Waterfalls

Throughout Wales you will always find waterfalls, and Ceunant Mawr Waterfall is one of our favorites, it is also known as Llanberis Falls.
Most people see this waterfall  from the viaduct on the Snowdon Mountain Railway path, either as they take the path and walk up the mountain or go by the train.
It is only a few hundred yards from the town centre.
I would advise you though not to take really young children on this path that we are going to take you on, there is a fast flowing river and there are no fences, and the path is quite narrow, but absolutely safe for grown ups taking care! Plus it is a beautiful short walk!

This is the beginning of the short path to the waterfall, as you can see it is a fast flowing river, and after rain it can be very deep too, but after saying that you can see it is a beautiful place!

As you advance along the path you can hear the water gushing down the gully, in the spring this place is a fairy tale, with lots of wild spring flowers growing on the banks, it is so pretty.

The water flows very fast in most parts of the river, and there are a few mini little falls along the way depending on how much rain there has been.

We are getting to the end of the path now and the water is in full fall.

This photo was taken from the viaduct on the Snowdon Mountain Railway, I thought I would put in here for you to see so you have a full view of the whole waterfall and just how beautiful it is!

As you reach the end of the path this is the view that is waiting for you!! it is just wonderful, there are all sorts of lichens and ferns growing out of the rocks that the waterfalls flows overs, it truly is like a fairy glen!
From here there is a bit of scramble over some rocks to get past the old pumping station.

Scrambling over the rocks takes you to the bottom of the falls, the noise when it is in full flood has to be heard to be believed, you have to shout to make yourself heard above it's roar!!

Then when you are ready it is time to take the path back to the town center, we took these photo's when we visited the falls during the early spring just as the trees were beginning to bud, so there was plenty of light coming through the over hanging branches!

Nearly back to the beginning of the path now, so if you want to see the waterfall from the path you have to go back to the town! We hope you enjoy your visit to this waterfall, we think it is so pretty it would be a shame for any visitors to miss it!

Penrhyn Castle

This is Penrhyn Castle in North West Wales near Bangor!
When you see it you will be forgiven for thinking that it is a very old castle, but you would be wrong, the castle was created between 1822 and 1837 from designs by Thomas Hopper.
Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate upon the death of his second cousin Richard Pennant, who made his fortune from Jamaican sugar, and from local slate quarries.


Penrhyn is one of the most admired mock castles built in the UK in the 19th century.
In 1951 the castle and 40,000 acres of land were accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties.
It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public.
The estimated cost of building it is around £150,000, which is in todays money, approximately £49,500,000!

It is a very handsome looking building, covered in Virginia Creeper!

This is inside the stable block,

I can imagine the horses that were kept here were very well looked after, the stable block is very well laid out.

This one of the far reaching views from the grounds
around the castle.

Part of the lovely well laid out gardens with lots of seats scattered around so you can sit and take a rest and admire the views.

Another ornamental pond, with a small fountain

There are lots of walks around the gardens, including this one through a very long Fuchsia archway.

And I do advise you to have a look around the inside of the castle! 

A visit to Penrhyn Castle makes for a really enjoyable day out for all the family, young and old!!

 

Caernarfon Castle

Carnarfom Castle was built by King Edward the 1st of England after he had conquered Wales in 1277,
building started on the castle in 1323 and cost a massive £22,000, but it never ever got finished.

Here is an aerial photo of the castle to give you a better idea of just how big it is!!!

It was built on the mouth of the River Seiont that flows into Caernarfon Bay.

A view of the Towns Square on market day from one of the towers.

And another view taken overlooking part of the old town.

In 1911 the future Edward v111 was invested at the castle, as was Prince Charles, in 1969, which made him The Prince of Wales.

Newborough Warren

Newborough Warren is on the south edge of the Isle of Anglesey, on the opposite side of the Menai Straits from Caernarfon.
Newborough Warren is an ancient forest, and it is populated by Red Squirrels. There are lots of paths for you to walk through the woods, but the main attraction is the glorious cresent shaped beach.

As you leave the car park you have to walk through the woods on a very well made path.

As you walk you keep getting glances of the sea through the trees.

