Day 11: I never could figure out how to pronounce Dwygyfylchi

Said an early goodbye to my hosts in Penmaenmawr this morning as I rushed out to try and catch the train. I had to run, but I just barely made it in time (had to yell to the conductor to hold the train while I sprinted up and over the bridge to the other platform). I caught for a breath for a few minutes before I got out at Conwy, the nearby town that boasts a 700-year-old castle in surprisingly good condition. I had some time to kill before the castle opened, so I wandered around the city walls, which were pretty spectacular; they reminded me of the German walled city I visited back in high school, but these are much older.

Conwy's wall

Looking back across Conwy to the castle

And then I got to explore the castle! This is the first one I've seen in England, it was pretty awesome. It's in very good shape for being as old as it is. I spent about an hour wandering around inside before I took the train to Windermere.

The castle from the turret above the chapel

Some of the original stairs; the towers we went up had much more recent stairs

The little warning signs were amusing; I could figure out the ones warning of potentially dangerous surfaces but my best guess for the one on the right is "Warning: excessive concentration may give you a headache"

After the castle, I boarded the train to Windermere. It's a lovely town, and the Lake District seems to have a climate very similar to that of Corvallis: the vegetation is almost identical!

Seriously, this would fit right in to Witham Hill

After dinner, I walked back to my lodgings; my host lives a little ways outside of Windermere, so this took a little while, especially because I stopped a couple of times to walk up a hill or down to the lake. I found a nice empty pier and sat and watched the lake until I got too cold.

The waters of Windermere

The sky was pretty dramatic, too

When I finally returned, it was almost time for the badgers to show up. My host gets a fairly regular influx of badgers by his front door, so I got to see one come by!

Hungry little guy

A pleasant end to the day.