Thursday – Railroad and Royal Fusiliers

Trash collection in Caernarfon starts at 5 AM and today was trash collection day. Needless to say we were up early. No big deal. Breakfast at the Black Boy Inn was substantial and good. Elaine had a Free Range 2 egg Omelette with Ham, cheese, Tomato & mushroom. I had a One Eyed Sailor — Fried egg cooked in bread, topped with cheese, and served with bacon and fried bread.

Then we were off to Mount Snowdon, just a short 10 mile drive away from our B&B, for a steam engine railway trip to the top of the mountain. Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 feet. In The UK only some peaks in the Scottish highlands are higher. The Mount Snowdon Railway has been running since 1896. We had pre-booked the steam train rather the more frequent diesel trains. There is just one car. Needless to say, the one-hour ride up was very picturesque. You have 30 minutes or so to wander around the summit (and the gift shop and snack bar).

AS USUAL. ENLARGE PICTURES IN A NEW WINDOW BY CLICKING ON THE PICTURE

From the train station near the summit, we trekked to the actual summit. The ice field was treacherous and the final assault up the north face was exhilarating. (Well, actually it is about 50 steps from the station to the summit.) The ride back down takes the same route.

We took a scenic drive from Llanberis (where the train station at the base is located) to Castle Curig before driving back to Caernarfon. There we visited Caernarfon Castle, the most famous (I think) of the castles in Wales. It is the home base of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, a famous fighting force for many, many years.

Beer, nap, and get ready for dinner. We had made reservations in advance at Blas, a short walk from the Black Boy Inn. Blas was fabulous – the menu and the food itself was reminiscent of Binkley’s in Cave Creek but without the exorbitant pricing. The food was fantastic. Pictures speak louder than words. And the dessert fast is over! No pictures of dessert but I had “chocolate, coconut, and lime” and Elaine had “clotted cream pannacotta with strawberries three ways and minted shortbread”.