North Wales, Beaumaris and Snowdonia

July 04, 2025

What a perfect afternoon it was as we arrived in Beaumaris.

There was a regatta and later we actually sat next to one of the winners in the Indian restaurant we visited.

Such beautiful, colorful houses, with equally perfectly kept gardens.

Most of the village was painted with pastel or vibrant colors, and there were some very interesting, rather quirky shops.

The one pictured below was a cooperative of local artists of all sorts, with tiny stalls on the two floors of an old church.

Here a mix of organic fruit and vegetables and also house plants.

It was probably the poorest of our rooms during the trip, but the artistic, very moody owner certainly made up for her rather unpleasant welcome by laying on a fabulous spread for breakfast.

I felt that if you visited one castle in Wales, it should be Beaumaris Castle. Building started in 13th century at the command of Edward 1st. However, after 35 years of construction, it was never completed because all the workers were whisked off to war.

The castle would have been very difficult to storm, being surrounded by a moat

And an entrance which apparently had five layers of defense with various killing tools in place!

The main purpose of the castle was to guard the Menai Strait, which we could see clearly from the ramparts.

It is certainly one of the most interesting castles I have been to and we were able to climb up most turrets and ramparts.

Lckily, we arrived at opening time when there was virtually nobody around. By the end, a couple of tours had come in and the peaceful was shattered. Time to hit the road again,

Gorgeous wee cottages along the way to our car.

We made our way towards Snowdonia National Park, the first national park in Wales. It’s also one of the wettest places, so we were lucky to arrive at a dry moment.

In the middle of the park, there are still some slate mines, and everywhere you looked there were mountains of slate.

Dark clouds loomed over the mountain peaks

And waterfalls trickled over the slate and rocks

Whilst between the craggy rocks, heather brightened up this otherwise dark and somewhat menacing, yet beautiful, landscape.

Sadly, we didn’t have time for a long walk, and shortly after our next stop, the heavens opened.

At the start of Swallowtail falls all looked calm

A little further downstream the water cascaded elegantly over the cliff

Betws y coed, pronounced Betoose ee Koyd , is one of the wettest and yet most visited places in Snowdonia. The shops do well when it pours, particularly the sports shops with a greater than usual selection of wet weather gear! I had to join many others in buying a new raincoat, as mine no longer withstood the heavy rain.

Dog friendly cafes are a must here. Soooo many dogs. I was a bit dubious about the contents of the dog sausage?

I remember very well visiting the pretty Pont-y-Pair bridge and falls, even though it was over 45 years ago! It hasn’t changed at all.

Such a picturesque place despite the deluge!

We stayed just on the edge of the national park in a tiny town with a very long, unpronounceable name, Penrhyndeudraeth. Wonderful accommodation. As there was not a lot to see in our town, we headed to a place called Criccieth, a small coastal town with a sizeable castle perched high above the beach.

It was a pretty stormy evening, with huge waves pounding against a pier, from which a group of idiotic teenagers was hurling themselves into the raging water by the pier. I couldn’t watch for long, fearing they would be sucked back into either the massive waves or against the concrete!

Not for the faint hearted, thankfully they weren’t my kids!