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Squadron Trip to Harlech Castle
Date
July 2021
Saturday, 17 July dawned bright and sunny and the hills, valleys and coastlines of Wales looked resplendent. Soon the airwaves started crackling with the sounds of Squadron aircraft approaching Llanbedr and not long after 9.45 the first of the Squadron aircraft had landed. During the next 30 minutes everyone had arrived – everyone except for Peter Fernandes who had the huge misfortune in discovering he had a flat tyre. Luckily, after a speedy tyre change at Southend, he joined the group an hour later.
The famous castle of Harlech looked magnificent in the sunshine. We met our guide, Sian, who filled us in on the history, regaled us with some amusing anecdotes and we set off for our tour. We all agreed that had it not been for Sian we would have whizzed round and missed much of the fascinating historical pointers that still remained in this medieval castle after centuries of battles lost and won on its ramparts. She brought to life the tough daily existence of the soldiers and other men and women who lived at Harlech.
Harlech itself is a bustling little town which also boasts the steepest street in the world, which you can only drive down but not up. Unsurprisingly none of the members wanted to take a stroll down this street – and luckily time did not allow!
We then made the short bus drive to the village of Portmeirion built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village. A delicious lunch was served at the nearby Castell Deudraeth with its panoramic views over the estuary – and a start to the celebrations for Greville and Dawnie Vernon’s 52 wedding anniversary! From here members strolled down the path and into the pretty Italianate village. An extraordinary and quirky mix of Italian architecture and colours and English planting. Luckily, although it was the start of the school holidays, and it can get very crowded, not many had braved the heat on the day!
The exact site of the Maid of Harlech is kept under wraps – and the tides were against us on the day so I expect no one managed to see her. If you did, and you got a photo, please let us know !
