On paper it could have been a bit of a route march. Port Sunlight, Caernarfon, concert, slate museum, cathedral city, Betwys and the travelling. All in less than 4 days.
Not a bit. The travel was easy and the visits were clear. Helped by a great driver and informative guides. Along with meeting old friends and making new ones.
Port Sunlight is clean and manicured. The slate museum isn't. Sadly it was the source of silicosis, a serious industrial lung disease. Both are monumental, tributes to industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme and the slate workers. Betwys is like Blackpool without beach and sea, and no public toilets. Caernarfon castle is also a monument, to Edward I, as part of a ring of castles keeping the Welsh under control.
Llandudno
Our go-to resort for a workshop weekend for many years, during Len William's time as MD. Wiki says - 'In 1848, Owen Williams, an architect and surveyor from Liverpool, presented Lord Mostyn with plans to develop the marshlands behind Llandudno Bay as a holiday resort. These were enthusiastically pursued by Lord Mostyn. The influence of the Mostyn Estate and its agents over the years was paramount in the development of Llandudno, especially after the appointment of George Felton as surveyor and architect in 1857. Between 1857 and 1877, central Llandudno was developed under Felton's supervision.'
Port Sunlight
(from the website) - 'founded by ‘Soap King’ William Hesketh Lever in 1888. The village was built to house Lever’s ‘Sunlight Soap’ factory workers, but today is home to a fascinating museum, beautiful architecture, a world-class art gallery, stunning parkland and a thriving community.'
Tom reliably informs me as always that the museum is full of victorian pornography.Caernarfon and Castle
Concert with Cor Meibion Colwyn at St. John’s Church, Llandudno
I think we did okay, albeit with a loud Welsh tenor section behind us baritones.
Slate mining museum
Wiki says - 'The slate industry dominated the economy of north-west Wales during the second half of the 19th century. In 1898, a work force of 17,000 men produced half a million tons of slate. A bitter industrial dispute at the Penrhyn Quarry between 1900 and 1903 marked the beginning of its decline. World Wars, the depression, and competition from other roofing materials, particularly tiles, resulted in the closure of most of the larger quarries in the 1960s and 1970s.' The museum is at Llanberis, site of the former Dinorwig quarry.Largest waterwheel on mainland Britain. Massive quarry scar.
The trip was a big success.