Day 13 – Harlech Castle, Back to Oxford, On to Beachy Head

Our final day in Wales and our last Welsh castle...

Right behind the hotel we had been staying in was the Harlech Castle.  We packed up after breakfast and headed up the hill (again on super tiny, STEEP roads) to the main gate of the castle.  It too had been set with coastal access but the shoreline has receded in the last several centuries and is now about a half mile away.  Harlech Castle had one of the nicest displays, showing who had built, manned and ruled the place during its history.  As with all these castles only the stonework was left but it wasn't hard to see the layout of the wooden structures within the walls and how life had taken place there.

After a quick stop in some shops in Harlech, including a 15-minute traffic gridlock in the tiny village streets, we retreated down the hill on a VERY steep road that left us a little uncertain; the sign said “40% grade, UNSUITABLE for motors.”  We made it though, with Jackie's sure hands on the steering wheel.  Then it was time for the long drive back to Oxford, through back roads and major motorways, ever vigilant for the ubiquitous roundabouts that had us going left around and around...  We arrived back in Oxford around 5 pm or so and said our goodbyes.  Then Pat and I left for the southern tip of England and Beachy Head, site of the tallest chalk cliffs in England.  

The drive down was relatively easy, although it took us around London via some very busy roads.  It was rush hour, after all.  The GPS we had borrowed from Bob and Jackie really didn't like the route we had chosen; it kept telling us to get off the motorway (M-routes, equivalent to our interstates) and onto various A-routes (equivalent to our 4-lanes but with a roundabout every mile or so – uggghhh!)  We opted to ignore the GPS and stay on the M-routes and were glad we did.  They were wide open and zipping along at 70 MPH.  We arrived at the Tiger Inn in Beachy Head at about 7:30 pm, still in time for a pint and dinner.  This was a long day on British highways – from north Wales to the English Channel – but we saw a lot and survived the trip unscathed.