Exploring The Area

[Trojan]

  Looks like the loco is from South Africa.

[Yorkie]

U zou verschijnen correct te zijn!   

[Merddin Emrys]

More here

http://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/87

and for cheap travel on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway you need

'Y Cerdyn' / 'The Card'

'Y Cerdyn' / 'The Card' is available to all homeowners and permanent residents in Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Anglesey & Wrexham and is valid for 5 years.

'Y Cerdyn' / 'The Card' entitles the holder to a 66% discount on fares on both the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways. Cards must be produced when buying your tickets.

Costs just £15 and available here

http://www.festrail.co.uk/ycerdyn.htm?mn=14

[hollins]

Thank you for putting that info on. I wish we had known about the discount ticket before but it will still be useful for the future.
Our friend was delighted with the day out yesterday. He had worked for about 5 years as a signal man many years ago.

[DaveR]

I was saying to ME the other day that I looked at the cost of travelling on the Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadog and I was slightly horrified to see that the cost of a Return ticket was £32! No surprise that the train I photographed was about 70% empty when it left Caernarfon station.  

[Merddin Emrys]

Earlier this year, when they first started running to Porthmadog they were packed out mainly with enthusiasts, it will be interesting to see how they get on with families (although I believe a child travels free with a paying adult) I expect that most journeys will be short ones due to child boredom and cost.  The railway is a fantastic achievment though.

 

[hollins]

We went one way by train and back by bus. The train took 2hrs 45 mins and the bus 50 mins. The bus fare was included in the ticket price.The train stopped for water at Beddgelert and for coal at Dinas.
The scenery from the train was beautiful and so unspoilt.

[BrianP]

Check out this site showing a Historical Map 1919-47, from Google Maps API :http://www.festrail.co.uk/historicalmap.htm

[Merddin Emrys]

Thats a great find there Brian, I'd not seen that before! I have a copy of the map, but it's easier to see it on the screen.

http://www.festrail.co.uk/historicalmap.htm

[DaveR]

Nice find, it shows most of North Wales as well. 

[Hugo]

We went one way by train and back by bus. The train took 2hrs 45 mins and the bus 50 mins. The bus fare was included in the ticket price.The train stopped for water at Beddgelert and for coal at Dinas.
The scenery from the train was beautiful and so unspoilt.

That sounds like a great train ride Hollins, glad you enjoyed it.  The photos are great too and I wouldn't mind that train ride as the scenery is so nice along that track.
Voel Coaches are doing a trip on the 26th Aug that includes a single train ride from Caernarfon to Beddgelert and costs £19.50 so I might give it a go.

[Hugo]

My wife has always fancied having a visit to Pensychnant on the Sychnant Pass Road to see the quirky looking house and walk around the gardens.
Unfortunately we arrived just before closing time at 5.00pm so we'll have to come back again as it looks well worth a visit to see the house and grounds.

[Fester]

I think the extension (or whatver it is) on the right hand side of the house on this photograph looks terrible and incongruous.

[DaveR]

The right hand bit is the original house, the left hand bit is the extension!

"Although the original house at Pensychnant (the lower, right-hand end) was built about 1690, the main  house, and really the whole character of the estate dates from the Victorian era. Built between 1877 and 1882,  Pensychnant was the country-home of Abraham Henthorn Stott, architect of the Lancashire cotton mills. Stott & Sons was one of the most eminent Victorian firms, building about a fifth of  the mills in Oldham at a time when Oldham did one eighth of the spinning in the world. By 1937,  the cotton industry had collapsed and Pensychnant was sold, but in 1967  Brian Henthorn Stott, great grandson of the architect, bought it back again.  Now, the Pensychnant Foundation continues in his memory."

The Pensychnant Estate is well worth a visit, it's at the top of the Sychnant Pass. It is mainly a nature reserve and its owned by a small charity who are always struggling to keep it going.

http://www.pensychnant.co.uk/

[hollins]

We took a friend to see Portmeirion yesterday. She had never been before and we were blessed with lovely weather. A few snaps including another lily pond for Nemesis.