Conwy is a beautiful walled city, the most complete walled city still standing in Britain and it is over 700 years old. We couldn't leave the city without taking advantage of the walk around the wall and the views it provided. We walked through town to the back of the town and climbed the highest tower. From here the harbor and its connection to the ocean were clearly visible due to the height of this tower even though it was the furthest from the water.
Views along the wall were spectacular, despite the grey skies. We loved looking over the town with views of the castle at every point. Modern technology lined the slate rooftops no doubt several hundreds of years old. Seagulls had created their own world on the rooftops, raising their young in places most down below would not even notice.
We walked along the wall back to the harbor where we went back down to ground level. Here, just along the seashore sits Britain's smallest house, and by small, I mean something many people would be disappointed with as their closet. This two story home was built in the 1500s up against the city walls. It happens that this particular home was built up against one of the turrets in the wall, so it was much smaller than the ones next to it. Although it had no bathroom, there was a public one just around the corner. The bottom floor, about five-feet wide and perhaps ten-feet long was just wide enough for a small bench, a small fire place/stove and a water tap. The ladder to the upstairs room made Cinderella's quarters look extravagant. A small simple bed and a bowl and pitcher were all the room could hold. The last man that lived here was over six-feet tall. He was forced to move out in 1900 due to sanitation concerns.
Heading out from Conwy, excited for our next destination, but always eager for our next adventure, we headed toward Betws-y-coed (we kept referring to this place as Betsy Cow, but we did finally learn the pronunciation), a short, half hour drive down the road as our kind B&B host said. We had about four hours to make our afternoon reservation at Bounce Below, so no need to rush.
Driving along, we spotted a sign for a maze. It said open, we were in no rush, so of course we stopped to give it a try. The older gentlemen gardener boasted about his own personal creation, claiming it was the largest garden maze in the world. Throughout the maze, we discovered small ornate gardens, unique statues, and finally, after about thirty minutes, the large mermaid horse statue in the center that signaled we had made it through.
A fabulously fun diversion from our route! The kind gentlemen enquired about our journey, told us stories of his father who was a teacher, and recommended beautiful places nearby that we needed to see. One of which was a pottery place just a mile back which had already grabbed my attention.
The pottery place was a work of art in its own accord. A creative couple, she a potter and he a carpenter, they had created a gorgeous home set back in the woods.
He was eager to tell us more about his work and the area after hearing our accents. He had great stories to share about his good friend, the police chief of Waco, Texas, the jury he had recently served on, the dam that broke and wiped out his small town in the early 1900s, the current value of the first home he had built, the true meaning of mortgage and more. A lovely friendly man eager to share his stories, expertise and culture.
Our four hours slowly diminished, but we had a bit more time. So, we continued on to the next small town where we stopped for a late bite of lunch and a speedy tour of the local woolen factory. From there, it was on to find Bounce Below, despite our lack of directions or detailed maps. Luckily, we continuously guessed correctly, and despite the apparent half hour drive, we pulled up just at our appointment time, four hours after leaving Conwy.
Wales has become an adventure capital of sorts, so Jessica and I decided we needed to take advantage of some of these. Some of the adventure opportunities had seemed a bit much for the two of us, but we signed up for two we were very excited about. Today's adventure was Bounce Below, a multi-level trampoline creation in a mine. Why not, right?
After adorning our helmets, tucking in our shirts and listening to a brief safety talk which made us a bit more nervous, we headed into the mines. We moved slowly along the bouncy net material at first, feeling a bit anxious and our footing unsure. We climbed up a narrow net onto an upper level where there were four "rooms" broken up by nets where we could freely bounce to our heart's content. There were a few children among us, but mostly the mine was full of adults acting as children, enjoying their time on the trampolines.
To get from one level down to the next, there were slides encased with the same netting by which we slid down, covering our noses to keep from getting them burned on the ropes. We soon felt incredibly confident on the trampolines, trying out tricks, racing down a "hallway," going down slides and up nets with ease. The height of it all soon left our minds, no longer worried about the great fall to the ground below, instead just forgetting all worries and having a blast. It was quite dark down there, but here are a few attempted photos and a video:
We are now settled into our new little B&B in Betws-y-coed, just a "half hour drive" from where we were last night.
No comments:
Post a Comment