Making time...

I have arrived into Wales! Right now, I am chilling in the lounge of the youth hostel and it is niiiiiiice. I am listening and talking every now and then to this older woman who epitomises that stereotype of sneering old lady who remembers the good old days when children were caned and disciplined... She even told one child in the room who, admittedly was being rude, that children should be seen and not heard! Wow! Okay...

Anyway, enough of that. I have just had two lovely days with Jill and Andrew and the kids. They were so accomodating and took me out to a fantastic national trust house and an old industrial era cotton mill. I learnt quite a bit and really want my own loom and wheel. It looks like great fun! And finially, my deep seated curiousity over how to loom has been laid to rest. That is actually a huge relief. It has bugged me for ages! Not to mention the fqct that I got to witness Andrew maiming a mannequin at the mill. Brilliant!
I also got to see Lymm sans snow. It is like a mini cockermouth really. It's a sweet place and I can understand why Jill and Andrew live there.
Today, I have been quite busy moving about. First stop when I left Lymm was to Chester which is

mini-york woth its walled city and white and black houses. I had a look into Chester Cathederal. It is no YorkMinster but it is quite lovely - more raw, less grand. It looks like a medieval church and the gardens were green and peaceful. From there I headed down to the river Dee to hunt out the castle which I found but had no interest looking inside. It was such a beautiful sunny morning that I perched myself on a bench and had the soup that Jill kindly gave me. From there I found the Roman amphitheatre and began to trek back to the car via the main shopping street. There were lots of boutique shops that will require further investigation on the way back through, not to mention going to Chester Zoo.
I left Chester at around 1.30pm and headed down to Conwy in Wales. I was surprised at how close Chester is to the Welsh border and there is nothing huge to signify the cross over, just a simple understated sign welcoming me to Wales.
The countryside is lovely and green with huge hills and valleys.
My first look into Conwy was of a massive castle... And I do mean MASSIVE. It is another walled

Caenafron

city though perhaps town is more accurate regarding size. It is very impressive, looming over the water and me, as I drove across the bridge.
The hostel is on steep hill but that is not too much of an issue with the car. I am really glad that I didn't have to lug my backpack up it. It was bad enough with a bag of groceries.
Day two saw me heading out to Caernafron (not sure how to say or spell it in Welsh). It took no time at all to get there and once parked outside the castle I spent the next three hours within its' walls. The castle is impressive in stature and itis clear to see why people flock to it. You just stand there and look up and up and up. It has been lovingly looked after in modern times but it has a long and bloody historyof which I would love to be able to saymore but it was surprisingly lacking in information stands. I think that is a real shame. I know there was something to do with Edward I and Henry VII and VIII but not much more. Mostly I spent my time wandering from tower to tower, up and down narrow winding stairwells that had been walked over so much in the last 700 yeard that there were permanent grooves and dips in the stone. After a few hours, one packed lunch and some serious butt exercise, I had had enough.
I went back into Conwy with little intention of looking inside Conwy castle. I really couldn't do another

castle today. Instead, I walked a bit of the walls, took some photos of the castle from outside then walked down to the bridge for a gander at the suspension bridge built in the 1800s. I love the huge cables that sweep down and up to hold the bridge. It is certainly an inspring piece of architecture.
By then, I was tired and all I wanted to do was rest. I did the steep climb up to the hostel and here I have stayed. Plans for tomorrow include driving to Snowdon and climbing/training up the mountain. Should be fun!