No Blog Post 4/30/26

 My apologies.  Today was a 22.5 mile day and I am pooped.  I will write and send today’s blog tomorrow.  Don’t worry - I am okay, but very tired

Meal at Jackdaw 4./29 Addendum

 I booked a table at Jackdaws for a 12-course tasting meal. According to Michelin, "Jackdaw is the name given to a person born within the walls of Conwy, making this an aptly named restaurant in the town center. It’s a snug, intimate place nestled on the first floor of a characterful building that was once a cinema. The modern tasting menu has a distinctly playful edge, backed up by well-judged flavor combinations; Welsh pride and hyper-seasonality also play a part, exemplified by a dessert built around the Afal Enlli apple. Service is warm, and the wines are listed by how far they were produced from Conwy, as the jackdaw flies.” The chef and owner is Nick Rudge who was born and raised in Llandudno, North Wales.

A skwrch of a Jackdaw.

The tiny dining room.

The entire menu.

The first part is hard to read on the whole menu.

The first three courses - all good and all interesting.  I don’t know if you can see, but the middle one, on a rock, is the tiniest sliver of Welsh salted duck.

My favorite of the initial courses was the Hafot and "Conwy Sauce" Rarebit.  It was cruncy on the outside with the rarebit flavors and shredded cheese on top.  YUM!

Next was Wye Valley Green Asparagus, Conwy Nettle, Apple Marigold & Green Sauce . The asparagus was sliced paper-thin, and the sauce was tart and refreshing. Most interesting 

This one I have to tell you about.  It was “Lamb Cawl” which was lamb's head on Anglesey Bread.  It tasted like pork with pickled onions on top. Not something I would have ordered on my own.

Trout with roe.  I don’t like caviar, but this was just a touch, almost like a pinch of sea salt. 

Rivbob Mon. Tart and refreshing.

Legend has it that the original recipe for Guinness was stolen from a tavern, Gwin Du in nearby Llantairfechan. This exact recipe then ended up in the hands of Arthur Guinness in Ireland. Here at the Jackdaw. Nick and his team have created a dessert inspired by the original recipe...”Gynwys”  Yum! The bottom was a sauce similar to hot fudge with a distinctive meady flavor. I am not a particular beer fan, but this was outstanding.  The ice cream may have had a slight mocha flavor?  I forgot to take a photo of the last thing - a tiny piece Treacle Toffee.  Very caramelly and chewy.

I didn’t include everything but I loved this meal, very adventurous and every thing worked together.  Although a $175.00 (with tip) is not my norm, it was worth it for the adventure.

One interesting thing about the meal was the map included with the menu.  I guess I don’t know my geography very well. Conwy is at the top, where it dips a little.  Look where South America is.  I had no idea that Wales extended so far south.

I am stuffed and tired, so I bid you good night and

God Bless.

Conwy Day Off 4/29/26

 

Good morning. Today, I made a command decision.  I really wanted to spend some time in this historic castle town, and I knew I wouldn’t get back from hiking until 4:30ish, so I took the day off. I think I have only ever done this like never. I have scheduled days off, but to not walk part of the hike and play tourist?  Plus, I have 18+ miles tomorrow, so I couldn’t see Conwy and then walk,

I read up on the history of Conwy, and this is what I found. Llywelyn ap Iorwerth or Llywelyn the Great (1173-1240) founded an abbey at Conwy, and he was later buried there. However, the town of Conwy was founded by the English King Edward the I. After subduing Wales, Edward decided to build a chain of castles in Wales to hold down the Welsh. In 1283, he visited Conwy and decided to build a castle and a new town there. In a record-breaking time, it took only 4 years (1283 to 1287) to build Conwy Castle. It took 15,000 men to build it, and the 8 towers that protected it. Think about that: no modern tools, no cranes or dump trucks, just the backs of men and animals

Looking out one of the gunnery ports on a lower level.

The Guard is constructed from Welsh oak beams and carved with details representing the wooden vaulting, ribbing, and flourishes that might have once adorned the rooms of the castle.

For many years, the castle was believed to be impenetrable. It didn't take war machines, battering rams, or a long, drawn-out siege to capture Castell Conwy - just guile and planning. On April 1st, 1401, the castle's garrison attended the Good Friday service at St. Mary's Church. Supporters of Owain Glyndwr, disguised as carpenters, talked their way into the castle and killed the two guards left on watch. This coup was a mighty boost for Glyndwr's war against English rule, causing a wave of rebellion across Wales. For fifteen weeks, the castle held out until a surrender was negotiated. But it came at a cost. Nine of the freedom fighters were handed over to the English and executed.

At the top, Llywelyn's sword and coronet rest on a mound of armor and weaponry. The work embodies the burning spirit of the Welsh people as the sculpture rises from the dungeon's darkness. 

This is actually the bottom of Llywelyn’s Coronte, down by the dungeons.

 On one hand, if you were an invited guest of the King, enjoying a feast with good company and fine food in front of the warming fireplace would have been a delight. On the other hand, if you were summoned here when the constable of the castle was doling out justice, it wasn't such a pleasure. You might find yourself on a short trip behind the fireplace, to the Prison Tower, followed by a 12-foot drop into the dark, dank dungeon at its base. You didn’t always know which one of the choices you had been invited to.

A view of the upper levels.

A view from the King's Tower.  It would have looked a lot different when George the 1st was in power.

The middle bridge was the long entrance to the castle, followed by a bridge over the moat.

Spring is certainly in evidence here.

Cistercian monks founded the Church of Saint Mary and All Saints, as Aberconwy Abbey, in 1172. It became central to Welsh learning and national identity because of its connections with the Princes of Gwynedd. Henry the III cemented his victory over the Welsh by evicting the monks in 1283. He relocated the Abbey to Maenan and used the former Abbey to house the workers building the castle within.  In 1284, the former Abbey became the Parish Church of Conwy and is a Christian church. The church is more than 100 years older than the castle.

