Wales Vacation - Day 5

We had to get up and our early today so that we could make it to Llanberis on the edge of Snowdonia National Park to ride the Snowdon Mountain Railway to the top of Mt Snowdon, the highest peak in England & Wales. The track to the top of the mountain winded up from the valley along the edges of the smaller mountains. As you climbed above Llanberis you were able to look out over the plains in the distance and the valleys on either side of the tracks. A few sheep ranchers still maintained a residence and flocks in the valleys. Along the way you would see remains of old stone buildings and slate quarries.

As we continued to climb we entered the cloud layer. The top of the mountain was completely cloud covered (it usually is) but we still climbed up the 15m or so from the station itself to the top of the mountain. The only strange sight here was right at the top of the mountain, which was completely rock covered) was a sheep that had climbed up following grass. The sheep found a patch was was eating away. In fact, all along the train ride up and back you could see sheep at the tops of the mountains!

When we got back to Llanberis we went to the Welsh Slate Museum to get a feel for the life in the slate mines. There was a slate splitting demonstration and you could take a tour of what was once a working quarry and factory. It was closed in the 1960s.

Our last stop for the day was our final castle, Conwy Castle. Conway and Caernarfon have alot in common. Both are built on the water's edge, have a bastide town within it's extended city walls, and dominate the local vicinity with its size. At this point our legs & knees were killing us from all the stair climbing. However, we weren't going to let this hold us back from some of the best tower views looking over the town. The town walls are in pretty good shape. It is over 3/4 miles long and has 21 towers. All of which can be seen peeking out behind houses and other modern structures.

The kids were simply amazing with the all walking and climbing that was required. I hope that they got as much out of it as I did. Reading about history is one thing but being able to see, touch and climb on it is another.