The road to Betws-y-Coed and back

Woke at 8...feeling a bit off colour. Getting a cold?

Weather changeable but only light showers with plenty of sun in between.

Decided to head inland and do the Conwy Valley - there are two roads either side of the River so you can drive down one way and back the other. The "B" road was nicest... we passed through several small villages until we stopped at Llanwrst. We have no idea how that is pronounced, so we decided on Clanwrist. In fact, we have no idea how most things in Wales are pronounced.

Llanwrst is very nice - small market, pretty bridge over river, free parking and great loos.

After a short stroll we got back in the car and headed down to Betws-y-coed. Ah - now this has sparked an argument on pronounciation. I say "Betsy-co-ed". Roy says "Betwiss-e-co-ed".

It is years since I've been here, we used to visit this place often when I was young. We took a stroll in the village and attempted a walk in the forest. Unfortunately we hadn't checked the map properly and we were trying to start our walk from the wrong car park! Now wonder we were back in 15 minutes! We were 4 miles away from the real start point.

Back to the car and a short drive up to Swallow Falls. Ate lunch, got out, looked at the Falls, paid a pound for the privilege. Each!

Then back in the car and headed to Pentrefoelas to visit the well promoted "Roy's Riverside Chocolate Shop". We drove miles deep into the hills, hitting awful rain as we did so. Finally, we found the Chocolate shop. Great - I planned to buy some handmade chocs for my mum. The car park was empty and everywhere looked quiet. A sign on the door said "Closed - Due to Unforseen Circumstances". Never mind. A 20 mile detour for nothing!

Next, we drove to Penmachmo, a pretty village in the middle of nowhere. Just outside it, they are renovating the Conwy Falls Hotel, which meant that the turnstile to the Falls Walk was unmanned. Hurray! £2 saved as we sneaked down the path and saw the Falls for free! A steep climb back up, though.

Then we headed back up the A470 to Conwy. We bypassed all the attractions (gardens, castles etc) and stopped only to take photographs across the Estuary to Conwy Castle. We decided to head over to Llandudno for a stroll on the promenade. The rain, amazingly, pretty much held off all day. It showered a bit, but nothing major.

Heading back from Llandudno we found our way to a renowned pub (again, in a village in the middle of nowhere). It was closed but we phoned later on and booked a table for Thursday.

Tonight, the sun came out and it was glorious by 7pm - really warm too, so we ate outside at the Mulberry. How wonderful - I would never have guessed that I'd be eating al fresco tonight. Quick pitstop at the beach to admire another lovely Conwy sunset and then home early again for cheesecake.

It's tiring, this touring malarkey!