stretch of 7 days off in a row! We filled the first few days with some general household organizing and a trip to IKEA in Milton Keynes, then headed to Northern Wales from March 16-18. I had done some online research (mostly TripAdvisor and Rick Steves) into the area, and booked a B&B near Conwy (pronounced "Conway") on the coast of Wales. I called ahead and spoke to Andrew, who is a co-proprietor with his wife Beth of Coed Mawr Cottages in the village of Rowen. He was very friendly and reassured me that they were fine with having a 1 year old stay there. Some B&Bs are not, which is totally understandable given the "romantic" vibe a lot of them are going for... a wild toddler does not always provide that ambience. :) 

The trip was slated to take approximately 4 hours each way, and we left mid-morning on Monday. It took a bit longer, with road construction and traffic. We also took a 45 minute stop at a "Services" area off the highway. These areas are not unlike the large rest areas off of I-95 along the East Coast of the US -- gas station and food, as well as a gift shop. We were surprised to see a small hotel adjoining the one here, though. We grabbed some Burger King and let Charlotte stretch her legs a little bit. The whole experience felt very "American." (An OK thing by us, sometimes a little home comfort is good!) Charlotte slept a majority of the drive there; coming back was a different story as we hit major traffic (the M6 appeared be closed due to an accident) and she wasn't very happy to be stuck in her carseat for so long. 

Charlotte plays with ketchup packets at the Services stop

We drove fairly close to Birmingham and Liverpool on the trip, which were only notable because of the increased traffic in the area. I read up on the sites in Liverpool in the Rick Steves guidebook, and I think we will have to take a weekend trip there and see the Beatles sites in particular! 

Entering Wales is fairly undramatic, although there was a sign and a "dragon" stone pattern on the hill of an overpass -- the dragon is the mascot (?) of Wales (driving back, we saw the English lion on the opposite side of the overpass!). We drove briefly through the town of Conwy on our way to Coed Mawr Hall, which was about a 15 minute drive outside of town. It is quite rural, and there are indeed a lot of sheep in Wales! I believe we are in/toward the end of the "lambing" season, and certain fields appeared to have a lamb or 2 per sheep. The other big change is that all of the street signs are required to be written in both English and Welsh languages. We were fascinated by the long words with very few vowels; the double L (ll) is pronounced "kl" and the W is usually pronounced like the "u" in "push." We haven't figured out how to really pronounce the word "Llewellyns" yet, for the St Louisans who read this blog.

When we pulled up to the B&B, which is down a 3/4 mile private drive, we were greeted by chickens and geese, and quickly thereafter Beth came out of the house as well. Charlotte was interested to watch Beth toss some feed to the birds, but wasn't too excited to get close to them at the moment. We got checked in and Beth helped carry our bags up to our room. It turned out we were the only guests staying there for those two nights, which was lovely and quiet. And we didn't have to worry about Charlotte making too much noise, which was a blessing and added to my ability to just relax while we were there!

We really appreciated that they provided Charlotte with a Pack&Play ("cot") to sleep in, as well as a high chair at breakfast each day. The breakfast was delicious, Andrew cooked food to order and also had a side table set up with various cold items as well. We would definitely recommend the place if anyone is looking for a B&B in North Wales! That evening we walked across the field to the local pub in Rowen and had a delicious meal there. It was fun walking back by "torch" (flashlight) at night; the sheep were all laying down in the fields and it was peaceful and smelled of wood stove smoke. 

The view from our room at Coed Mawr

Sheep! I must have sung "Baa Baa Black Sheep" about 50 times to Charlotte, who danced each time so I didn't mind :)

Our CR-V outside Coed Mawr; our room and the 2 windows on the middle floor, left side of the house as you look at it.

Waterfall at the back of the parking area, which made a lovely rushing sound to hear when we were loading/unloading the car each time

Sitting on the bench in the front of the B&B

Lambs! (Just down the hill, along the private drive to the B&B)

Enjoying a cup of tea after our arrival. The room had 2 beautiful bay windows with cushions; Charlotte adored sitting on them and watching the sheep, chickens, ducks, and cat.

We laid low the first evening, then headed out after breakfast to the medieval walled town of Conwy. The town is set on a bay, and still has the full set of walls that were built back around 1285 AD by Edward I when he conquered this area of Wales. There are 5 castles in the area all built in the same period; we had considered going to another castle (Beaumaris) as well but didn't have quite enough time. Perhaps another time.

We parked near the castle, and started with the walking tour that Rick Steves has written up in his book about Great Britain. It was a great walk, and I was glad to have borrowed Erin's Kinderpack to carry Charlotte around in. As you'll see, it wasn't the most stroller friendly walk! We went up the walls, where you can walk around most of the city (we did a small portion), then down through a few of the lanes of the city, down to the riverfront, and back up to the castle. It took us about an hour and a half to do the walking tour. Here are a few photo highlights:

An educational sign put up to encourage learning the Welsh language. It shows the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year, and numbers written out.

Climbing the staircase to get to the wall walk

Walking the walls!

Heading up a steep ramp to one of the wall's turrets

Looking back down the steep walk; the town is to the left of the wall.

Charlotte is not impressed.

Like I said, not stroller friendly!

Looking from the turret back toward the Castle & the bay

Looking down the opposite wall from the castle

The promenade along the bay, looking toward the Castle

Lots of sailboats in the bay

The smallest house in Great Britain! No longer inhabited.

We let Charlotte out to run a bit, she loved it! The seagulls were less in love with it.

Looking up at the castle from outside

The castle is the only part of the walking tour you have to pay for. Charlotte unfortunately was starting to get tired by this point and wasn't enjoying riding in the Kinderpack any longer. After walking along some of the ramparts, I sat with her on a bench in the center of the castle while Paul explored, then we traded places. Our first major tourist adventure with her -- we learned to do the "pay" thing(s) earlier in the morning, then you can cut out whatever "free" things are later on. I think we still got our money's worth out of the castle, but she was definitely ready for a nap and we cut it a bit short. The castle itself was built in only 4 years and was built on solid rock to avoid undermining by those who might try to capture it. It was neat to imagine what it would have been like to live there.

The center of the castle

Up on the ramparts

The view from the castle across the suspension bridge over the river/bay

After tucking Charlotte in her car seat, Paul sat with her in the car while I grabbed some sandwiches. We ate them while Charlotte napped, then headed toward Bodnant Gardens. (Post to come!)