Chirk Castle

You had a lovely weekend in Wales but you’re headed to England now. Where to next? First stop is the local pub called The Bryntirion Inn for a pint then onto your adventure.

You don’t have to enter Snowdonia National Park to see the lovely sights nearby. Why not visit Bala Lake? This is the largest natural lake in Wales and over 3.5 miles long. It’s great for wildlife watching and the birds love it too. I just imagined the conversations between the two gulls…

“Mornin’ Harry.”

“Mornin’ Earl. How are the hatchlings?”

“Oh my misses got her feathers in a ruffle over something Junior did yesterday. Enough chat. Let’s fish!"

My other half shakes his head at my bird ‘insight’ and carries on walking around the lake taking photos. I shrug my shoulders and follow. We didn’t plan to spend much time here other than to take a few photos on this wet and windy day. However, the lake is home to fun such as water sports, fishing (like the waterfowl above) and even part of the 3 Lakes Swim Challenge, (brrrr…no thank you. I’ll be waiting in the nice warm car if you need me).

Chirk Castle

Our next stop before crossing the border to England aka The Country of Traffic Jams and Road Blocks, is Chirk castle near Shrewsbury. Our luck changed as the weather did and we enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoon in the castle gardens hunting for the famous Snowdrop flowers sprawled along the forest ground. Before leaving we had a nice cream tea in the castle courtyard whilst watching a man desperately try to capture the bouncy, black labrador who was having such fun romping about the courtyard and didn’t understand why her Human wanted her to go inside the office on a day when the sun was shining like this and she had a toy to chase!

Chirk castle wasn’t quite ready for guests so only the room available to view inside the castle was the dungeon. (Go figure!) The state rooms are still under repair as this castle is over 800 years old and needs a new face lift (wouldn’t you at that age!?!)

 Adam’s tower and the dungeon were great fun! Loads of interactive things to do. You can dress for battle or like royalty AND if you’re really adventurous, you can take the dim-lit, windy, stone staircase down into the dungeon and see what it was like to be a captive of the evil Roger Mortimer. Who it is said was responsible for the killing of the Welsh princes that once lived in that castle. Nice story, eh? What’s a castle visit without a grim tale? Now that is MY kinda Valentine’s Day. Hope you enjoyed yours!