Today we move to northern Wales. I had no idea Wales was so long or so pretty. If you are not including Wales on your England trips you are missing out. It is absolutely stunning.

However it did make for a very long day on a bus. We had a few stops so not horrible but it was still a long day.

Before we got on the bus this morning I walked back over to the Bishop’s Palace. It had been such a lovely spot and I wanted to see it again. With just me and the birds it was a lovely quiet start to the day. These trips our so busy and I just needed some time by myself.

We stopped for lunch in Aberysrwyth, which is a fun Welsh word to say and one of the few I could pronounce. It is a seaside town with some castle ruins overlooking the sea. There is also a nice war memorial. It wasn’t really a significant castle. I think it was just where we were at lunch time. We did have a nice lunch with sea views and then we wandered the castle on our own before getting back on the bus.

Back on the bus for another 2 hours on our way Harlech Castle. This one was much more significant and was part of the Norman Ring of Iron. Their castle put up to subdue the Welsh.

Harlech was built by Edward I from 1282 to 1289. Another James of Saint George designed and constructed project. He was rewarded this time by being made the Constable of the castle. He withstood a siege by Madog ap Llyweln in 1294.

It took the Welsh a while but in 1404 Harlech fell to Owain Glyndwr and the Welsh held it until 1409 when Henry V took it back.

During the War of the Roses Harlech was held by the Lancastrian side for most of the conflict. It was where Jasper Tudor landed with French reinforcements in 1466. This however caused Edward IV to send a major force to take back the castle. The much smaller welsh force held out for a month and a popular Welsh song the Men of Harlech was written in their honor. Claire Jones played it for us on her harp that first night of the trip. Julian, on of our historians, sang it for us on the bus but I have to say the harp version was much better.

The castle was quite large with great walls and ramparts to walk on. We wandered our way in round on the ground and wall and it was a great break from the bus ride.

Once we arrived at our hotel (thankfully we are staying here 5 nights, I am really tired of packing up) we had a dinner at the hotel. Val and I sat with Nicola. It was a good night but everyone was so tired we didn’t linger.