During my stay in the UK this summer I chose one of the weekends – the long weekend, thanks to banking holidays – and headed off to Snowdonia, the land of breathtaking nature.
Conwy - gates of Snowdonia
People in Wales speak Welsh (or “Cymraeg”). Fun fact – this language is also spoken in Argentina (in Chubut Province that used to be a Welsh colony). To me, this language is in itself a lion’s part of the region’s charm. Look: Wales is home of a town called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – it’s the second longest name for a town in the world. And that’s Welsh!
My destination in Wales was Capel Curig – a small village hidden among the mountains of Snowdonia. From there, it was a short ride by public transport to any place we would like to visit. But to get to Capel Curig from London, we had to take two trains and carpool a bit.
Our first stop after we left London was Conwy – a small town at the Conwy river that flows into the Irish sea. The main attraction there is the Conwy castle – it is indeed an interesting location. Its walls date back to the 13th century: this castle was one of 14 that King Edward I of England built or repaired as he joined Wales to England and spread his control over the region by 1282.
Capel Curig - hiking
I wanted to be in the middle of the nature, so staying at Capel Curig was probably the best choice. There are dozens of walking routes that differ by the level of difficulty neadby, and I could see at least seven mountain peaks from my window. One local after-lunch mountain route that we took on the first day was idyllic (except for walking into a swamp in the very end). I also noticed that chasing big fat goats is a lot of fun as long as they don't get together and start staring at you intensely.
Climbing Snowdon
The mountain is 1,085m high, and on the way up we chose to take a train. That was an old train with a steam locomotive - one of those that started serving this line in 1896, when it was constructed. We took train No. 3 named Wyddfa, which means Snowdon in Welsh. This railroad actually is the only rack and pinion railroad in the UK, so it was a unique experience.
The train was supposed to bring us to the very top of the mountain, but as we got higher into the mountains the fog got thicker. At some point we could not see three metres ahead of us any more. Due to such weather conditions the train had to stop at around 3/4 of the route - it looked like it is a popular scenario though, because there was a platform for passengers right there. As a sidenote, getting to the very top of Snowdon by train is quite challenging - the train can go there only starting May, and is always subject to weather conditions. The weather is the key determinant of the peak's accessibility. In our case, there was little sense in going all the way up because of the fog but we still did it - and could see nothing at all from the peak, even where the rock ends and the abyss starts.
However, on the way back the fog very quickly faded out, and the fascinating view of the valley and the neighbouring mountains unfolded in front of us. That was worth two hours of climbing the mountain surrounded in fog, totally.
Capel Curig: super host! Right next to our home for the weekend in Capel Curig we discovered the Ugly House. Initially, we saw it on the map and decided that it is actually our house – from our host we learned that she bought an ancient house in a very poor condition and renovated it completely. This was completely plausible as the house she owned could indeed be the one from the legend for many reasons... It turned out though that the Ugly House was even more ancient – dating back to the 15th century – and it was just in 100 meters along the road. We have no photos of it but its pictures could easily be found online. We, however, couldn’t resist taking a couple of pictures of the house we stayed in – because it was absolutely marvelous.
The lady who hosted us in Capel Curig originally comes from Northern Ireland, but she decided to move across the Irish Sea to Wales ten years ago to change scenery. Before, she managed a family business, but after moving to Wales she took to renovating houses: she started with the one for herself and then completed renovations of ten or so houses across the region. The lady seems to be one of the happiest people I have met in my life, and the house she lives in is full of happiness and harmony. Everything is done with a great deal of thought and creativity. Just to have an idea of what you could do with an early 19th-century fireplace left in your kitchen, take a look at how nicely a modern electric hob fits in. Also, if you have a spectacular view from your garden why not add a glass room to you house? This way, you can enjoy the view not only in summer from the outside, but also over a cold winter sipping warm tea indoors. Long story short, this house will probably remain my dream house for quite a while.