Tyddyn Llwyn, Portmadog, Wales - May 2017
Tyddyn Llwyn Rally, Porthmadog, Wales : May 2017
What a wonderful site – fully serviced pitches, very helpful staff, a reasonably stocked shop and a superb restaurant and bar. All set in a valley covered in oak trees and backed by Moel Y Gest, a small mountain by Welsh standards but challenging to walk up. In fact I believe only Ray and Carol managed the full height.
David and I arrived on the Monday to act as Rally Marshalls. All was so well organised that on Tuesday we took ourselves off to Porthmadog to have a trip on the Welsh Highland Railway up to Caernafon. Twenty five miles in length and only two foot guage
it runs coast to coast and is pulled by the largest two foot guage steam locos in the world, built in South Africa. We travelled Third Class, but very comforable it was too and a refreshment trolley came round with drinks and some hot food. Fantastic scenery ranging from wide river valleys to Snowdon itself. The woodlands and fields were covered in bluebells and sheep! At Caernafon we only had about an hour and a half before the train back. It would probably be better to take the bus back instead to see different views but we will save that until next time.
Wednesday most of our Ralliers arrived and pitched up, so we managed only to have a short walk through the woods to Borth Y Gest where in previous years there had been a huge shipbuilding industry, but now only boasts a couple of nice cafes and is on the Welsh Coast Path so walking round the whole of the Welsh coast is possible from here.
On Thursday we welcomed our first time ralliers, Graeme and Pauline Cockburn from Hornchurch. We decided to walk into Porthmadog (only takes about 15 minutes) and visit the Tourist Office to see if we could book a group visit to Portmeiron, only to find it closed!We did manage to book ourselves in for a visit on Friday and were very glad that Ray and Carol, Ian and Sharon and
Peter and Janice had bought cars and kindly drove us all there.
Unfortunately the weather had turned against us but we had a lovely time in the rain walking round this fantastic place.
A really magical village created by Clough Williams-Ellis and starred in “The Prisoner” series back in the early 1970’s. Apart from the wonderful buildings there are acres and acres of gardens and miles of sandy beaches to enjoy when the weather is kinder.
Lots of the Azaleas and Rhododendrons were out in flower and some we could smell well before we saw them. We took the free forest train round the grounds which would have been lovely to walk round – perhaps another day when the sun shines.
Saturday was a free day so ralliers went on various expeditions to local towns and attractions. There is so much to see it would not be possible to do the area justice in just a few days so we must go back again.
There was a bus outside the site and once you were in Porthmadog there was a huge choice of buses and trains to get about on (English bus passes don’t work though)
Sunday we had our usual coffee morning at 10.00 with the raffle. Sue Wilder had baked a cake which we auctioned off to add to our social fund. We had organised a group Sunday lunch in the site restaurant which was enjoyed by all so the rest of Sunday was a
very lazy day indeed.
On Monday the rain had set in with a vengence, so many people had a lazy day. However, I get cabin fever so we set off to walk again into Porthmadog. We visited the small museum on the Quay which was absolutely brilliant. It shows the industries of the area in
Victorian times. There was a lot of shipbuilding with its associated foundries and sailmaking lofts as well as all the slate mines so was a very prosperous and hard working area. By the time we finished our tour it was pouring down as only Welsh rain can do so
by the time we got back to the site we looked like a couple of drowned rats.
Tuesday was a much better day weatherwise so we all got together again and took a trip on the Ffestiniog Railway to Blaenau Ffestiniog and some ventured down the Llechwedd Slate Caverns. The conditions that the miners worked in to extract the slate were
absolutely horrendous. Pitch black apart from candles, explosions, dust, and hacking the slate off and transporting it up 500 feet to the surface.
Dogs are allowed on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, which share the same station, so Dasher enjoyed a trip with us too. She had her own ticket with Woof Woof printed on it!
What a wonderful site – fully serviced pitches, very helpful staff, a reasonably stocked shop and a superb restaurant and bar. All set in a valley covered in oak trees and backed by Moel Y Gest, a small mountain by Welsh standards but challenging to walk up. In fact I believe only Ray and Carol managed the full height.
David and I arrived on the Monday to act as Rally Marshalls. All was so well organised that on Tuesday we took ourselves off to Porthmadog to have a trip on the Welsh Highland Railway up to Caernafon. Twenty five miles in length and only two foot guage
it runs coast to coast and is pulled by the largest two foot guage steam locos in the world, built in South Africa. We travelled Third Class, but very comforable it was too and a refreshment trolley came round with drinks and some hot food. Fantastic scenery ranging from wide river valleys to Snowdon itself. The woodlands and fields were covered in bluebells and sheep! At Caernafon we only had about an hour and a half before the train back. It would probably be better to take the bus back instead to see different views but we will save that until next time.
Wednesday most of our Ralliers arrived and pitched up, so we managed only to have a short walk through the woods to Borth Y Gest where in previous years there had been a huge shipbuilding industry, but now only boasts a couple of nice cafes and is on the Welsh Coast Path so walking round the whole of the Welsh coast is possible from here.
On Thursday we welcomed our first time ralliers, Graeme and Pauline Cockburn from Hornchurch. We decided to walk into Porthmadog (only takes about 15 minutes) and visit the Tourist Office to see if we could book a group visit to Portmeiron, only to find it closed!We did manage to book ourselves in for a visit on Friday and were very glad that Ray and Carol, Ian and Sharon and
Peter and Janice had bought cars and kindly drove us all there.
Unfortunately the weather had turned against us but we had a lovely time in the rain walking round this fantastic place.
A really magical village created by Clough Williams-Ellis and starred in “The Prisoner” series back in the early 1970’s. Apart from the wonderful buildings there are acres and acres of gardens and miles of sandy beaches to enjoy when the weather is kinder.
Lots of the Azaleas and Rhododendrons were out in flower and some we could smell well before we saw them. We took the free forest train round the grounds which would have been lovely to walk round – perhaps another day when the sun shines.
Saturday was a free day so ralliers went on various expeditions to local towns and attractions. There is so much to see it would not be possible to do the area justice in just a few days so we must go back again.
There was a bus outside the site and once you were in Porthmadog there was a huge choice of buses and trains to get about on (English bus passes don’t work though)
Sunday we had our usual coffee morning at 10.00 with the raffle. Sue Wilder had baked a cake which we auctioned off to add to our social fund. We had organised a group Sunday lunch in the site restaurant which was enjoyed by all so the rest of Sunday was a
very lazy day indeed.
On Monday the rain had set in with a vengence, so many people had a lazy day. However, I get cabin fever so we set off to walk again into Porthmadog. We visited the small museum on the Quay which was absolutely brilliant. It shows the industries of the area in
Victorian times. There was a lot of shipbuilding with its associated foundries and sailmaking lofts as well as all the slate mines so was a very prosperous and hard working area. By the time we finished our tour it was pouring down as only Welsh rain can do so
by the time we got back to the site we looked like a couple of drowned rats.
Tuesday was a much better day weatherwise so we all got together again and took a trip on the Ffestiniog Railway to Blaenau Ffestiniog and some ventured down the Llechwedd Slate Caverns. The conditions that the miners worked in to extract the slate were
absolutely horrendous. Pitch black apart from candles, explosions, dust, and hacking the slate off and transporting it up 500 feet to the surface.
Dogs are allowed on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, which share the same station, so Dasher enjoyed a trip with us too. She had her own ticket with Woof Woof printed on it!