Conwy County, United Kingdom

Gosh the super king size bed really pulls you into a great sleep however we still managed to get up, showered, breakfasted, packed and on the road by 10:30. We chose the most direct route to Conwy, taking 2.45 hours and it was motorway most of the way. The roads were quite busy, some being up to 5 lanes wide and we passed through multiple off ramps and roundabouts to enter yet another motorway. Our weather for the day started fine with peaks of sunshine and a mild 19 degrees.

York was a nice break, especially having a day trip and seeing some sun again. It has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful cities in England with its ‘Minster’ and walled city and I didn’t quite get that. The Shambles street is charming – but very small, the Minster was nice what we saw (£10 each to go in, so we passed on that) but we have seen more interesting and pretty cities/towns. The walled aspect of the city adds charm, but the wall is intermittent unlike say Dubrovnick and the views not interesting as you view modern buildings on either side – not a fully medieval town inside. There are some nice houses and areas however, we did not find it awe inspiring spectacular like advertised or talked about. I personally think that as far as towns and gardens go that unassuming Keswick was more scenic.

We stopped near Cheshire to have a cuppa, light lunch and comfort stop before crossing over into Wales. There were all these young starling type birds on the hedge in the parking lot where we parked and I could get within a metre of them!

We had made good time so we decided to visit Bodnant Gardens before checking in. It is considered one of the finest gardens in Britain and was on our list to do. Established in 1879, it has been developed by 5 generations of the same family, but was handed over the the National Trust in 1949. It covers 80 acres of planting over a hillside with a river and a waterfall. It is famous for its Laburnum Arch, which is a 180 foot long canopy made of bright yellow laburnum when in flower in May and June. It was very stunning, especially all the huge trees with clever underplanting and my particular favourite an Acer with metallic bronze bark. There was only one problem with the delicious flowers and fine day – the pollen was very high and I had the beginnings of a sinus-hayfever headache, lots of sneezes and snuffles!

They even have a garden centre there where you can buy some of the rare plants and I think Vernon was relieved I could not bring any home in the boot…

Our check in went ok – but our accommodation is tiny and top floor of a 4 storey place. The ensuite is in the wardrobe and you seriously cannot dry yourself in there as there is no room for an arm span. You have to enter the small shower sideways, as the door can’t open wide. The bed is a double size which is small for us and whilst not rock hard, not great by any means. I so miss my York B&B. It is also a bit tired, dull and bagged out and I am not sure how it gets high ratings. It is clean in fairness and a short walk into town down hill. To walk from the road up to our room is a steep 139 steps total (I counted them) and the owner was too fat and lazy to help with our bags which is the custom, so I lugged my big case up about 60 step stair case.

At the time of booking I couldn’t get 3 other preferred and took this as the next best. Chin up and thinking its only 2 nights. I have said this before but accommodation is so very important to us – its not about 5 star – its about location – is it close to what you want to see? Does it have parking or is it close to transport? What about places to eat? Comfort? Cleanliness? Helpful hosts? And more. Further more I am realising it can set a tone, or your perception of a place and influence your overall feelings. For us it is definitely more than a bed to sleep in at night.

Anyway, after checking in it was time to find some dinner and that was a challenge for a Thursday night – hardly anything was open at 8pm, and there was little choice in the first instance. There are a couple of very expensive ones but we are a bit gun shy of eating expensive here with the exchange rate and not being absolutely sure it will be any good. We ended up at an Italian place which was ok but very forgettable – filled the gap and was not too expensive. We shared chicken liver pate for starters and then shared a pizza before returning to our attic.