Day relaxing by the canal
29th of May 2023
We left Dublin and drove out of town to a lovely spot next to a canal. Here we did very little, had a shower in the shower block, emptied our toilet, flew the Angry Wasp and chatted to some fellow motorhomers.
We met Martin and Kay from Guernsey and we shared some common interests. We both have a blog, fly a drone and enjoy motorhoming. They have a blog site which is “therumrunners.co.uk”. We chatted, shared travel stories and the experiences of driving in Ireland with narrow, windy roads and sparse motorhome facilities.
Feeling a bit rested and with the the need to get to our next destination by mid afternoon we headed to the ferry, driving through the peak hour traffic of Dublin, to get to our ferry. We first thought of stopping somewhere to wait our some time but with all the traffic it took too long so instead we settled for a Thai take away along the way then headed for the docks. The ferry left at 8.30pm and arrived in Holyhead, Wales at 12.45.
Wales, a new place for us to explore.
30th of May 2023
Waking up next to the boats in our seaside carpark, the weather was sunny and warm a great start to our visit to Wales. The ferry docked a bit late and by the time all the trucks and cars were unloaded it wasn’t until 1.30 in the morning that we parked up in a small car park near a Maritime Museum.
This is our first time in Wales, and we only have a few days to explore, so we headed of from Holyhead to our destination for the day, along the way we stop at the village with the longest name in Wales. I won’t type it, have a look at the photo. Plenty of people stop in the village and take a photo, the name is on the train station and also on the large tourist shop in the carpark.
Caernarfon
Today’s main destination was the Castle at Caernarfon or Carnavon and we found a close park at the base of the castle next to the marina. The carpark to start off was quiet as we have made good time and it is still early, when we left the car park was full.
The Castle is recognized around the world as one of the greatest buildings of the middle ages, a fortress built on the Welsh coast at the mouth of the River Seiont. Built by Edward 1st, it took 47 years to built. Built to impose control over the Welsh it stands as message to all who would appose him. So much of the building is for impress but the most impressive is the Kings gate, said as one of the most fearsome gates in the whole of the UK, its peppered with murder-holes for boiling water and oil. It would originally had more than four doors and five different portcullises to get through.These days it is a historical monument you can wander around and up to the battlements. It was also used for the investiture of the Princes of Wales from 1303 when King Edward 1st gave the title to his heir apparent Edward of Caernarfon. In 1969 King Charles was made Prince of Wales in a lavish Ceremony where he spoke in both Welsh and English .
Unfortunately it was hard to get a good photo of the Kings Gate, the sun being so bright made a bad shadow on the door.
Which door is the door of the day?? You decide
Lunch outside in the sunshine.
After the castle visit finished we had a look around the town which didn’t take long as it was not a huge place. Lunch time was upon us and we spied a pub at one of the town gates and the lunch special was well priced with Welsh Pie on the menu. The place was called the Black Boy Inn and was established in 1522. Not sure you could call it that now in our politically correct times. Anyway the food was excellent and we were glad that we had made the right choice.
After a busy day and still suffering from lack of sleep we opted for a small campground as our overnight spot.
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