Wales - Castles, Coast & Steam Trains
We discovered the large kitchen and banqueting hall where we all agreed they would have had some epic banquets. As we wandered around the fortress and climbed to the top of the tower we took in the spectacular views.
Cyfarthfa Castle and Museum is the
biggest castle we had visited situated in 65 hectares overlooking the town of
Merthyr Tydfil. Commissioned and built in 1824-25 for the ‘Ironmaster’ William
Crawshay ll, who was one of the most influential men in Wales at the time.
There was so much history and we loved exploring the museum which houses many
artifacts from Egyptian mummy heads to art collections. The old-fashioned
clothing worn by the ladies and gentlemen impressed us greatly. We visited the kitchen
quarters and the washrooms. Some even went into the cells where they were held
before they were sentenced to be hung.
Next stop on our trip was Blaenavon World Heritage Site, which
translated to Big Pit. This is Wales’s richest mining heritage site. Our
first experience was to go on The Underground Tour where we met our lovely
guide, Emma. Once we were kitted up with headgear and lights, we were lowered
to 300 feet underground to where hundreds of men, women and children once
worked to extract the precious mineral that stoked furnaces and lit the
household fires of the world. The rest of the group had lots more to see above
ground including the canary birds which were extremely important to the miners
as they would alert them to unseen dangers. The best experience yet was going
to King Coal: the mining experience. This showed us films, machinery and
stories on how the miners worked at the site. A real must see!
A day out on the Brecon
Mountain Railway had been booked and we were all really looking forward to it. We were fortunate
enough to be able to watch some engineers restoring a locomotive before having
just enough time to have a look around the gift shop before boarding our train.
As we stood on the platform, we eagerly awaited the arrival of our locomotive
Santa Teresa no.1 and we were thrilled as we heard her chugging into the
station and blow her whistle. We found out from talking to the guard that she
was built in Philadelphia in 1897 and spent most of her working life up until
1976 in Brazil being used at a sugar mill and coffee plantation and was only
brought to the UK in 1990. As we took an exhilarating ride through the Brecon
National Park we were treated to some spectacular views of the valleys and
mountains and as we passed the huge Taf Fechan reservoir. We enjoyed every
minute of our ride back and particularly loved the sounds and smells of the
train as she powered her way back down the track.
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Our next trip to Aberystwyth Cliff Railway and Constitution Hill. The railway opened in 1896 operating originally on the water balance system, the 778 feet undulating track and tiled carriages are unique. Once on board the motor started, and we were taken up the cliff at a steady pace. After a 5-minute journey we had reached the summit, and the panoramic views were spectacular.
How lucky were we having our very own hot tubs in our lodges! The perfect way to unwind after our busy days out.