Vacation Day 19 – Another day of driving – destination Wales

We had to be in Bristol at 2:00 p.m. on June 24 for a meeting. So we said farewell to Uncle Keith and Scotland and headed South. We decided to overnight somewhere in Wales. There was nothing for it but to try and plot a picturesque route. We decided to drive past the Lake District and down to Wales and through Snowdonia. It sounded like a good idea, and it was.

Lanie who often calls me “Gare-bear” did not appreciate me singing “Gare-bear goes under the mountain” as we drove through a long Welsh tunnel. I’m sure the views of the Welsh hills and mountains made up for it though. Maybe my singing would have been more appreciated if I’d tried for the more appropriate ‘Men of Harlech‘.

A while after passing Mount Snowden I vaguely recognized a lakeside view, which was quite impressive as I’ve never been here. I had recognized Trawsfynydd from pictures I’d seen while producing training and promotional materials for Nuclear Electric back in the eighties. If I remember correctly, Trawsfynydd was the only inland nuclear power plant in the UK. Although I never visited the Trawsfynydd plant, I did spend time at the very similar power station at Dungeness.

Because we hadn’t booked any accommodation we kept an eye out for B&Bs as we drove, but nothing enticed us. I decided to head for a largish seaside town in the hope that a selection of hotels and B&Bs would be available. My Welsh geography is a bit shaky, but I was pretty sure Aberystwyth would fit the bill.