It is difficult to forget the cold, cloudy and grey weather of North Wales. I had the privilege to study for a course at the University of Wales in Bangor close to the spectacular mountains of Snowdonia, the highest peak in England. Bangor is only a four-hour train journey away from London. It’s is a historic city with a very distinct character and whether you’re taking advantage of its sporty location or exploring one of its old buildings, you won’t get bored here. Due to Bangor’s wonderful location you won’t be short of places to visit. There are a number of unique villages full of character that you just have to see. We were in a group of 12 scholars from India based in Bangor. On the first day, as we passed through the High Street, music from the Celtic Harp by Michael Richards welcomed our soul – a haunting melody of traditional folk or may be a lively welsh tune of a delightful renaissance! Michael is a local musician and sometimes he just plays on this high street. We used to have a splendid view of this small town from the University terrace overlooking Menai Straits and Beaumaris Bay during our lunch breaks. The Victorian Pier across the Menai Straits which was built in 1896 had become our evening meeting point which was just 15 minutes walk from our apartment. It stretches halfway and is surrounded by traditional pubs and restaurants. At the heart of the city there is an ancient Cathedral, one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain. It was founded in 525 AD by St Deiniol but has been rebuilt many times in its long history. The present building was restored between 1870 and 1880. The tomb of Owain Gwynedd, a Welsh Prince, also lives in the Cathedral. The cathedral contains 600 years old ‘Mostyn Christ’, a figure of Christ carved in oak.
Soul of the Wales: Snowdonia
Mountains, woodlands, estuaries, coastline, valleys, and lakes – it has all! Nowhere else in Britain will you find such a variety. The Snowdonia National Park is a retreat for those who appreciate natural beauty. The park covers 25 miles of natural treasure with picnic spots and attractions. The village of Llanberis is at the heart of the park with stunning lakes and scenery. It offers numerous opportunities for those looking to make the most of the fresh mountain air and stunning landscapes. Snowdonia has some of the best and most varied rock climbing in the world. The mountain was once the training ground of Sir Edmund Hillary who was first to reach the Everest in 1953. We had a day for climbing inside the Ogwen Valley. The valley with quieter and equally spectacular surrounding mountains is harbouring rich varieties of lichens and mosses.
Truly stunning Anglesey
The Isle of Anglesey lies to the north of Snowdonia. Anglesey is one of the most popular destinations in North Wales and because it’s an island there’s the added bonus of never being too far from the sea. The island is a popular spot for surfers. There are plenty of beautiful sand-kissed beaches. The historic town of Beaumaris is very close to the island.
Inside – outside: indulging with an artist
During our stay, we had a day-long session with an artist – Maria Hayes in an inspiring residential retreat centre called ‘Trigonos’. Since 1986, Maria has made and shown work in galleries and at live events across the UK. We had a soulful session with her in the studio and outside in the landscape. We worked with water colours and mud in the studio and then went out near the lake to shape our emotions using leaves, flowers and stones which we had made earlier on the sheet. While we spilled our creativity with fluid and telling movements elegantly splashing water colours, magical bouquet of classical music stimulated and amused us. At the end, we made our shrines near the lake and lighted a diya symbolising peace and spirituality within. The setting was the beautiful Nantlle Valley in the Snowdonia National Park with striking views across lake Nantlle. For three days, we worked together, reflected our nature, explored the nature and relaxed. Its difficult to forget sound of falling rain and hot cup of Earl Gray tea in the lawn overlooking the lake. It’s just a place to be!The valley conveys many aspects of the richness of the cultural and tradition of Wales.
The nearby villages of Caernarfon and Llandudno have plenty to offer including a buzzing nightlife and plenty of popular restaurants and attractions. The royal town of Caernarfon is around 8 miles from Bangor and is worth a visit even if it’s just to see its famous castle. Conwy, a medieval walled town with a historic castle and superb scenery is just close to it.
