So long, Wales!

Since we weren’t able to make the stop at Valle Crucis on the way to Wales, we decided to make the stop on the way home.  It was about an hour from the hostel and would be a good way to start the day.

Like every other drive we had taken through Wales, the drive to the abbey was gorgeous.  By this point I think we had driven every road in North Wales.  They’re all tiny and you feel like you’re going to end up in the middle of nowhere on one lane roads when all of a sudden you round a bend and there’s a village. 

We arrived at the abbey just before 10am when it opened.  They guy who was working there that morning actually came in as we were walking up and he had his mate’s basset hound with him.  I will always love bassets and Bentley was no exception.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a droopier basset.  Unfortunately Luther was still waking up and didn’t want to play so Bentley had to stay in the shop.  Grumpy-trousers! 

Like most of the places we tend to visit on our Historic Scotland passes, this too was a ruin.  But it was still beautiful.  Here are some pictures to enjoy.

And then we headed home.  Pretending that we were on a normal American road trip and stopping at KFC (because Chick-fil-a hasn’t made it over here yet) for lunch and finishing our audiobook just as we pulled onto our street. 

It was a perfect quick getaway and we both got some much needed separation from Luke’s PhD thesis. 

But now we’re back to work and real life.  Hey ho!

Love you & miss you!

Aubs, Luke & Luther

Guest Post - Hiking Snowden

Hi everyone!  Mum decided to let me write this post since it was my favourite part of the trip.  It was definitely a little scary and some parts were hard – but it was worth it. 

After breakfast on Tuesday morning, mum and dad packed their backpacks and we drove to the starting place for our hike.  I sure am glad that I don’t have to carry around a heavy backpack all day.  Plus it would make it hard to go swimming (stay tuned – more on swimming later). 

I like hiking a lot because I usually get to explore on my own.  And let me tell you – there would have been lots to explore on this hike.  But unfortunately I had to stay on leash because there were SHEEP!  I LOVE sheep – so much.  But for some reason they just don’t want to play with me.  I don’t get it. 

Our hike started with a steady back and forth climb through field of sheep after field of sheep.  After a bit it evened out and was much easier – but only for a little while.  I took this opportunity to take a refreshing drink from some of the streams running down the mountain.  Fresh, cold water.  My favourite! 

Then we began climbing again.  It seemed like the mountain just kept going.  We did stop a few times so that dad could take pictures (cough – catch his breath). 

Not sure who could cycle up this mountain

From about half way almost to the top the path turns into a lot of loose gravel and slate.  This part was pretty tough on me and sometimes it was hard to find the best place to walk – but I didn’t let that stop me.  I’m a tough pup!  And mum and dad were really encouraging and helped me find the best paths.  I guess I’ll keep them. 

For all the tourists who can’t handle hiking up the mountain, there is a train that goes to the top.  I think it’s cheating a bit – but not everyone is as fit as me.  And everyone should be able to enjoy the view up there.  It was stunning.  We could see the Irish Sea and all the other mountains and valleys.  Our reward once we got to the top was lunch which was probably my favourite part.  Mum is a good sharer. 

While the day all around Snowden was beautiful with blue skies, the one, lonely, black cloud had decided to perch itself over the peak which meant it was quite chilly at the top.  Fortunately I have fur and mum and dad packed fleeces. 

And after lunch, we started our way back down the mountain and back to the car.  It was hard going back over all that slate on the way down – but we made it.  And by the time we got to the top valley we were hot again.  I decided it was time for a swim and found the deepest spot in the closest creek.  Oh boy it felt good.  I tried to tell mum and dad that they could go on and I’d catch up but that dang leash rule spoiled my fun. 

The hike was supposed to take us 6 hours.  I think it took us less than 5 because we’re awesome.  So we had the whole afternoon free to keep exploring.  Mum had read something about there being lots of waterfalls in Wales and dad found one that didn’t require any hiking to get to.  (I think he was worn out.)  So we turned on the GPS and drove on.  The waterfall is in the little town of Dyserth and doesn’t give anything way when you first look at it.  Dad thought this was the waterfall at first and was a bit underwhelmed. 

