North Wales Trip, Fall 2009

Rebecca Bernard (UE) continues to travel with Harlaxton College. Here is her evocative report about the college's latest trip:

Even though I stayed in the United Kingdom this weekend on the North Wales trip, I definitely traveled to a totally different culture. Most Americans know that Prince Charles is the Prince of Wales, but many don’t really understand what Wales is. Their flag is not incorporated into the UK flag, because Wales has long been considered a captive state held by England. But this land still holds on to its unique culture and language. You knew when you crossed the border into Wales because all of the signs were in both Welsh and English. Almost all of the residents speak English, many as their first language, but we visited places with names that could tie your tongue, like Caernarfon and Betws-y-Coed. It was also exciting to hear Welsh in conversation while we were drinking coffee at a small café

The first day, we stopped in Chester on the way to Wales and saw the second-most photographed timepiece (after Big Ben), Chester's ancient city walls and an extensive shopping district. Then it was back on the coach to get to Wales and our hotel in Llandudno. Llandudno is a resort town on the Irish Sea, which is popular with tourists year round. The seascapes were breathtaking, and our hotel was right across the street from the beach. It was way too cold for anyone to think of swimming, but it was magnificent.


Our jam-packed Saturday started off at Caernarfon Castle, where in 1969 Charles became Prince of Wales. The castle was originally built by Edward I, the English king who conquered Wales and built castles all throughout the country to solidify his hold over the Welsh people. It was fun to climb through the rooms and turrets, looking through the arrow slits and thinking about what kinds of men and machines would be needed to protect such an immense castle. Then it was on to Portmeirion Village, which was built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis to imitate the buildings he saw in the Mediterranean while traveling. It is like a little slice of Italy in the north of Wales. There was classic sculpture and unique buildings scattered throughout, all with a unique coastal view.

Lastly we visited the deep mines of the Llechwedd Slate Caverns. There we got to see the immense spaces where miners worked day after day to bring slate out of the earth to be used for roofs, billiard tables, blackboards and gravestones. It was interesting to hear the stories and think of what it must be like to work underground with no natural sunlight.


On our final day, we said goodbye to Llandudno and went to see Swallow Falls. They were so terrifying, because North Wales has been getting a lot of rain recently, so the falls were very loud and strong. Several times they swept over the observation platform, getting us all wet. Then we went down the road a few miles to Betws-y-Coed for lunch. It is a beautiful village near the river, and because of the misty rain we saw several rainbows throughout the day. We even saw one on the coach coming back into England, and I like to think it was Wales saying goodbye. This trip was very dynamic, showing us how, even though Wales isn’t thought of as distinctly as Scotland or Northern Ireland, this land has it’s own identity, and it is proud of its unique heritage.