Today we booked a trip on the Ffestiniog railway. Due to time and cost constraints we went for their “Victorian” service which consists of a return trip to Tan-y-Bwlch about half way along the line.
The train is composed of restored and replica carriages from the Victorian era and we found a second class compartment which seemed reasonably comfortable. Unfortunately there was a gap at the top of the partition wall to the next compartment which was occupied a by one of those families who bellow to each other none-stop. Sophia was reading from the guide book about what could be seen from the window and it was sometimes hard to hear what she said!
Our train was hauled by one of the line’s most recent Double Fairlie class engines, James Spooner and even Dad, who isn’t really a narrow gauge person, had to admit that it looked very fine.
The weather had improved considerably and we had excellent views as we made our way up to Tan-y-Bwlch but when we arrived it was rather wet and windy. In addition Sophia was in a bad mood after banging her head on the carriage as she tried to get out (the door was quite low). So she and Mum stayed in the station whilst Dad had a look round and then followed the sign which said “Nature Trail”. This led for a few hundred metres through the woods beside a stream. There were also some modest wooden sculptures to admire.
On our return to Porthmadog we strolled over to the Maritime Museum. It was modest, but good value at only £4 for three of us and quite interesting.
We ended the day by driving over to Black Rock sands and having a walk along the beach. It was very windy so we had soon had enough,