Wednesday 22nd August – Snowdonia and a Castle

Started today with no plan and instead organised my day tomorrow! More about that after I’ve done it!

It’s raining – the weather couldn’t be more different from yesterday. Back to autumn again and a rain coat will be needed all day. So, where better to spend a rainy day? A Copper mine of course!  Well, if you’re going to be damp all day you may as well go somewhere damp too?

There is a long history of mining in Wales, so I had a few to pick from and finally chose Sygun Copper Mine. I decided to organise my journey there to cover as much of Snowdonia as possible and set out after checking out the route on the map.

I didn’t get lost! Sadly, the weather didn’t give me the best opportunity to see Snowdonia at its best, and I am sure that if the rain and cloud wasn’t there, the views would have been stunning, but they were still pretty gorgeous in the rain and mist.

After a lovely hours drive, I arrived at Sygun Mine and made my way to the visitor centre to buy my ticket. Sygun is a Victorian copper mine that was closed in 1903 but was renovated and reopened by the Amies family as a tourist attraction in 1986, focusing on audio-visual tours of the underground workings. Sygun Copper Mine was once the main supplier of minerals in wales.

You get to walk through the mine alone, without a tour guide and as you go along the passageways, there are audio guides to tell you about the history and stories from the mine, and there are a few wax models too. You had to wear a hard hat, sturdy shoes and my waterproof was important too – it was raining as much down there as it was outside.

I’ve been to a few mines before so know the hardship the miners endured, many working and living in the mine for around a month at a time to try to make as much money as possible.

They had to buy their own equipment and pay the owners to mine for them! It was an incredibly hard life, with a small amount of pay-off at the end of it, but one of the few ways you could make a living around here during the early 1900s.

It was a very interesting place to visit and took about 30-45 minutes to walk around, plus a few steep stairs on the way. When you get to the exit there was a lovely hill walk to get back to the car park with some amazing views.

Opposite Sygun copper mine, on the other side of the Gwynant Valley is a rounded hill (Dinas Emrys) on which the Romans built a fort. The hill has links with King Arthur and the Welsh Magician, Merlin. Arthur is said to have had a castle here. Whether legend or not, research suggests that there was a rich man’s house on the hill, dating from Arthur’s time. It was here that two dragons, one red and one white, were said to have been disturbed by man’s digging. These dragons fought, the red one being the victor. The legend tells us why the red dragon appears on the Welsh flag. (Source – Sygun museum)

There is also another famous place near the mines in the town of Beddgelert. The story goes that in the thirteenth-century, Prince Llywelyn the Great had a palace at Beddgelert in Caernarvonshire, and as the Prince was a keen hunter. He had many hunting dogs, but one day when he summoned them as usual with his horn, his favourite dog Gelert didn’t appear, so regretfully Llywelyn had to go hunting without him.

When Llywelyn returned from the hunt, he was greeted by Gelert who came bounding towards him …his jaws dripping with blood. The Prince was appalled, and a horrible thought came into his mind …was the blood on the dog’s muzzle that of his one-year old son. His worst fears were realised when he saw in the child’s nursery, an upturned cradle, and walls spattered with blood! He searched for the child but there was no sign of him. Llywelyn was convinced that his favourite hound had killed his son. Mad with grief he took his sword and plunged it into Gelert’s heart.

As the dog howled in his death agony, Llywelyn heard a child’s cry coming from underneath the upturned cradle. It was his son, unharmed! Beside the child was an enormous wolf, dead, killed by the brave Gelert. Llywelyn was struck with remorse and carried the body of his faithful dog outside the castle walls, and buried him where everyone could see the grave of this brave animal, and hear the story of his valiant fight with the wolf. To this day, a cairn of stones marks the place, and the name Beddgelert means in Welsh ‘The grave of Gelert’.

I’m afraid I don’t have any photos of this as it was too wet to walk to see this, sorry! You can find a photo and this story here though.

I travelled through Snowdonia again on my way to my next stop, a National Trust property called – Penrhyn Castle and Garden.

This place is all inside after a 10 minutes’ walk to the castle gates – hurrah! Hood down at last!

Originally this was a castle, with a central keep but has been adapted throughout the years to how it looks today, which feels more like a country house.

The castle was stunning. The entrance hall on its own was amazing with its stained glass windows, and the stone work throughout the building looked like a movie set! The refurbishment into a comfortable family home actually took place only 190 years ago, and it looks brand new.

It was lovely to walk around the Castle at my own pace, because I went towards the end of the day, most visitors had been and left, so I could walk around imagining what it would have been like to love there. My conclusion – cold, lonely, but beautiful!

The ceilings and carvings around the stairs were breath taking – I’m not sure these photos do it justice.

It had a lovely atmosphere in the house, but I couldn’t find much out about the family that lived there, so I wasn’t sure if this was the case. There was one photo of a house party in 1894 on the occasion of the National Eisteddfod Caernarfon with HRH Princess Victoria, HRH The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Lord and Lady of the house, and none of them look very happy, but they didn’t smile for the camera in those days!

Happily, the servant’s quarters were still there and set up like they would have been in Victorian times, which was great to walk around.

My final stop was in the tea room where I enjoyed some tea and a slice of Victoria sponge before driving back to the campsite.

Back on site, dinner made, washing up done and clothes washed and dried, I am now relaxing and watching some trash TV/reading. Tomorrow is another day in North Wales. Please do a sun dance for me!

Finally a message for my family……It wasn’t me 🙂

(No, really, it wasn’t – can’t believe someone did this in a National Trust property)