The stunning stained glass window behind the pulpit.

In the center of Lancaster Square is a statue of Llewelyn ap Iowerth (or Llewelyn the Great), who stands proudly above a fountain painted in his heritage colors. 

From Plas Mawr website, "Never was a building better named. Plas Mawr, or the Great Hall, is quite simply the finest surviving Elizabethan town house anywhere in Britain. This was a golden age when fabulously wealthy merchants invested in mansions, rich fittings, and lavish entertaining. Robert Wynn, third son of a local landowner, wanted a piece of the action. He entered the service of Tudor diplomats and traveled to the most splendid royal courts of Europe. His fortune made, he bought a mansion house in Conwy for £200 and, between 1576 and 1585, turned it into a celebration of his life, times, and wealth.”  Above is one of the gardens.

His attire.

He was married to Dorothy Griffith, and this was one of her outfits.

Dorothy’s bedroom.

The hearth in the great room and yes it was painted those colors. I asked one of the guides.  I loved the plaster ceilings in most of the rooms.

This would not go over in our house. It says, "Keeping cats in bedrooms was particularly unhealthy, for their breath 'consumed the radical humours... and therefore they which keep their Cats with them in their beds have the Air corrupted, and fall into several Heckticks and Consumptions'. Topsell, 'History of Four-Footed Beasts’ 1607”

Time to eat and I found the perfect named place - “Love to Eat”.  That would be me.

I ordered the Welsh Rarebit.   It seemed like the thing to do in Wales.  On the menu it said, Spiced cheese sauce, made with caramelized onion & mustard.”   I added ham to my lunch.  It was quite good.

 

Lastly, I visited the Smallest House in Great Britain. The door was only 5 feet tall.  I was told that among its inhabitants over the years, a 6’3 man lived there for ten years

The downstairs

The upstairs. 

I am going to publish this early today since it is already so long. I will publish an addendum or tell you about dinner in tomorrow's blog.  I am going to a very special restaurant tonight.  

Until then.

 

Rhyl to Port Eirias 4/28/26

Good morning!  I love all your comments.  I apologize for not responding to them, but it is all I can do to hike, clean up, write the blog, have dinner, and then get ready for the next day.  Know that I totally appreciate all of them, and I do read them.

Dragons seem to be a “thing” here in Northern Wales.

Kind of a cool drawbridge.  From a distance, I thought it was a sailboat.

Kind of a cool musical group, right along the ocean, where I suspect there are plenty of festivals.

The tide was really up. I couldn’t even get to the end of the ramp to walk along the water.

There used to be major flooding here until the rocks were brought in.

There must have been a hundred of these signs warning me to keep off the rocks.

Yay!  A place to stop and eat lunch.  A first.  It is okay because I always pack plenty to eat. You would think that I came from a third-world country where I was starved.  My major focus every day is on whether or not I have food.

I ordered a hunter chicken panini.  It was decent.  Turns out that this type of sandwich or main course is chicken with barbecue sauce and cheese. We Southerners could teach them a thing or two about barbecue sauce.  It was good, but some things we do better. The bread was an A plus.

As I was walking, I ran into a man on an electric scooter and his wife.  He told me that this was Emily’s Tower.  I googled it and learned that it was built between 1830 and 1840 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh for his wife, Lady Emily, and their children. It served as a picturesque belvedere and banqueting tower. Some historical interpretations suggest that the tower, along with others in the area, may have been part of a chain of lookout towers to warn against Barbary pirates in the 17th century. 

Just as I was getting comfortable (smug?) about today being another wonderful FLAT walk along the coast, I looked slightly to my left and saw that things were about to change. I think I am about to come into the more challenging parts of the walk.

I crossed over several of these today.

Looking down along the coast. Today was windy and somewhat cold.  I wore my T-shirt, my wool layer, and my windbreaker/rain jacket. And my gloves.

I could find no reference to this one-room stone building on a cliff overlooking the sea.

My goal today was to reach Eirias Watersports Center and call for my pre-arranged taxi to the hotel.  After walking all around this facility, which said nothing about a sports center, I finally learned that it hadn’t been called that in years. It made me think about how many times in Louisville we tell people it is near the old Bacons.

One of the first things I saw while walking around the building, looking for a name, was this bird sculpture.  The middle of it is filled with plastic bags. Sad that so many birds (and ultimately us) are dying from plastic.

A shell!  I felt like I was on a Camino. But all my walks are Caminos. I pray for my friends and one special one who is fighting lung cancer.

I saw these inside the building.  They are called Welsh Cakes. I had to try one.  I was expecting it to be more like a cookie, but it was four little vanilla cakes sprinkled with sparkle sugar.  Quite tasty.

 Boy, was I in for a surprise. My glorious hotel, The Castlebank Hotel, is located in Conwy and  is quite the stately, posh place to stay. It is a beautiful old house turned B&B. I am on the third floor overlooking the walled town and Conway Castle. I didn’t have much time to look around, but I am hoping that tomorrow, I get back early enough to explore. I will have to walk fast.

I went to the Castle Hotel for dinner and ordered the Red Lentil & Oyster Mushroom Ragu( which was described as having a vegan suet rosemary dumpling, and mashed sweet potato. I ordered a Petal and Stem Sauvignon Blanc, a brand I have not had.  Both were delicious.  The ragout had the most intense fresh-tomato flavor (in a good way) I have ever had. I would love to know how that got that much tomato taste. The sweet potato mash was good, as were the weeds on top.  All and all - a great dinner.

So tomorrow is a new day on the trail.

Good night and God Bless.