Elan Valley: discovering historic landscape
The lovely Elan Valley lakelands in mid Wales are well worth visiting. The area of the Elan estate is roughly 180 square kilometres; it has 12 sites of special scientific interest, a National Nature Reserve and many rare species of animals and plants. It typifies the reservoir landscapes that were created to supply the expanding industrial cities of Wales and England in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. During the 19th century, at the time of the industrial revolution, Birmingham’s population grew rapidly. Clean water was in short supply and there were major epidemics of water-borne diseases including typhoid, cholera and diarrhea. The 71 square miles of the sparsely populated hills and valleys of the Elan valley were acquired by the Birmingham Corporation for the elaborate reservoir scheme, built between 1893 and 1906. The imaginative scheme involved the construction of four massive dams and a 73-mile aqueduct to the South of Birmingham. An additional reservoir was added in the early 1950s. The engineering architecture has a distinctive theatrical style, popularly termed ‘Birmingham Baroque’. Careful and sympathetic management has resulted in the remarkable preservation of both the engineering works and surrounding landscapes in much the form that must have been envisaged by those who built and designed them a century ago. The whole landscape represents human endeavour on a grand scale, having been extensively remodeled by a water supply scheme for Birmingham that was amongst the greatest civil engineering achievements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Britain. The reservoir system today provides 68 million liters daily to keep the river Elan flowing and some 325 million liters per day to supply Birmingham and parts of South and mid Wales. The conservation of sensitive nature of the wildlife habitats of the Estate and protection of the water supply go hand in hand.
The Big Pit Mining
We discovered a time when coal was the king by descending 300 feet into the underground workings of ‘Big Pit’ to experience the hidden worlds of the Welsh miner. Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of Britain’s leading mining museums. The closed mine stands on the edge of Blaenafon, a town that played a vital part in the industrial revolution. This revolution transformed the landscape, culture and society of Wales, the UK and the world. We descended down the dark mineshaft by pit cage with helmet and cap lamp on.Out guide who took us inside the mine used to work in this colliery prior to its closure. A great funny man with equally great sense of humor, he kept us spell bound with his style of story telling. It was an exciting hour; we had almost experienced how difficult it was working tirelessly digging out coals to keep the world going.
10 Downing Street and Luch at the House of Lords
It was a feeling of greatness and triumph taking a round of 10 Downing Street, the historic home and office of Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister. The famous building fulfils many roles. It has been the heart of government for over a century as the meeting place of the Cabinet and as a reception venue for dignitaries from around the world. We felt highly honoured and humbled on being invited for lunch at the House of Lords at Westminster Abbey in London. During lunch we had thoughtful debates with the local MPs on issues from climate change to Iraqi wars. We later attended parliamentary debates and witnessed one of the busiest debating chambers in the world. Mrs Margaret Beckett, UK’s Foreign Secretary spoke for almost an hour on Iraq crisis and nuclear weapons defending UK’s involvement. Where parliament now stands has been a centre of authority and power for over a thousand years. Once the home of the royal family, and still officially a royal palace, the buildings that now make up the modern Houses of Parliament have developed through ‘design, accident and attack’. Parliament officially remains a royal palace and is still referred to as the ‘Palace of Westminster’. The site was used as a royal residence until Henry VIII moved the royal family out in 1512 following a fire.
Riding on a ‘Ferrari Jack’
It was just the perfect historical ambience at ‘Prospect of Whitby’, centuries-old tavern on the bank of the Thames River at Wapping in the east end of London. Dating from around 1520, it was formerly known as the Devil’s Tavern. In former times it was a meeting place for smugglers. It was also the site of ‘execution dock’, where pirates and other water-borne criminals faced execution by hanging from a gibbet constructed close to the low water mark. Their bodies would be left dangling until they had been submerged three times by the tide. Following a fire in the early 19th century; the tavern was rebuilt and renamed The Prospect of Whitby. The pub was closed in May last year for another refurbishment, and reopened after two months. I’ve recently been introduced to a wonderful alcoholic creation known as ‘Ferrari Jack’ which is made by mixing Jack Daniel with amaretto, cola, lime juice and plenty of ice cubes. Simply fabulous – what can substitute this? Devil’s Tavern has many types of cocktails to fulfill your pleasure, so try this once because you won’t be disappointed. There are even some crazy variations to unlock your imagination.
(The writer is an environment and development scientist and a member of the Association of British Scholars, India)
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