Wales weekend, part troix

Packing up and leaving our wonderful B&B was sad, but we knew other wonders awaited, so that we did. We headed out for a drive around gorgeous Snowdonia National Park with a stop for an hour or so in the village of Beddgelert.

This little village was named for the legendary hunting dog of Prince Llywelyn the Great (the one King Edward later routed out). The prince was an avid hunter with a (also legendary) castle in the area. One day, Gelert, his dog, did not appear for the hunt. When his master returned, he was greeted by the site of Gelert with bloody jaws and fur. Finding his son's nursery with upturned cradle and blood everwhere, but no baby, he assumed the dog had attacked his baby son and was brokenhearted. He plunged his sword into Gelert's heart, killing the dog, then heard a baby's cry as the dog died. He flipped the cradle to find the baby, alive and well, and a wolf the dog had killed protecting him. Llywelyn was struck with remorse. To show his homage to his brave dog, he buried him outside the castle walls and marked the grave.

According to this site, legend and reality were quite mixed up, especially considering the cairn marking the grave is less than 200 years old, and this act would have happened in the 13th century, but it still makes an interesting story and likely keeps the little town (whose name means "Grave of Gelert") in business.

On the other hand, it's pretty high on charm alone. We enjoyed it and never even saw the grave. We wandered a bit and walked a little way up one of the many public walking trails around Snowdonia. I managed to cull my photos down to *only* 109. This day held some of the most breathtaking views of our trip, as well as architecture and landscape you might picture in your head when you imagine a place like Wales. It was that perfect.

Hope you enjoy them. Of course, I've posted a few here if you don't have time to look. (Or maybe to tempt you.)