Castles, slate a a little rubgy

 

Don't judge a book by its cover, the weather has actually gotten better these past few days. We even took the sandals out again!! On this photo we are in Northern Wales, in South Stack where there is a lighthouse and a natural reserve and also an observation tower where volunteers tell us all about the local wildlife. The guy that what there said (this was shortly before we took this picture): "get your sunscreen ready, the sun is coming!" Yeah, sure... 😏. Well, he was right because 2 hours later:


So, it's with good conditions that we discovered this nice area. I love castles and I was in for a treat! There are plenty around and that's all thanks to Edward😏. Here's a short history lesson: in the 13th century Edward 1st of England went off to conquer Wales. He was successful but obviously the Welsh were not thrilled about this. So, in order to show his power and establish his authority he built castles, lots of castles, the main one being the very massive Caernarfon castle:


His 1st son (the future Edward the 2nd) was born there so the king naturally named him Prince of Wales, the first "non native" Prince of Wales. And it's since that time that the heir to the crown of England holds the title of "Prince of Wales". Since 1900, there is a official ceremony at the castle for the coronation of the future king. Charles' coronation was broadcasted live on the BBC in 1969 but it seems there wasn't a ceremony for William, as he was still mourning his grandmother.   

Northwest Wales is also about slate. There is loads of it in the underground and it brought prosperity to the region in the 18th and 19th century. Some quarries are still in operation today but a facility that would employ 3000 people up until 50 years ago now only employs about a hundred or so. 


This activity of course left a lot of traces in the area. Train lines were built to carry the slate to all the coastal towns that developed in parallel, like Bangor and Porthmadog: 


Several infrastructures remain like all the train lines and steam trains. Today they are still operating carrying tourists out to discover beautiful Snowdonia Park.  


We did it the "old fashioned way", by car (well, by van) 😄 


Well, this was all nice and pretty but we had something important booked in our calendar, our very first game at the World Cup of Rugby ! Before going to Northampton for this we had to stop where it all got started:


It was on our way and it's a good thing because we wouldn't really say that the town is worth a detour. But now we can say that we've seen a rugby game in Rubgy, even though it was on TV at the pub 😊.

So here we are in Northampton to see France vs South Africa, a game largely won by France 57 to 10. And we are now ready for quarter finals next weekend. We'll be in Bristol Saturday to see Canada against Australia, and in Exeter Sunday for the face to face between France and Ireland. If the ambiance is the same as last Sunday, it's going to a lot of fun !!

In the meantime we're keeping on with our explorations and Jérôme continues to work on his English. He's very serious about it and he's making progress 



That helps him to speak with the locals 😂


Go Canada Go!! Allez les Bleues!!

To see the map and more pictures: https://sodeslau.travelmap.net

Jérôme & Sophie

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