Two days in one.
Wednesday saw us driving partly back the way we had come on Sunday although the weather was a lot kinder over the tops to Bala. From the lakeside town we headed north to join the A5 and were shortly arriving in Corwen, on end of the Llangollen & Corwen Railway (I bet you can’t guess where the other end is!)
I’d booked tickets, earlier, for what I thought was the 11:05 but when the tickets arrived in my inbox they were for the 13:45. “I’m sure they’ll let us on the earlier train” I assure Sue. “One way to find out!”
We had less than ten minutes at Corwen so as we made our way through the ticket office, with me trying to pay for the car park via the app. I asked if we’d be alright on this earlier departure.
After the obligatory sucking of teeth, we were told it’d be fine so up to the platform we trundled finding seats with minutes to spare.
Sue is a big fan of this railway and its views across the Dee Valley and these were particularly vivid in today’s brilliant sunshine. We stopped at Carrog, which used to be the end of the line before the extension to Corwen. The tearoom is now a distant memory and the station is a shadow of it’s former self. It is a shame as this was quite a friendly little station with a camp site adjacent, where we have stayed before.
Next call was Glyndyfrdwy, with its level crossing, then a brief call at Berwyn before rolling into Llangollen.
During the journey, I had booked us a table at the Corn Mill but we had enough time. Beforehand to complete an Adventure Lab series.
Dinner was taken overlooking the river with the railway station opposite. Fishcakes (Kev) and a steak sandwich (Sue) were very tasty and we both, pushing the boat out, had a pint to was it all down.
Post Lunch, we had a bumble around the shops buying some local cheeses and crackers for the evening before returning to the station via the ice cream shop.
Whilst Sue finished off her Ice cream milk shake, I nipped into the cafe for some cans of pop before we boarded the two coach DMU for our return to Corwen.
Arriving back at Corwen, we were glad when we were back in the car with the air conditioning whirring away. The outside temperature reading on the car’s display read thirty !
Back at the tent, which was like an oven, we open all the vents that we could find before settling down to a supper of cheese and crackers.
Sue had been having some problems with her sleeping bag (they and she do not get on) but had re-jigged her bed clothes and was hoping that this arrangement would provide a good night’s sleep.
Spoiler Alert – It did.
Thursday, and after a slow start (what’s the rush?) we decided that a ride out to the National Trust property at Bodnant might be a good idea. The weather forecast was, again, for wall to wall sunshine and thirty degrees.
Bodnant Gardens was founded in 1874 and was developed over five generations of one family before being given to the National Trust in 1949. The gardens cover eighty acres and is home to several collections and a vast number of mature trees which should provide some cover from the sun.
The drive through Bleanau ffestiniog and Betsy’s-y-Coed took just over an hour. The place was busy meaning that we had to park in the overflow car park and walk back down to the entrance.
We have visited here before and I had a vague recollection of a long tunnel of greenery. Not long after entering the site we came across said tunnel.
This fifty five metre long arch is the longest of its kind in the UK and flowers in late May / early June. We’d missed it but it was still majestic.
From the arch, we explored the rest of the gardens with Sue taking more interest in the plants than I.
The heat was becoming oppressive which made the latter part of our exploration less enjoyable. Ice cream and soft drinks helped, a little, just before the final climb up to the exit.
The obligatory visit to the book shop enabled Sue to select some reading material for later.
The final call was to the Pavillion tea room where I was able to buy an unadorned cheese sandwich. Just cheese, margarine and the bread. No salad, no mayo, no pickle.
To spare Sue the jaunt back up to the overflow carpark, I left her near the exit and trudged up the hill.
Parked a couple of space away from our trust steam was this unusual Citroen Camper
Unfairly called, by some, a Citroen Dyane driving out of a shed this is the pride and joy of it’s current owner for the past twenty six years.
On the way back, we stopped at B&M in Porthmadog and purchased a pedestal fan to try and cool us down in the tent. Back at base the fan was assembled, switched on whereupon it proceeded to shake like hell. Investigations revealed that the impeller (blades) were out of balance.
We used it for the evening but it’ll have to go back tomorrow for a replacement.