THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN…

After Robin and I left the Fairy Glen, we went into Betws-Y-Coed. We parked in a car park across from a hotel and walked a short distance into the town. We stopped in an art gallery and did some shopping. We started a conversation with the proprietor, and he told us the best way to get to Llanberis. We needed to get there to catch the Snowden Mountain Railway up Yr Wyddfa, (pronounced ‘Ur Weethva’), the tallest mountain in Wales. His directions actually helped out, as Siri’s path to the railroad actually took up the mountain to catch the train at the summit. Go home, Siri, you’re drunk! He also told us that the drive to Llanberis was going to be spectacular. He was not wrong!

We got back to the car and started the drive to Llanberis, just a short 12 miles away. But first, we stopped off at the Ugly House, a tea room set in a building that was hundreds of years old. We got ourselves a snack and headed on our way.

I was beginning to get a bit more comfortable driving, but the beginning of this trip seemed to be a bit claustrophobic as there were walls right up on the road. Robin was a bit uptight, although the “Curb!” yell was happening less and less. Baby steps.

We came around a bend and the valley unfolded before us. It was everything the art gallery man said and more! One of the things that Robin and I said frequently that day was, “Pictures cannot do this justice. Cameras can capture quite a bit, but cameras cannot capture majesty. A picture can record what we saw as the valley unfolded before us with that huge mountain up ahead. What the cameras can never catch is the feeling evoked by the vastness we saw. Awe, wonder, a feeling of being small in the presence of something vast. A visceral, electric shock that goes through you at the majesty that God has formed over millions of years. There hasn’t been a media yet that can capture that.

Here I want to take a moment to address the weather. Robin and I could not have asked for better weather for our trip, especially for the UK. People, including native Brits, told us how often it rains here, yet I can’t remember a day that rain interfered with our vacation activities. As you can see in the picture above, the weather as we headed to Yr Wyddfa was perfect. To be fair, when we got to Llanberis, we found that weather was altering our train ride. This time of year, the train doesn’t go all the way up to the summit. It doesn’t begin to do that until mid-June. So from the beginning of April until then, it runs about 3/4 of the way up. On that day, 60+mph winds were forcing the train to stop about 200 yards short of its normal stop. We had the option of a refund, but as we had no better time to go, we decided to go up anyway. I’m so glad we did!

Robin and I were sharing our section of the train with a former college student who looked like a professor, and a young woman who had grown up in Llanberis. He had hiked the mountains for almost 50 years, and this was the first time he was riding the Snowden Mountain Railway. The young lady spent her time running (Yes, I said running!) up and down the mountains. It made for some interesting conversations as we made our way up the mountain.

The scenery was gorgeous. We passed by a couple of beautiful waterfalls, and abandoned buildings from the slate mining communities that dotted landscape of that section of the mountains. There were sheep everywhere, and at once point our train had to stop and toot the whistle at some sheep on the track. The pace of the train made it easy to take in the scenery, including hikers that were hoofing it to the summit. They waved at us, we waved at them, the sheep chewed their cud at us, it was all good.

During the ride up, the former University of Liverpool student engaged us in a little chit chat. Somehow or another we arrived at a point in out conversation when he said, “Perhaps you folks should consider changing your Consititution,” making reference to the Second Amendment. I’m a red-blooded American, and wasn’t about to let that one slide. In a college-like way I provided some information that countered his somewhat naive approach to our violence problem. When compared to other countries around the world, the US is rather far down the list on gun violence. Even further so in school violence. The places with the most gun violence in the US are places that have the most stringent gun laws. If you looked at per capita violent crime, I’d wager that London’s crime rates are similar to, if not worse than, New York City’s, and I am no fan of NYC. In short, it’s not a gun problem, it’s a people problem. At that, I let it go. Don’t know if I accomplished anything but teaching him not to mention the Second Amendment to an American veteran again. Unless he’s back in a university setting.

We reached a place up the tracks called Rocky Pass. There the train stopped. Given the high profile of the train, I’m glad they did. I didn’t fancy rolling down the mountainside in a metal and glass tube. That wouldn’t end well for anyone, and would certainly put Robin out something awful, which would make my day bad. It would put the sheep out as well, and in Wales, we can’t be having that shit!

After 10 minutes or so, the train backed its way down the mountain and pulled back into the station. The passengers disembarked, and Robin and I grabbed some ice cream from a stand near the station. From there we drive a quarter of a mile to nearby Castell Dolbadarn. It is the tower of the ruins of a Welsh castle. While not as mighty in stature as Castyll Conwy, Beaumaris, Harlech or Caernarfon, it was still pretty impressive that that much castle was left after such a long time. Robin stayed near the gate at the base of the hill. Her knees were hurting and she didn’t make it to the castle.

From Dolbadarn, Robin and I drove into Llanberis, found The Lonely Tree and the Blade of the Giants. The Lonely Tree is an Instagram thing that I had discovered, possibly the most photographed tree in the world. Both the tree and the Blade of the Giants were on the banks of Llyn (Lake) Padarn. The whole valley was beautiful.

With that, we travelled back to Conwy, and had dinner at a pub called the George & Dragon. Robin had Singapore Noodles with Chicken, and I had a bacon cheeseburger with chips. A fitting end to the day!

Amend the Constitution. Cheeky!