At the end of our stay in Ireland, we sailed from Dublin, Ireland to Holyhead, Wales by ferry (about 3.5 hours). Then we took a train to Bangor, Wales, where we stayed on the Bangor University campus. School was not in session, so the campus was quiet. The Management Centre, where we stayed, is designed for conferences, but rooms are also available for individual bookings.
And while traveling from Holyhead to Bangor, we passed through this small town, famous for it’s extremely long name
We rented a car for three days to explore this northern area of Wales. Here are some of the things we did:
Great Orme Mines, Vacation town of LLodolowwy
This is a stone-age/bronze age copper mine that goes deep into the hills. Mining started at the surface just picking up and digging up copper ore. Over the centuries the people dug deeper and deeper into the hill, creating tunnels and roughly 9 layers deep, down to ground water level.
We were able to walk through about 200 m of the mine on two levels, through areas excavated around 4000 years ago. I have seen many stone age artifacts, but never before walked through tunnels hand carved by people using bone and stones to excavate. Some shafts branching off from the main tunnel were so small that they were mined by children. One cavernous area was surprising large. It really was kind of mind blowing. Copper from this mine was shipped to many areas of Europe.
Town Walls of Conwy
This is a medieval town and castle, where the outer walls are surprisingly intact, though the inside portion of the turrets are mostly missing. It was a great walk around the walls. We didn’t visit the castle (we have seen a lot of castles recently….) as we needed to move on to our next activity.
Aber Waterfall
The guy at the guest desk at Bangor University suggested this hike. It was a beautiful hike to a very nice waterfall. Many others out hiking this day, as it was the first nice day in recent weeks, according to locals.
Hike in Snowden National Park
The main attraction in Snowden Eryri National park is Snowden Mountain. Being high season, we avoided the expected hoards, and the rather long, steep climb and hiked to a nearby lake. It was very peaceful, no rain, few other hikers, just a nice hike on a beautiful day!
Dolbadarn Castle Ruins
On our way back to Bangor, we passed through some magnificent wild terrain. We stopped to check out Dolbadarn castle ruins. The round fortress and surrounding buildings were never defeated, but parts of the castle, including beams, were requisitioned by the king to help build a newer, larger castle a few miles away. We love the wildness of this part of the world.
South Stack Lighthouse
With such a rocky, irregular coast, a series of lighthouses were built at key locations. South Stack is the most westerly point in. Over 200 years ago, getting construction supplies to such a remote location was expensive. To save money, they ingeniously excavated stone on the island itself for everything except for the stone steps in the light house, and the slate roofs. Later, the bridge was built to make access easier, so donkeys could bring in supplies.
Even the geology here is interesting, with wavy layers on the point. There is a nearby sheer cliff face that certain birds use for nesting in the summer, including Puffins. We were there a bit too late in the season to see any.
Celtic Hut Circles
Close to the lighthouse there are the partially reconstructed remnants of Celtic Iron Age huts (around 1000 BC). There were modern houses nearby, and we can just imagine harried parents saying to their kids, “Go out and play in the stone circles!”.
Next stop is Oxford England!
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