Until you finally come out of them onto the edge of the beach, the beach carries on to the left of you, there is around a mile of beach altogether, but looking to the right you can see what is known locally as Lovers Island, or Lovers Walk.

As you head toward the little island, if you turn around and look behind you at where you have just come from you get a very good idea of just how long this beach is.

Straight in front of you is the Irish Sea.
But if you make your way to towards the Island there are a couple of billboards and one of them tells you of the legend of the Island.

Once you get onto the Island you will see just what a beautiful little place it is!! covered in wild flowers with rabbits running about, butterflies hovering over the flowers, and the sound of the waves running up the many wonderful little coves all around the Island.

Lovely little out of the way places where you can sit and enjoy the peace and quiet, or perhaps have a picnic with the family.

As you walk along the main path you will come to this white path that leads you up to the large stone cross that dominates the east side of the Island. The stone cross was on the path toward the Sanctuary
back in the year 450.

 The path then carries on towards the old Lighthouse

It was built in 1873, but now no longer functions.
It was used in Demi Moore's film Half Light, in 2004, and in 2009 a scene in the hollywood blockbuster Clash of the Titans was also filmed there.

                                            All thats left of St Dwynwen church on the island. St Dwynwen died on the 25th January, and is Wales St Valentine, the welsh people give flowers and cards to their sweethearts on that date.

A very beautiful and peaceful scene overlooked by the Nantlle Ridge and Mt Snowdon in the background.

There are lots of paths all over the island, but please be aware it is a tidal island and before venturing on to it, get a tide timetable, because if the tide does come in you will be stuck on the island for around 6 hours before the tide turns again, and if you have children with you, the crisps and sweet won't last that long!!
I'm not trying to scare you, but 6 hours is a long time to be stranded, no matter how beautiful the island is.

Llyn-y-Dyvarchen Reservoir

This is such a small but very beautiful place on the country lane between Nantlle and Rhyd-Ddu.
Just before you turn the corner to the village of Rhyd-Ddu  there is a small pull-in and a gate in the wall.

Just go through the gate and walk a few yards and suddenly the reservoir is there and  the views take your breath away!!!
Fishing is allowed on here but only Fly Fishing, I find it quite fasinating to sit on the banks and watch them with the lines flying through the air, and very peaceful too.

You can stand and turn full circle and at every turn the views are there, it is very quiet, you cannot do anything really except stand and stare and take in the beauty!

In the background here you can see that the Nantlle Valley is overlooked by Mt Snowdon, this is looking towards the Horseshoe!





On the day we were there, there wasn't even a ripple on the water, the sky was reflected in it just perfectly!

As I said it is only a very small place, but it would be such a shame to pass by and not even know it was there.

Legend has it that this very small island floats!!!!!
If I remember rightly a farmer saw one of his cows stranded on it a long long time ago, and when he went to get help to get his cow off to safety, the men got back to see the cow grazing on the grassy banks and the island was just up near the bank!! the next day the island had floated back towards the middle of the reservoir again!!!
If you have 10minutes to spare and you are on the way to the Rhyd-Ddu path take the time and have a look at this little piece of heaven, believe me it is worth it.

Southstack

At the top of The Isle of Anglesey is a small island on which stands Southstack, a lighthouse built in 1809 it is 28mts((91ft)) tall, and its light can been seen for 28 miles out to sea, to warn ships of the treacherous rocks that surrounds the island.

To get down to Southstack you must walk down over 400 steps!!! but take my word for it, it is worth the effort, as the views are outstanding. To get over to Southstack you have to walk over a bridge, it was built in 1997 I think, but once upon a time way back in the 1800s the only way to get across to it was by a basket which was suspended on a hemp rope!!!!!! can you imagine????????lololol.

All around the lighthouse are craggy cliffs and nesting on them are over 4,000 birds, they cling on to the side of the cliffs row upon row, it is a sight not to be missed, and if you visit at the right time of yr, you might be lucky and see the Puffins!

If you look at this photo you can see just a few of the birds that nest along the cliffs there, they are amazing to see, and there are also lots of walks from there, as the Angelsey Coastal Path passes Southstack as does the Cybi Circular Walk.

This is the Gillemot Colony, it is truely a sight not to missed!