LOVELY WALES

Can anyone pronounce this ?

We had a sleep in this morning and didn't get on the road until 8.30am. We headed to Llangollen, Wales in rainy weather. It rained on and off all day. The drive was lovely, its a wonder I haven't crashed the car because the scenery is breathtaking, the kids said they are sick of hearing me yell out “ look at those trees, look at those houses, look at the sheep, are those Alpacas ?, etc etc well they can always walk ! Our first stop was a private castle whose driveway i noticed and thought " how nice is that " so i swung into it, giving the kids whip lash.. but they're young. It was here that we saw our first Deer roaming wild in the forest around the castle. And here is some deer poo ! i don't know why i took this but Ive never seen deer poo before. Our second stop today was Llangollen in Wales. This is the town where the Eisteddfod originated from and its the loveliest little town. We decided to have lunch here at the Royal Hotel which sits right beside the River Dee. History lesson { The most sacred Celtic river in western Europe, the River Dee begins its life in the mountains of Snowdonia, flowing through Bala Lake, on to Llangollen and then Chester before it merges with the sea helping to form the Wirral Peninsula. It is in these deep flowing waters that Arthurian legend places the 'Fisher King,' guardian of the Holy Grail who fishes the Dee all day, as injury prevents him from ruling his land. Only the chosen one can heal him, with Sir Percival the man in question. The Fisher King's home was Castle Corbenic.The Dee is one of the great Salmon rivers in Britain and the same fast flowing waters that attract these kings of fish makes it a prize location for international canoing events as well.}

The river is a bit high due to all the rain but the very friendly manager tells me that its often this high. We had a yummy roast of the day for lunch and I had my first Welsh beer, very nice and if I hadn't been driving I might have had another one. After lunch we walked around town and bought some souvenirs then headed to Betws y coed for a look because i'd heard it was nice and it was.
{Visitors to Betws-y-Coed, as with other towns in North Wales, will hear the locals speak Welsh. This warm croeso, or welcome, is itself part of the Welsh culture - expressed through the bilingual signs that greet tourists in every small town.
In the past the English outlawed the Welsh language but it lived on through the singing, reciting and storytelling that are a part of Welsh daily life. The recent development of the National Assembly for Wales had produced a heightening sense of national identity, allowing foreigners a greater opportunity to experience Welsh culture .}

The Welsh country side and towns are really lovely and the people are so nice. I am really enjoying hearing the Welsh accent again because I haven't heard it like this since my grandmother died in the 80's, she was Welsh born and raised. Eventually we found ourselves at 5pm in the dark at a place called Llandudno which is on the north coast and this is where we are tonight. Its very cold but its not raining, at least not for the last hour. Tomorrow we'll explore the beach around here then head back into England with Nottingham Forest being our aim for tomorrow night. I don't think I've made one plan that we've actually stuck to, but that's OK, my plans are only guide lines anyway. Till next time , 3 river rats on a river in Wales.

P.S Duana = Fay Miller ? she's too nice and good......tell her not to get comfy !!

Rachel = great to hear from you, keep reading. Baylee can email Mia at miacourtney@rocketmail.com