Trip 2011

If you look at a map of the United Kingdom, the route from Worcester to Chester seems fairly straightforward.  A careful route of “A” roads (A449 to A442 to A458 to…you get the idea) will take you directly to Chester in a little over two hours (well, two hours according to Google Maps; there is no telling how long it would really take to go those 83 miles!)  You could even take the motorways (M5 and M6) if you really wanted to rush the trip.  But what would be the fun in that?

Our goal for the day was to go back into Wales to visit Caernarfon Castle and the ruins of the Segontium Roman Fort above Caernarfon, visit Conwy, Wales then on to Chester, England for a night’s rest at a Holiday Inn Express.

After a good night’s (warm) sleep, breakfast at the Welland House in Worcester was absolutely delicious and filling.  After talking to our hosts for a while, we set off on the road for Caernarfon, which would take us through Snowdonia National Park.

The views that we were able to have from the road were fantastic – we could only imagine what one of the many walkers would have seen from this peak or that.

View northwestward from a spot on the A4086 Google Maps calls "Bwlch Llanberis". Yes, that is a bit of snow on the ground.

Snowdonia is interesting in that although it is a national park it is made up of public and private lands (as other national parks in the UK are, unlike in other countries).  Over 26,000 people actually live in towns within the park itself.

Onward to Caernarfon and the ruins of the Roman fort Segontium.  We found the fort with little difficulty, but as expected, the small museum was closed.  We walked around the site for a few minutes, and even had an interesting chat with a local woman with a thick Welsh accent who had been out walking her dog.

View of part of the remains of the Roman fort Segontium at Caernarfon, Wales.

From there, we made our way down to the Caernarfon Castle.  Begun in 1283, the castle was never fully completed.  It has a rich history through numerous wars and periods of neglect.  In the late 19th Century, efforts were begun by the government to restore the castle because of the historical significance of the site.  In 1986, the castle was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO under the listing “Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd“.  Because it was late in the day, the visit to the castle was very short but interesting, despite restrooms that seemed to have been fashioned from dungeons!

Interior view of Caernarfon Castle. The round dais made of Welsh slate was used for the investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969.

From Caernarfon, we headed back towards England, doing a kind of “drive-by” in the walled town of Conwy.  We were actually looking for some place to eat, but parking in the UK is a bit of a challenge, especially for a slightly larger car than what most Brits seem to drive.  After driving through the town – twice, I think – and not finding a place to eat that we could park near, we got back on the main highway and headed for Chester.

Coming into the town of Chester, I ended up driving us past our hotel, then  nearly managed to get us into an accident with a police car (with lights and siren on) before finding a roundabout to get us back in the direction of the Holiday Inn Express.

This was our first “cookie-cutter” chain hotel of the trip, but it was a welcome change from a string of bed and breakfasts.  We certainly have been EXTREMELY fortunate up to this point with our lodging choices – even if we had a tiny shower at the hotel in St Ives and a fairly cold room at Tintern – we have had generally good experiences at all our overnight stays.

A wonderful desk clerk by the name of Georgina hooked us up with a delivered Chinese dinner that we were unable to finish.  We gave her the order from a binder that they keep of some local restaurants that deliver, and 45 minutes later, we were eating our sweet and sour chicken.