It’s a long drive from London to north Wales, especially when there are roadworks on the motorway. Fortunately we had a really good guide, Darren, to amuse us, and a couple of DVDs to pass the time. Nonetheless, we didn’t arrive in the wee castle town of Caernarfon until 2am! Consequently, we were a bit slow to get out and explore on Saturday morning.
The name Caernarfon is from the Welsh Caer yn Arfon, "castle in Arfon", a reference to the Roman fort of Segontium. Nowadays, the town is famous for its great stone castle, built by Edward I, which is sometimes seen as a symbol of English domination. In fact, the town is a focal point for Welsh nationalism, and 92% of the population speaks the Welsh language.
Anna and I had a wander alongside the seaport, around the castle and through the shops. We heard a lot of Welsh being spoken (even by the teens), and bought some yummy “Welsh cakes” for breakfast. It was like a biscuit made out of scone dough. Num nums.
Then it was back into the minivan, over the Menai Bridge to the island of Anglesey. First stop, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – longest place name in the United Kingdom. (Translates as "St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave".) We took the requisite photos of the train station sign, and bought some tourist crap in the local shops.
Next we drove through Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) to Mount Snowdon, the highest in England and Wales. Over half the tour group were willing to make the 6 hour ascent, despite some dodgy weather (including hail!) on the way over. Anna and I were going to take the train, but it was closed. Instead, Darren offered to take us on a ‘mystery’ Wales tour – how could we refuse!
This little improvised trip was probably the best part of the tour. First we stopped to visit the Ugly House – apparently named after the Ugly River...
...then a small waterfall...
...and the World Heritage Site of Beaumaris Castle. Begun in 1295, this was the last and largest of King Edward I's Welsh fortifications. It’s a lot of fun to explore, and all the walls and towers have survived.
Then Darren took us all over Anglesey, which is dotted with Neolithic stone circles and burial grounds. We stopped to visit the Bryn Celli Ddu chambered tomb, where Darren gave us a demonstration in dowsing. Basically, one holds a metal rod in each hand, and watches for them to move independently. Anna got some good results, with the rods crossing themselves each time she passed the tomb’s entrance or over the henge surrounding the tomb. I didn’t get diddly squat.
We tried to make it to Holyhead for the sunset, but weren’t entirely successful. Instead we visited one last tomb, Barclodiad y Gawres (“apronful of the giantess”) on the cliffs overlooking the Irish Sea. It is an example of a cruciform passage grave, and noted for its decorated stones.
After picking up the Snowdon survivors, we headed back to Caernarfon to hit the bars to celebrate Darren’s final tour! Bedtime, 3am.
Nevermind, this just gave us more time at the next stop – Portmeirion – home of The Prisoner! An Italianate resort village built by local weirdo Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975, it incorporates fragments of demolished buildings, including works by a number of other distinguished architects. “Portmeirion's architectural bricolage and deliberately fanciful nostalgia have been noted as an influence on the development of postmodernism in architecture in the late twentieth century.” It’s also a great place to shoot a surreal television series.
I have to say, it’s pretty wild visiting Portmeirion if you’re a Prisoner fan. The scripts were clearly written around the location, and used the layout of the buildings to drive the narrative. For this reason, it’s a very immersive experience - much more so than at other film locations I have visited. It actually feels like being in “The Village”.
Of course, I bought a bunch more tourist crap (book, t-shirt, mug and magnet) and posed for lots of photos. (Watch out for that fountain - Rover emerges from it in the first episode.)
The place also has its own merits, and we enjoyed wandering through the eclectic woodlands nearby, and visiting the canine graveyard there.
On a similar note, we also visited Gelert's Grave at the village of Beddgelert (oddly enough, “Gelert's Grave” in Welsh). He was a hunting dog, allegedly owned by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd. As the story goes, Llywelyn returned from a hunt to find his baby's cradle overturned, the baby missing and the dog with blood on its muzzle. Imagining that it has savaged the child, he drew his sword and killed the dog. Its dying yelp wakes the missing child, revealed to be hidden under the cradle, alongside a dead wolf. Sad! Llywelyn buried the dog with great ceremony, yet never spoke again…
Brief photo op at Snowdonia National Park.
And another at the 70ft high Chirk aqueduct and viaduct, built between 1796 and 1801.
