North Wales

We passed from England into Wales with no more fanfare than a sign on the road. 

Most notable though was that the signs went from only English to English alongside the most indecipherable language I have ever seen.

I thought Polish was tough, but it was nothing compared to the way my head hurt looking at anything Welsh.

I’m sure it’s a pretty language, but boy was it difficult for me to figure out how to say any of the words.

We stayed in the coastal town of Llandudno, which is most known for its Victorian Pier, a connection to Alice in Wonderland and the Great Orme, a pretty peninsula that juts out to the sea in cliffs of limestone and dolomite. 

Every time we mentioned the Great Orme, Tom would make a dad joke. Something along the lines of “with great Ormes…. comes great responsibility.” 

Or, “after eating all this British food, I don’t have guns, but I do have Great Ormes!”

Or his personal favorite, but the kids’ least. 

Q - What did the T-Rex say when he visited North Wales? 

A - I’m jealous of your Great Ormes!

So bad. 

Us, on the Great Orme.

During the week we were in Wales, Mom celebrated her birthday.

Her request ... to visit a castle. 

The Birthday Queen!

Wales has a number of medieval castles. We chose the Castle Conway, which was built in the 13th century by King Edward I. It was magnificent! The walls, the ramparts, the statues, the spiral staircases and the sea beyond. 

Then another day we explored Anglesey, which on many signs, maps and brochures proudly declared it as the “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.” We couldn’t miss that. 

Plus, they had a puffin sightseeing cruise available. 

Afterwards, we explored the town of Beaumaris and ended up renting some crabbing equipment and spending the rest of the afternoon catching crabs. 

The kids did pretty well for their first time!

On our last day in Wales, we went to Eryri National Park and took the Snowdon Mountain Railway to one of the U.K.’s highest peaks. We had rain that day, so we didn’t get the best view from the top, but even with the rain, there was a lovely peace to the area. It was probably my favorite place in Wales.

A lot of people hike this, but with our group we took the mountain train to the top. It took about an hour to reach the top, which was enough time for Tom to take in the view and get a nap.

Once at the top, we had 30 minutes until we had to catch our train back down or we could walk back. With the rain and other reasons, our crew was motivated to catch our train. The clouds had completely obscured the view, so there wasn't that much to see, but we took photos anyway.

You can't win them all. But, I'm convinced that through the clouds and mist it was glorious!

But next time, we will definitely hike up.