Tony dropped in for a cuppa, a biscuit and a chat before we left, so we didn’t get away until about 1045.

Off to a new place today, Blaenau Ffestiniog, it is up in the Snowdonia National Park. Before leaving Trevor, we popped into Tescos to get food for the next 3 days as we are in a self-catering unit again.  Then on the road to Llangollen to the horse drawn canal boat place to swap my T-shirt for a smaller size.  Having done that we headed off up the A5 towards Snowdonia.

On the way we came across a couple of large trucks with oversize loads being escorted by the police.  They slowed us down for a while then the pulled over to let all the traffic get past.  A good way up the road we pulled over and had lunch and a cuppa.

A short while later we turned off the A5 onto a dubious laneway and wound our way around some hills and a river for a short while before coming onto a good road that lead up to Blaenau Ffestiniog.  We pulled over to have a look at a castle on the side of the road, but decided it was too far up a very steep hill!

As we approached Blaenau Ffestiniog it became obvious that it was a mining town (in the middle of a national park!).  It turns out they have been mining slate here for centuries and sending it all over the UK and now the world.  It is very rugged country and a bit like a moonscape.  No trees and tailings from the slate mines down all the hills.

We pulled into town and parked to have a look for our accommodation.  We must have looked a bit lost because a woman came over and started chatting to us.  It turned out she was the owner of the place we were staying in for the next 3 days and we had parked right outside it.

We unpacked the car and decided to have a walk around town as we had been told that some pretty awful weather was approaching.