We drove through beautiful terrain today on the way to Caernarfon, and the sun came along to play – for the most part.

It’s been touch and go with the weather these past few days, not surprising in this part of the world I suppose since autumn is practically here. Yesterday was mainly a wash, which was okay since we were traveling for most of it, but today being our one full free day in Snowdonia, I was hoping against hope that we’d get some decent hours of sun. I think we got lucky.

Despite again taking the single carriageway routes, some of the most attractive views we’ve seen so far were evident on the over one-hour drive, past low peaks and deep valleys, we stopped a couple of times along the way not only to stretch but mainly to enjoy the views that got more and more dramatic as we went along.

With a sigh of relief – even after a week, driving on the left still brings a lot of stress and anxiety – we reached Caernarfon, parked easily enough next to the waterfront and the castle, and walked over to discover our first Welsh castle as well as another world heritage site. It was a nice day spent with busloads of seniors.

Like kids in a playground we spent about an hour running up and down the castle, trying the find the best vantage points and making the most of the £25 to get in. I’m glad to say such costs are more a question of cost versus benefit as opposed to my earlier days when such costs weren’t even a consideration, and to be able to see something as monumental as Caernarfon Castle isn’t only a privilege, it’s a must for anyone who thinks we need to look back to the past to move onto a brighter future. On this pleasant, sunny day, the ruins of the past reminded us just that, and with hope more and more brighter days are ahead of us.