We want to spend 2 nights in North Wales so we can see all of the castles built by Edward I (Caernafon, Conwy, Harlech, Beaumaris, and Criccieth) as suggested in the Great Britain book. Which town is best?
Also, we will be taking the ferry from Dublin and renting a car. Where is best to do that? Can we get a car in Holyhead or do we take the train somewhere? We are thinking of driving to Chester and returning it there and then taking the train into York.
thanks
Laura - Re: hotels -- pick a town and "google" it for hotels -- take your pick. They all have their plus points. It's an easy drive from there to Chester / Manchester / York.
All the main car hire companies operate out of Holyhead. The trains from there go to mainly London or Manchester -- but I think you will have to change in Manchester for York, if I remember rightly.
Roger Bruton
This site will give you info on train times and fares for Chester to York. It is usually cheaper if you can commit yourself to a particular train and buy in advance.
We will be going to Wales in the fall and we have made a reservation at a B&B in a town called Betws y Coed. It is near Snowdonia National Park and is supposed to be very accessible by train. It is also supposed to be a very beautiful area of Wales.
I have to second Betws y Coed! But it is more a small village than a town. It is lovely with lots of walks and beautiful sceanry.
Betws-y-Coed is really cute. For my taste, it is a little out of the way (especially if you are wanting to visit Edward's castles). This summer, we stayed in Llandudno. We were blessed to have friends with a flat that we were able to borrow, so I don't know about hotels. However, there were several as it is a British "resort" town. I'm a big believer in B&Bs over hotels, though.
If I was paying, I would probably choose Conwy. It was much cuter/quaint that Llandudno, but only 5 minutes away if you want to go to the coast. However, as "dead" as Llandudno was at night, I'm sure that Conwy is even more so. They are all small towns that don't really have night life.
The one for absolute sure is DON'T stay in Caernarfon. The castle was awesome - and a must see - but the town was definitely "work-a-day" and not very nice to look at.
So my preferences would be: 1) Conwy, 2) Llandudno, 3) Betws-y-Coed, and 4) Caernarfon - only if you absolutely HAVE to.
"Betws-y-Coed is really cute."
Who is this Betsy Coed? Is she the long lost Welch cousin of Betty Boop?