Then I helped him find this one – and he was happy. 

Since it wasn’t quite time for dinner (according to mum – I’m always ready for dinner), they decided to drive to another coastal town.  Llandudno was a lot bigger than we expected and they had a really nice boardwalk to stroll along.  Mum had read that there was an award winning fish & chips shop in this town so we decided to eat there for dinner.  It definitely deserved the awards.  I LOVE fish. 

And after grabbing ice cream, we headed back to the car to drive to the hostel for our last night.  Tomorrow we head home where I’ll get to sleep in my own spots again.  I love traveling, but the floor is not very comfortable.

Love you lots!

Luther

Whirlwind Tour of North Wales

When planning our trip, we had decided that we’d do one day of general sightseeing and one day of hiking.  Unfortunately because there are no hills in Cambridge, we are not in hill walking shape and knew that we’d probably not want to torture ourselves with a second hike – no matter how beautiful the view was.  After checking the weather forecast, we decided that Tuesday was the day to hike because the sun was predicted to be out just slightly more.  Although Monday ended up being beautiful after a bit of a drizzly start.

We’d had a hard time trying to decide what we wanted to see because there was just so much we could do.  We ended up driving south – a bit aimlessly at first – to see what we would come upon.  After a frustrating 30 minutes or so we decided to find a beach where Luther could burn some energy.  However, finding that beach was a bit harder than expected. 

Our GPS took us to the little town of Borth-y-Gest but we could see no beach.  Luke finally got out and asked at a café and was told that the beach was just down the path ahead but that you couldn’t drive to it.  Helpful information to include on a website, don’t ya think?

Our time at the beach was definitely worth the bit of frustration.  Luther had a blast and made some new friends.  You could tell that he knew where we were headed and he could not contain his excitement.  Run ahead – come back and find out why mum and dad are so slow – run ahead – find the beach – check on the ‘rents – run into the water – lay down and cool off – run in circles like a crazy man.  And then he met a girl called Benji and they ran around like crazy for close to 20 minutes. 

We also met a sweet, older couple who gave us a few pointers on what else we should do with our day.  One of these included the story of Gelert a dog who was slain inadvertently after defending the prince’s son from a wolf.  The grave of Gelert is in a town aptly named Beddgelert (Gelert’s Grave).  There’s not much in the town, but there is a stone bridge, a river and the grave of Gelert.  It was a nice stop and had an ice cream shop where everything is made right there with milk from Welsh cows.  Yum!

Since it was still early and we didn’t have anywhere we needed to be, we decided to head further west to the Isle of Anglesey just off the coast of Wales.  We headed towards the South Stack Lighthouse, which happens to be next to the South Stack Cliffs bird reserve.  Birds are cool, but I’m not one to sit and look at them through binoculars and definitely don’t have a desire to photograph them.  But apparently there are a number of people who feel differently.  Good for them. 

We walked around for a bit since we really didn’t have the equipment to bird watch.  My eyes are good – but not that good.  After wandering up the hill, we came upon a large group of people.  A group of 20 something guys saw Luther and got super excited – fighting for his attention.  We then found out that they were all starring in the movie Take Down.  Heather – Unfortunately we missed Chuck Bass.  Bummer!

Since we couldn’t go any further, we turned around and headed for the car to see what else we could find.  We decided to just drive the coastal road and stop if we saw something interesting.  That ‘something interesting’ ended up being the harbour in Cemaes.  It was nice to get our and stretch our legs and the view was a bonus.

By this time we got back in the car it was definitely time to start considering dinner options.  I am so thankful for the websites DugsWelcome.com and doggiepubs.org.uk.  I have found so many places to eat through these websites.  We ended up at the Pier House Café and Bistro in Beamaris.  Pubs are great – but it’s nice to have a bit lighter meal every now and then. 

And that was the end of the day.  Time to rest up before we hiked the tallest ‘mountain’ south of the highlands.

Love you & miss you,

Aubs, Luke & Luther