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The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales

January 18, 2017/in Travel, United Kingdom /by ValleyFamilyFun

The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales Today’s adventure took us along a flat trail along the Mawddach estuary and river. In fact, according to the website , the trail goes along the disused railway between Dolgellau and Barmouth in Wales. Like most days so far, it was absolutely “chucking it down” with rain, but it […]

Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales

January 17, 2017/in Travel, United Kingdom /by ValleyFamilyFun

Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales We arrived in Wales on Friday night in the midst of a snow storm. It was hardly any snow, but driving through the mountains without any snow tires, was a bit more difficult than driving in Nova Scotia. We started by getting our bearings in the nearest […]

The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales

January 18, 2017/in Travel, United Kingdom /by ValleyFamilyFun

Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales

January 17, 2017/in Travel, United Kingdom /by ValleyFamilyFun

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The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales

January 18, 2017/in Travel, United Kingdom /by ValleyFamilyFun

The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales

Today’s adventure took us along a flat trail along the Mawddach estuary and river.

In fact, according to the website , the trail goes along the disused railway between Dolgellau and Barmouth in Wales.

Like most days so far, it was absolutely “chucking it down” with rain, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the views.

There were plenty of bridges over the river, which, because of the rains, were running at full force.

Our favourite place was the end! Not just because it was the end of the walk, but because after 2.5km, we came out near Barmouth at a former train station.

And, no station is complete with its own pub! This one was called the King George III and dates back to 1650 when it serviced the boat building industry at the time.

We had a fantastic meal and had a great time chatting with Stephen, the bar tender who even gave Daniel a bag of “crisps” to try for his quest to try new types of chips! He also helped to connect David with some people in the village who will be able to help David with his mining research.

A quaint part of the area is the wooden toll bridge that goes across the river.

We paid our tolls and headed home in that direction.

We had a beautiful drive home along the coast, and have now warmed up with a cup of tea, ready for our next adventure!

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Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales

January 17, 2017/in Travel, United Kingdom /by ValleyFamilyFun

Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales

We arrived in Wales on Friday night in the midst of a snow storm. It was hardly any snow, but driving through the mountains without any snow tires, was a bit more difficult than driving in Nova Scotia.

We started by getting our bearings in the nearest town of Porthmadog (which has an incredible harbour). We did some shopping and discovered where all the best shops were.

For our first adventure we went across the street, and up a hill to the site of ancient Roman ruins called Tomen Y Mur.

According to the website, Tomen Y Mur is one of the most complete Roman military sites in Britain, established in order to secure Roman power in Wales.

Visible features include the remains of an amphitheatre, a parade ground, a bathhouse and a reconstructed wall, complete with a replica of one of the centurial stones found on the site.

We drove to the top of the hill and took a public footpath across a field of sheep, towards the ruins.

The scenery from the top was outstanding!

There is a reconstructed wall on site, and a replica of one of the carved stones.

On top of the old Roman ruins there is the ruins of an old farm house that lends to the incredible scenery.

A Norman motte – the grassy mound in the centre of the fort – is hard to miss. The name Tomen y Mur means ‘mound in walls’, so the motte has also given its name to the location.