Our final outing on this particular stay in Wales was to the Barmouth Mawddach Estuary where the mountains meet the sea, along the wooded banks and sandy shores. It is in the south west corner of the Snowdonia National Park,
Barmouth is perched on the side of a mountain with beautiful views of the harbour and Barmouth Bridge which spans the river mouth. There was a bitterly cold wind blowing that day in January but we took a short walk along part of the Railway Walk to the toll bridge across the river mouth.
The Railway Walk - Barmouth to Dolgellau
After our walk we went to The George III Hotel in Penmaenpool, Dolgellau for lunch, a lovely location with beautiful views over the estuary. The main hotel was built around 1650 and was once two separate buildings. One half was a pub and the other half a ships chandlers serving the local boat building industry. In 1890 the buildings were joined to make the place into a hotel. Until 1964 the hotel was adjacent to a railway station, but sadly it was a victim of the Beecham Railway Cuts The hotel was extended in 1977 when the Victorian Railway Station Waiting Room, Ticket Office and Station Masters Quarters were obtained and extended to form bedrooms for the hotel.
Our lunch was excellent as the hotel prides itself in using the highest quality locally sourced fresh ingredients and the interior surroundings were a cosy respite from the cold weather.
This is another area we would very much like to return to next time we are visiting my sister.
My mosaics and photos will enlarge if you click on them, however if you would prefer to view the photos individually, you may do so in My Flickr.com album entitled. Travel Tales - Barmouth Mawddach Estuary
For further information I direct you to the sources I used myself, The Railway Walk - Barmouth to Dolgellau , Barmouth Snowdonia National Park, The Mawddach Estuary, The George III Hotel Beeching Railway Cuts.
Machynlleth is a small market town at the head of the Dyfi estuary in Powys. I do not think we had ever explored the town before, I certainly do not remember ever having done so. Although many years ago we did visit the nearby Centre for Alternative Technology, where you can see hands on displays and gardens. They have a cafe in the town and also the fact that the centre is nearby seems to have attracted many sellers of arts and crafts to the town. Two claims to fame are that Machynlleth is thought to have been the location for the coronation of the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndwr as Prince of Wales in 1404, also Charles 1 is reputed to have stayed in the town in 1644.
Nowadays Machynlleth is probably best known as the 'town with the clock' which was built by the townspeople in the 1870's. It is the hub of the town, from which the three main streets radiate. A charter granted in 1291 by Edward 1 gave the right for a market to be held in the streets of Machynlleth every Wednesday for ever.
It was Wednesday and therefore market day when we visited, but a wet cold day in January meant it was neither a good day to explore the town or shop in the market. In fact the market was very much depleted in size, as you will notice in my photos, a distinct lack of market stalls.
Machynlleth
After enjoying our vegetarian lunch in the cafe owned by the Centre for Alternative Technology, we headed back towards Tywyn, stopping off in Aberdovy on the way as the rain had stopped and we wanted to have a walk around there.
Aberdovy is the English spelling for Aberdyfi a village on the north banks of the River Dyfi estuary in Gwynedd on the coast. Although founded on a shipbuilding and harbour industry it is nowadays a seaside resort. The centre is on the river and seafront around the original harbour, jetty and beach but it stretches back up the hillside immediately behind it. I hope my photos will give you an idea of the atmosphere of the place, even on a grey day.
Aberdovy
I would like to return to Machynlleth and Aberdovy but next time on a warm and sunny day.
All photos will enlarge if you click on them, however if you would prefer to view the photos individually, you may do so in My Flickr.com album entitled Travel Tales - Machynlleth and Aberdovy
For more information I direct you to the sources I used myself, Machynlleth - Wikipedia, Centre for Alternative Technology, Aberdyfi - Wikipedia
The next stop on our UK trip was to drive from Salisbury to stay
with my sister and her husband at their relatively new home in Tywyn Wales, which
they are in the process of renovating as a lovely home for their retirement
years.
The pace of life there is definitely more relaxed than
Salisbury, where they lived before. Tywyn was not unknown to them as they had lived in the town
before, about thirty years ago in fact on the army base. We had spent a holiday
there with them and remembered how beautiful the area was and taking a ride on
the The Talyllyn
Railway. Of course this trip it was mid winter and rather different but
it was still lovely to explore the area and spend some quality time
together.
Tywyn is a small town and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay
coast of Gwynedd in north Wales and it has everything one needs for town living
within easy walking distance including a cinema and a library. There are also
excellent rail connections if you need to visit other parts of the country with
out driving. However I think a huge draw for my sister and her husband was the
fact that they are also minutes on foot from the beach and the welsh
hills.
The Town
A Walk To The Broadwater
The Broadwater, is a lagoon just a mile to the north of the town which flows into
Cardigan Bay, popular for fishing, canoeing and bird watching.
Bird Rock viewed across The Broadwater.
The Beach, Sea, Sky.
My next couple of posts will also be tales from our stay in Wales.
All photos will enlarge if you click on them, however if you would prefer to view the photos individually you may do
so in My Flickr.com album Travel Tales - Tywyn
For more information I direct you to the sources I used
myself. Tywyn – Wikipedia, and The Talyllyn
Railway Tywyn Tourist Information
