Wales- Castles, Coast & Steam Trains
We were all looking forward to exploring the beautiful Welsh countryside. Everyone enjoyed a morning at Pen Dinas Hill, to take a closer look at the 1850’S monument erected as a memorial to the first Duke of Wellington.
We also admired the old ruins of Aberystwyth Castle which provided us with the most mesmerising views of both the sea and the mountains.
The Magic of Life Butterfly House in the stunning Rheidol Valley was where we spent an afternoon with Neil and Eleanor. Neil, who is the owner, is a tropical botanist and has a wealth of information to share. The butterflies put on a good show, landing on us and our fingers after we had dipped them in sugar water which they just loved! He showed us a new butterfly and was very surprised to see it land on Josie.
We were off on a canal boat trip to the Brecon Beacons National Park. The captain greeted us, and we soon set off cruising along the Monmouth and Brecon Canal. This is a historical waterway and fantastic fleet of engineering built before roads and railways. We travelled through locks, under incredible stone bridges and over a viaduct. Our captain was very knowledgeable and told us lots of interesting facts about the waterways. We became wildlife watchers, looking out for ducks, geese and birds along the way. We all enjoyed some refreshments on board making it very easy to sit back, relax and enjoy the stunning scenery.
One of our adventures today took us to The National Showcaves Centre.We visited the first cave Dan- yr-Ogof-Cave. This cave was found by the Morgan brothers in 1912 and you can see the original entrance that they discovered. We weaved our way through the deep tunnels seeing many stalactites, pools of water and waterfalls. We enjoyed this natural wonder without any difficulties that the brothers once would have had. We learnt that they only had candles to light their way.
A great day was spent at one of the world’s largest award-winning dinosaur parks. Here they have over 220 life-sized dinosaur models, and we were able to get up close and personal with some of the monsters from millions of years ago! We faced the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex that could swallow 230kg of meat in a single bite and met the massive Brachiosaurus weighing more than 15 elephants!
We boarded our steam train and felt like we had stepped back in time to the Edwardian era as we took our seats in one of the restored carriages. The stunning journey took us along the Rheidol Valley through open countryside, through wide open fields, woodland and rugged mountain scenery.
The narrow track allowed the train to follow the contours of the different terrain with many a sharp curve and steep gradients which all added to the charm. We loved hearing the sound of the locomotive as it worked hard to climb 700ft during the 12miles it takes to get from Aberystwyth to Devils Bridge. Here we admired the incredible waterfalls that nestle into the Cambrian Mountains.
Richard the owner of the cottages took us out on an overland Wales Safari adventure! He took us to some amazing viewpoints and through some of the tough terrain areas where the army train.
We then drove all the way through the Elan Valley by the side of 3 great dams where the water is piped through to Birmingham. We travelled over some amazing bridges and again through the most stunning scenery.
We relaxed by the waters edge, taking in the incredible views.
An ice cream treat is always a must, and we think we found the perfect spot!
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