Friday, September 22, 2006
Sunday 17 September 2006
Off to Conwy (pronounced Conway) today (still in Wales). Caught the train from Bangor - just a 3 car train - and couldn't get out of the train - my car didn't fit on the platform at Conwy and I didn't know this so got stuck and had to go to the next station (had a panic til I realised it was only 3 minutes up the line). Anyway, the point was it was actually better cause I walked back across the bridge to Conwy and got come magnificant views and photos of the town and castle.
A picturesque town that I walked the old town wall (about 2 miles around) from the castle to the waterfront and back up to the castle. Great views off the castle ramparts and wall. Tiny place and the real estate within the old town wall is greatly inflated. I can see why people want tot holiday here - it is VERY pretty.
Also visited to old homes Aberconwy House - a house built about the time of the castle (same architectural features) that has survived being on a main town cross road just inside the waterside gate for 750 years (that's since mid 1200's)- how it hasn't been burned, pillaged, plundered, etc no-one knows. In fact there's no history of it known before the mid 1500's but they know it is earlier due to the building techniques. Very interesting for the fact it has survived. Not a posh place either just a normal merchants home, became a temperance hotel and then ended up the the National trust only 50 years ago.
In contrast I also visited Plas Mawr up the street and built in 1500's by a prominant trader - stayed in the family until the Trust got it I think about 1970's. Interestingly it survived because the family spent so much money fighting over who should get it when the original owner died, they had no money left to change it and it was broken into tennaments in the late 1700's and was used that way for 200 years (that is had whole poor families living in each room - which of course could not afford to change anything - and the owners didn't bother changing anything). In the early 1900's an infant school took over a whole floor and again didn't have any money to change it. So when the Trust got it, it was very dilapidated from water/weather damage but pretty much original. They took out all the partitions and then started from the top and spent a couple of million £s restoring it - the video of what they had to do structurally and the bits they left so you could see how and what they did was fascinating - it's the home reno hero coming out in me!! Oh to have that much to spend!
Anyway, got the last train to Chester this afternoon. The journey was interesting - remember it's Sunday afternoon...well we passed all the north wales seaside towns in the train and picked up all the (still English) weekend holiday makers returning home - kids, dogs, sand, noise, etc. Each of these villages is at the back of deep sand dunes (not rocky coastline like the southwest of England and Wales) and they have flattened the dunes and put in miles and miles of 'trailer parks' - I don't know what they call them - but I think you buy or rent a 'plot' and out a posh ATCO shed on them and either use it yourself or rent it to others. Amazing. Back in England...
Off to Conwy (pronounced Conway) today (still in Wales). Caught the train from Bangor - just a 3 car train - and couldn't get out of the train - my car didn't fit on the platform at Conwy and I didn't know this so got stuck and had to go to the next station (had a panic til I realised it was only 3 minutes up the line). Anyway, the point was it was actually better cause I walked back across the bridge to Conwy and got come magnificant views and photos of the town and castle.
A picturesque town that I walked the old town wall (about 2 miles around) from the castle to the waterfront and back up to the castle. Great views off the castle ramparts and wall. Tiny place and the real estate within the old town wall is greatly inflated. I can see why people want tot holiday here - it is VERY pretty.
Also visited to old homes Aberconwy House - a house built about the time of the castle (same architectural features) that has survived being on a main town cross road just inside the waterside gate for 750 years (that's since mid 1200's)- how it hasn't been burned, pillaged, plundered, etc no-one knows. In fact there's no history of it known before the mid 1500's but they know it is earlier due to the building techniques. Very interesting for the fact it has survived. Not a posh place either just a normal merchants home, became a temperance hotel and then ended up the the National trust only 50 years ago.
In contrast I also visited Plas Mawr up the street and built in 1500's by a prominant trader - stayed in the family until the Trust got it I think about 1970's. Interestingly it survived because the family spent so much money fighting over who should get it when the original owner died, they had no money left to change it and it was broken into tennaments in the late 1700's and was used that way for 200 years (that is had whole poor families living in each room - which of course could not afford to change anything - and the owners didn't bother changing anything). In the early 1900's an infant school took over a whole floor and again didn't have any money to change it. So when the Trust got it, it was very dilapidated from water/weather damage but pretty much original. They took out all the partitions and then started from the top and spent a couple of million £s restoring it - the video of what they had to do structurally and the bits they left so you could see how and what they did was fascinating - it's the home reno hero coming out in me!! Oh to have that much to spend!
Anyway, got the last train to Chester this afternoon. The journey was interesting - remember it's Sunday afternoon...well we passed all the north wales seaside towns in the train and picked up all the (still English) weekend holiday makers returning home - kids, dogs, sand, noise, etc. Each of these villages is at the back of deep sand dunes (not rocky coastline like the southwest of England and Wales) and they have flattened the dunes and put in miles and miles of 'trailer parks' - I don't know what they call them - but I think you buy or rent a 'plot' and out a posh ATCO shed on them and either use it yourself or rent it to others. Amazing. Back in England...
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 8:12 AM 
