Wales #2of3

We drove to St. David to see the Cathedral. The cemetery extends right to the edge of the building, and many of the more famous Wales heroes are buried inside under the floor, and they have memorials hung all over the walls. We did not see any tombstones dated within the last 50 to 60 years, so don’t know where they put the more recent local heroes, if any.

There was a “working” farm where they claimed to be farming, using only horses, and I wanted Emmy to see how I lived and worked years ago. They advertised that they plowed with horses, but admitted they had five tractors. It was a big disappointment. The farm yard and the barns were a mess. It started to rain, so they didn’t do any plowing at all.

We drove to the area where Emmy’s friend “Uncle” Bill was raised. LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH is the town name. Which means LLAN/church — FAIR/Mary — PWLL/a hollow — GWYN =/white — GYLL/hazel — GOGE/near to — RY/the — CHWYRN/rapid — DROBWLL/whirlpools — LLAN/church — TYSILIO/(name of saint who founded the tiny church) — GOGO/cave — GOCH/red.

Emmy, as a child, was captivated when Uncle Bill pronounced the strange name of this Wales town. The people who live here can really pronounce it, but someone said they don’t think everyone pronounces it the same.

The town of Caernarfon, is the home of the castle used when they crown the Prince of Wales. Instead of round towers and turrets, there are many sided, angled walls. Aerial photo’s show there is a lot of open space inside the high walls—it’s not all building in there.

We crossed to the other side of the river or inlet and looked back. The tide was out and boats are setting on the mud, waiting for water to return. Like we saw in France, some boats are constructed with legs to stand on, while the tide is out. Caernarfon is one of the more charming towns we have seen in this part of the country. Nice stores, a Woolworth’s dime store, large supermarket, and a nice campsite nearby.

Throughout Wales there are rolling hills, low mountains, lakes, meandering streams, flocks of sheep, and green fields. If it wasn’t for all that rain, there wouldn’t be all that green.