MID WALES

Mid Wales

SNOWDONIA

Machynlleth

Maenllwdd B&B

Day 129

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEL!!! You're now the same age as me!!!! How many years have we been saying that??? Um...27 years..whoa!!!! You are an OLD friend!!!!! hehe Love ya xxx

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Sorry about the headings! For some reason this blog won't let me put any titles in so i'll have to put them in later! Last time it was all in Japanese! I tell ya...i do miss my own computer!
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We left Llandudno and headed to Betws-y-Coed by train. Of course there were delays.....nothing new in Wales. That's one thing for sure, NO train is on time..there are always delays, from what we gather and have experienced!)

Travelling along there were so many lakes...and so much GREEN. Green rolling hills, and mountainous fields, sheep, cows, GREEN.

So different to what we have in Aus that's for sure. The farmers, as we found out after meeting one of the locals here in Machynlleth, are crying because there's TOO much water! It's water logging their fields...

He was a funny welsh guy too....a rugged farmer type with an eye that didn't quite look at you..it crookedly wandered to the side...haha..drunk? Anyway, we met him in the Machynlleth (pronounced macKinlith!) pub while we were waiting for our roast dinners....and he turned out to be a farmer who lets people stay on his farm in exchange for work. He asked if we wanted to stay there!

But as we were only there for one night we had say no! But, sorry kids, we dobbed you all in..and said when and if you were ever in Wales, it'd be a good thing for you to do..and he was happy! hehe

ON the way to Machynlleth we stopped at a place called Porthmadog and had a cup of tea at the Station Cafe....quaint again. Plates from all over the world on the wall. THere was one from Perth too! ANd of course, it made our day. How silly hey...anything familiar like that just makes your day. WHich reminds me, I thought they ate marmite here???? NONE. I thought at least Marmite might be a good substitute for vegemite..but nup. None about....so i'm dying for some vegemite!!!!!!

Back to mid Wales..

The reason why we came to this town was to see the CAT. Centre for Alternative Technology. We took so long travelling to get there that we thought we'd miss out on seeing it..but the guy at the B&B we stayed at (Maenllwdd) offered us a lift in his car...(his son's ferrari was sitting there and looked new, 3 days old the father said, but we didn't get to go in that..arrrgh!) so we did get there to CAT.

VERY INTERESTING.

IT's a town that is all about sustainability..and living as greenies really and so we looked around and saw what they were doing. It was started by a bunch of young idealists in the seventies, in a state quarry. Apparently they were inspired by the notion of building a community to test the emerging technologies....and it's very successfully run now..

We glad we made it...

And the walk home was great too. 4 miles cos the bus wasn't running!!!!

PS Was good later to see Federer won at Wimbleton!!!