Happy Fourth of July to all!
Well today I spent seven and a half hours on or waiting for trains. But it wasn't all a bad experience! I left my B&B in Caernarfon this morning and went to the Wales Highland Railway train station, right by the harbor. The railway runs along a historic, narrow gauge railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, a harbor town that originally boomed with the slate industry in the region. The train runs 25 miles, with stops along the way, and is pulled by a steam powered engine. It felt very much like taking a step into the past. The train had a first class observation car, with big glass windows and armchairs set before them. The rest of the cars were made up of small cushioned benches and tables for the third class passengers. The train even had the classic "toot toot" of what I presume is a steam whistle. The only downside of jumping back into the past was trying to stay balanced during the unexpected lurches of the train ride.
The route of the Wales Highland Railway runs through Snowdonia National Park and around the base of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 feet. For the vast majority of my train ride it was a stereotypical British summer morning: cloudy with misting and light rain. This obscured some of the views from the train, but I think it may have actually been an improvement. Every mountain peak (especially Snowdon) disappeared into the low-lying clouds and with just a small amount of imagination, it seemed like they could have gone on forever.
Another great part of the view from the train was all the animals grazing in pastures along the train tracks. I saw thousands of sheep, hundreds of cows, a few horses, three ponies, and just a few goats. For some reason, I find all of these animals adorable, especially goats and sheep. I took many, many pictures of the sheep we passed by (partially trying to capture a picture for the fun fact!). I've decided that there are few things cuter than watching a lamb run through a pasture. They just look so knobby and uncouth, but so excited.
After the two hour ride, I reached Porthmadog, where I had originally planned on spending the night. Unfortunately I could not find a hotel in advance, so I had planned to keep moving closer to Shrewsbury, my next destination. I ate a quick lunch in the harbor area and then headed to a different train station, one that has trains that can go farther and faster than the Wales Highland Railway. The route I took towards Aberystwyth (my port of call for the night) followed the Welsh coastline. I looked up from a guide book to be struck by views of a beautiful, white, sandy beach and light, clear, blue water. I questioned again whether or not I should have brought my bathing suit with me.
My train took me from Porthmadog to Machynlleth, where I disembarked and waited for a different train. My next train took me to Aberystwyth, a beautiful university town on Cardigan Bay. I found the guest house I'm staying in and took a little break from all my traveling. Feeling rejuvenated, I made my way down to the promenade by the sea. There is an expansive beach by the water, running up to meet the road and the pastel, Georgian houses that line the seafront. In January of 2014, Aberystwyth was severely damaged by a storm and the promenade suffered. A year and a half later there is still some evidence of reconstruction, but very little and the promenade is lovely.
Walking along the promenade, it is impossible to miss the ruins of Aberystwyth Castle. The castle is another creation of Edward I, like Caernarfon, but was not used as extensively. The castle fell into disrepair rather quickly, but was still involved in Welsh rebellions and the English Civil War. The ruins are now part of a public park, right near the Old College. I loved that there was a playground, just below the ruins. It seems like an ingenious way to interest young children in history, by allowing them to play in the shadows of their local history and hopefully encourage their curiosity and desire to explore.
Continuing down the promenade to the South Beach, the harbor comes into view. There is a long jetty at the end of the harbor and there was a lone angler fishing as I walked towards it. The views out over the ocean and the landscape outside of town were wonderful. I reached one end of the promenade and headed back towards the main part of town. I had a very nice dinner at a small restaurant on the promenade and even indulged in some ice cream as I walked through the town after dinner.
After a long day of travel, it turned into a lovely evening.
Fun Fact #8: So this is sort of a two part fun fact. Many people may already know this (I actually did), but I was struck by it again. In the U.S. most sheep tails are docked, leaving them with small, bobbed tails. But this is not what they naturally look like! No, sheep have long, wooly tails, larger and longer than many dogs! I think they make sheep even cuter. The second part of the fact is that some sheep in Wales are dyed with bright, neon colors. Apparently in recent years rustling has been on the rise in certain part of the U.K. (I'm not sure about in Wales) and shepherds and farmers have taken to marking their sheep with bright colors so they can identify their animals from great distances.
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