Day 5

I guess one of the things my family likes to do while at the caravan is go to the local “car boot sale”.  It’s kind of like a flea market on a field with everyone selling their junk.  Emmy found a stuffed animal border collie while London found a bag of Legos.  But the best part of the sale for them was seeing the border collies walking around.  London stopped one man to ask if he could pet his dog and was then treated to a show of all the tricks he could do.  I’ve decided that Mick needs some training when we get home!

We went on from the boot sale to Beaumaris, a beautiful seaside village boasting its own medieval castle.  We started our visit to Beaumaris with a picnic on the lawn outside the castle.

 

Then we walked over to the pier to try our hand at crabbing.  My aunt Lindsey said she spent many a day crabbing when she was little so she showed us the techniques.  Unfortunately, the wind was quite stiff and the little crabs kept falling off before we could get many of them hauled up. 

After crabbing for a bit, we split up so that some of us could go round the town and castle and others headed over to Llanddona beach to make a fire and piddle around.  Although I really wanted the kids to see a castle, Emmy and London were much more interested in the prospect of starting a fire with Matt so Cannon, Sally, Alex and I were left to tour the town and the castle.

 

Pictures from the town, including Ye Olde Bulls Head Inn which dates back to the 15th century and included famous guests like Charles Dickens.  Also saw one of the oldest houses in Great Britain.

Beaumaris castle was built 1295 by King Edward I and is considered one of the most sophisticated examples of medieval military architecture.  It has an amazing setup of inner and outer walls and an inner courtyard that is almost 3/4 of an acre.  And, of course, a moat!  In addition to the strong fortification structures, we could clearly see that there were also lavish living areas set up.

 

 

 

 

 

Sally and Alex

 

 

 

 

 

In the inner courtyard

 

 

 

Cannon was so patient with me taking his photo!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s really quite amazing to think that 700 years ago men were shooting arrows through the slits of the very walls you are touching to defend their castle.  It’s even more amazing to think of how they constructed the thing with the rudimentary tools that were available to them.  And that it still stands today strong and true.

After the castle we headed over to a famed ice cream shop for a truly yummy ice cream.  Cannon had apple crumble flavor and although I was tempted by the fig flavor, I went for the Devon toffee fudge.  Ben and Jerry’s eat your heart out!

 

We headed back to the caravan via some small twisty, turvy roads with incredible views.  Wow, this is a beautiful country! 

 

The castle from behind

That evening we had a fun BBQ with the whole family and then spent a really fun (and quite competitive) night playing Uno.  They had never played before, but I think we might have started something…

Tea break

Isaac

A beautiful sunset