Our International Writers’ Tour to North Wales
Blog Journal, Part Two
Day 6
Today we meandered by bus through the mountains of Snowdonia, making several stops along the route to our final destination: the writing retreat! Our first stop was Betws-y-Coed, a quaint and touristy little town nestled between wooded hills and known as the gateway to Snowdon. After some time to shop for souvenirs, we visited a couple of important landmarks just outside the town. The first was The Ugly House – a bizarre and ramshackle cottage built in the 1400s. According to the laws of the day, if a house was erected after dusk, and had a fire burning in the grate before dawn the next day, no taxes would be due. The Ugly House may be crooked and strange-looking, but it has survived for more than 600 years.
Our second stop was Swallow Falls, a gorgeous and famous waterfall tumbling through the woods. We were fortunate enough to get to see a Great Blue Heron fishing at the falls.
Our coach took us further on, then, to the village of Beddgelert, site of the famous story about Llewelyn The Great’s faithful hound. We’d shared the story with our group the night before, and now walked to the 700 year old grave where the dog is said to lie. We had lunch outside the village, beside a lovely river, before walking back into the river for sightseeing and free time.
After this, we drove right to the other side of Snowdonia, and to our writing retreat, which will be our home for the rest of the trip, arriving around 4pm.
Ty Newydd is a gem of a house. Built in the 1400s on a hill overlooking the sea, it has been added to continually since then, and now consists of a timber hall, crooked staircases, tiny alcoves and unbelieveably thick stone walls. There was a definite buzz of excitement as our writers discovered the library, with its strange acoustics, and the window seat where the British Prime Minister – David Lloyd George – died in 1945. Most of the bedrooms have sloping ceilings, window seats or sweeping views over the lawn to the sea. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect base from which to write.
We relaxed for a while, and some of us hiked to the beach, then we had dinner and met our tutor for the next three days – the novelist Jim Friel. This evening, Jim chaired a discussion on reading experiences that had everyone talking and sharing.
Day 7-8
Our lives at the retreat formed an intense and serene pattern over these two days: a three hour writing workshop each 
morning, home baked treats such as Welsh cakes and marmalade cake, then in the afternoon, the option to either write, or join Katie and I on a hike into Cricieth. Most of our writers spent one afternoon writing, and the other on the walk. From the back garden of Ty Newydd, a little gate led down through a field and over the main road to a walking path down to the estuary, where sea birds nested in the hundreds. From there, it was a half hour walk along the beach into Cricieth, where the ruined castle sat on a promontory, dominating the landscape. Cricieth’s main attractions are the castle and a famous ice cream parlour. There were also a few gift shops to explore, and another, more sandy beach that was perfect for wading.
On the evening of Day 7, Jim read to us a story he was halfway through completing, and our writers suggested ideas for the direction the story might go. This was an interesting writing exercise in itself. On the evening of Day 8, Jim told us all a story.
Day 9
Our final day was reversed – free time in the morning, workshop in the afternoon – just as well, because we were all woken very early when the fire alarms went off! We stood on the driveway shivering in the cool morning, while the centre director investigated – a spider had built a web over one of the sensors! Just one of the consequences of staying in such an old and special place.
This morning, most people wrote, but a few of us wandered down to the local village, past the mossy banks of a pretty river, and David Lloyd George’s unusual tomb.
This afternoon was our final writing workshop with Jim, followed by a Star Wars-themed final supper. This evening, we concluded our writing retreat with a reading offered by all the writers and celebrated some of the superb work that has been produced on this trip – at Ty Newydd, and even before then, on the beach at Llanfairfachan, and up on the Great Orme. Finally, we did a last ‘Roses and Thorns’ of the summer, with everyone sharing their highlights of the trip. Every single day got a mention, but for many people, it was the group itself that was the greatest memory – such a wonderful collection of people making friends and sharing an experience together. We handed out sprigs of heather from Dolbadarn Castle as a souvenir for everyone to press in their writing journal, then headed upstairs to pack. Tony – the fabulous chef here – had made us all handmade granola bars for the trip home, as well as Welsh cakes, boiled eggs, and other treats.
The coach wasn’t able to make it up the slope to the retreat, so our final experience was wheeling our suitcases down into the village in total darkness on the strike of midnight. It certainly felt like an appropriately mysterious and unusual way to end what has been a truly magical and inspiring trip. I have no doubt that Wales – its culture, literature, history, stories, myths, mountains and villages – will remain in the hearts and memories of our writers for decades to come… and everyone is returning home with new writing techniques and a wealth of prompts to explore over the coming months.
Thank you all for being such a fabulous group – Katie and I were proud and honoured to share this unique experience with you all.
To see photos from the tour, click here.
To see more about Centauri Arts International Tours
https://www.centauriartscamp.com/summer-camps/international-tours/
Julie Hartley
Director, Centauri Arts
416 766 7124