Our International Writers’ Tour to North Wales
Blog Journal, Part One
Day 1
As the time for our departure approached, a storm loomed over Toronto, delaying all incoming planes. While this had no impact on our flight, and the storm soon passed, it did mean that one of our teen writers found herself stuck in Montreal! Luckily, her flight arrived in the nick of time and we were able to speed her between terminals to join the group. Loud cheers greeted her when she joined the rest of us in the departure lounge!
Day 2
Our overnight flight to Manchester was uneventful, and Julie tracked down our coach outside the airport while everyone stocked up on English snack foods. We then drove the 90 minutes to Conwy, watching carefully for the moment when road signs changed to Welsh, and we crossed the border.
We settled into our hostel, which stands on a hill looking down on the castle and the harbour, then excitedly walked down the hill and into the town. We wandered together through the narrow streets as our writers began to get their bearings, then headed to the impressive Norman castle that stands on the edge of the Conwy river. We heard stories of the Norman conquest of Wales, and then explored the castle in groups, enjoying the breathtaking views of mountains from the various towers. All the 12th century town walls were visible from the castle itself, as was the river harbour, and the sea beyond. Finally, our first day in Wales ended with fish n chips eaten together on the promenade, and we all trudged back up to the hostel, happy but ready for bed!
Day 3
After a full English breakfast at the hostel, we took taxis into Llandudno, the Victoria seaside resort across the river. The aerial cablecar had been closed due to high winds, so we took the Victorian tramway instead, all the way to the top of the Great Orme, a gorgeous and wild promontory jutting out into the sea. We wandered around the 12th century church of St. Tudno, site of an ancient hermitage, and then walked around the entire promontory, through heather and gorze, enjoying spectacular cliff-top views out to sea. Lunch was a picnic with an idyllic view, before we headed across the wild and deserted headland to fly kites and to write, looking down on the windswept shores below. We walked half of the way down to Llandudno, taking a detour to visit a Neolithic burial chamber. Then we took the tramway back down into town.
This afternoon was spent seeing the sights in Llandudno, partly as a whole group, and partly when our writers hade free time in groups of three. Everyone got to experience a traditional Victoria seaside resort, with the pier, sugared donuts, arcades, ice cream, donkeys on the beach and even a Punch ‘n’ Judy Show – something all our writers found bizarre, and slightly disturbing! Finally, we split into groups again to eat dinner in local restaurants, and then walked all the way across town to a less touristy beach on the other side. We managed to locate only one taxi, so some of us made our way back to Conwy by local bus.
Day 4
This morning we had a later start – a 9am breakfast! Then we walked down to the train station to take the short journey to the local village of Llanfairfechan. Imagine our surprise when we learned there was no official train stop, and instead we had to wave the train down! We did this successfully, arriving in Llanfairfechan a few minutes later.
The beach at Llanfairfechan was utterly stunning – an endless expanse of sand, stretching so far you could barely see the sea at all. The sands shone silver in the warm sunlight as we wandered along the beach to a nature reserve, where seabirds skimmed the surface of the waves. At the bird reserve, we paused for a writing workshop – it’s hard to imagine any place more idyllic to write than this. Then, we wandered slowly back to the village, where a local café set up a long table for us all, so we could eat lunch together. After lunch, we wrote some more, then – finding the deserted beach irresistible – we sat in a circle sharing the stories we were working on.
Our slow and peaceful day took a busier turn in the late afternoon when we hiked to a waterfall, which turned out to be up a steep hill. The lovely waterfall was worth the walk, and on the way back down, we had some unexpected entertainment when we passed dozens of villagers dressed for a local festival – as Roman soldiers, Egyptian Gods, vampires and other bizarre characters.
We took the train back to Conwy at 6pm, just in time for dinner at the hostel.
Tonight we had a storytelling bedtime program, as writers heard the tragic tale of Gruffydd, son of Llewelyn the Great, a Welsh prince of the 12th century. We will be seeing the castle where he spent decades of his life incarcerated, later in the week.
Day 5
Today was truly spectacular! Our coach picked us up at the hostel extremely early (7.30am!) and took us to the base of Mount Snowdon, where we boarded the steam train for the summit. By 10am we were above the clouds, shivering on the peak of the highest mountain in all of England and Wales! Then, we began the never-to-be-forgotten hike down into the valley. We moved slowly and carefully, but within minutes the mists cleared, revealing a rugged landscape of mountains and lakes in all directions. By the time we reached the halfway point, the sun was blazing, and Snowdonia stretched out around us in all its glory. We paused to enjoy a picnic lunch, then continued on the downward path. The walk was challenging – 3 full hours though all of it downhill, of course.
This afternoon, we visited the ruined castle of Dolbadarn, built by Llewellyn the Great in the 12th Century, and we were able to contrast this beautiful and evocative ruin with the imposing military structure that is the Norman castle of Conwy.
Our coach dropped us off in Conwy, and our writers spent a couple of hours exploring the scenic shops and the ancient town walls together, before we all headed back to the hostel for dinner.
Tonight, we’ll be sharing stories of local myths – the Hound of Beddgelert, and the Witches of Betws-y-Coed. Tomorrow, we leave Conwy for the second leg of our journey… the writing retreat of Ty Newydd, at Criccieth.
To see photos from the tour, click here.
Part Two to follow…
To see more about Centauri Arts International Tours
https://www.centauriartscamp.com/summer-camps/international-tours/