Caernarfon Castle

After driving back from Portmeirion last Saturday I met James, Ally and Cat at our pre-arranged rendezvous. They were running a bit late so I dozed off in the car; when James rapped on the window I nearly jumped out of my skin! 

There was a bit of a rush for the intrepid climbers to get showered and changed after their big day, and then we set off for dinner at a restaurant that Cat had booked on Anglesey, called The Oystercatcher. It was excellent, in an amazing setting overlooking the sea. We had a great time exchanging stories about our adventures, and after dinner we walked up into the sand dunes towards the dark blue sea.

The next morning we all visited Caernarfon Castle, just ten minutes drive from Cat's lovely flat which overlooks the Menai Straits. And what a splendid castle it is! It is a medieval castle built by the soldier-King Edward 1 to secure his lands when he took over Wales at the end of the 13th century. It looks very complete from the outside but inside you can see that many parts were never finished. We joined the guided tour conducted by the very knowledgable Terry, who made the history of the place come to life with his stories. For example, after defeating Llewellen, Edward promised the Welsh people a new prince of Wales, born in Wales and who did not speak a word of English. He then kept his word by presenting them with his baby son, newly born in the partially completed Caernarfon Castle, and since he was only a few days old he did not speak any English! 

In the middle of the castle lies the circle made out of Welsh slate on which Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales by the Queen in 1969. I remember watching it on our black and white television.

We had lunch in a wee café near the castle, and I (appropriately I felt) had Welsh Rarebit which was delicious. With a five hour journey ahead of us we had to say a fond farewell to Cat and to Wales. What a great weekend - and what a beautiful place is North Wales.