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NORTH WALES - STAY FOR LESS "££"

NORTH WALES region of the UK has the most historical, cultural & natural wonders of Wales from the towering Mount Snowdon to splendid coastal /castle towns of Llandudno, Conwy & Caernarfon. Wales also has its own unique Celtic language & is known as the land of song where every town has its own choir. It's another great travel experience for which GB guides you to the places to get the most from your visit.

ACCOMMODATION

COAST - Conwy YHA at Larkhill, Sychant Pass Road, Conwy LL32 8 AJ (out of main town about ½ mile up hill) tele 0870 770 5774 Email: conwy@yha.org.uk - from £12.75 pn. in 80 bed 2&4 bedded rooms with en suite showers. 1st class 1st floor S/C kitchen with o/s veranda eating area, also breakfasts & ev.meals provided. Lounge & TV meeting room, special top floor observatory over looking estuary, laundry/ drying rooms. Spacious modern hostel with views of Conwy's Castle & harbour.

Caernarfon - Totters Hostel at 2 High St. (a block away from the Castle, right on the harbour front) tele 01286 672 963 www.applemaps.co.uk/totters £11 b&b & sheets in 30 bed x 5 dorm rooms (own room when available) Use of kitchen, welcoming games room/ lounge. A creative little hostel in the old part of town with a traditional fish & chip shop nearby

MOUNTAINS - Llanberis YHA at Llwyn Celyn, Llanberis, Gwynedd LL55 4SR (again about ½ mile outside town in open country) tele. 0870 770 5928, Email: llanberis@yha.org.uk - £10.25 pn. - 60 beds, mainly 4-6 bedded rooms & 2 large dorms. Small but adequate S/C kitchen with breakfasts & ev meals provided. Large rustic lounge, laundry & drying rooms. This is a true climbers/ walkers hostel with the high Welsh hills all around

FOOD for snacks & self catering is provided by small SPAR supermarkets in all the above hostel locations, on Main Street, except that in Caernarfon a large branch of SAFEWAY is situated North of the marina which has extensive provisions

TRAVELLING AROUND the N/Wales area is by bus & train using the "Freedom of Wales Flexi Rovers Pass" costing £29 allowing 3 days unlimited travel, there is also a 7day pass

"FREE" SIGHTS TO SEE

1. Llandudno Great Orme - is an amazing rock/ nature reserve with spectacular views, goats, ski lift
2. Llandudno Pier - is unique to take the fresh sea air , then play on the amusements, or buy a souvenir
3. Llandudno Library - tells the origins of the town & its planning also a good reading room & internet
4. Llandudno Promenade - is magnificent for an early or late evening stroll, or see Punch & Judy daytime
5. Conwy Harbour - is always a hive of nautical activity & interesting sights like the smallest house
6. Menai Bridge - was the first iron suspension bridge, designed & built by Telford, now made of steel
7. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - phew! yes it's the longest name
8.Caernartfon -walk around the imposing Castle & be amazed, then the harbour into the old town
9. Llanberis Welsh Slate Mine - make a slate roof tile, see the 3D show, the giant wheel & some coal
10. Llanberis Electric Mountain - they generate electricity from water on top of the mountain

CHARGE SIGHTS NOT TO MISS

1. Great Orme Tram - was built in Victorian times to take the gentry to the top & you will see why?
2. Conwy Castle - built by Edward 1 around 1287 & its what a real castle should look like!
3. Snowdon Mountain Railway - 1896, again for the posh Victorians, it puffs you up the 2nd UK hill

(Paul, Anna, Punch, Judy, Sugar Ray, Enid, Snowdon, Charles, Thomas)