Conwy 2015

Conwy 2nd and 3rd July 2015 (The 89th Office Sqwalk)

Up for it were Yup, Tim Mothy, Keithee, Jaycee, Joseph and Danny, Granpop Bill (driver), Stubbee, Dasher and Debris, Jacko, Pedro, 2 Pie Hard Dave Semi-Colon, Malc Jay, Craigee, Bolt and Anytime Tone. Spike arrived on the Friday afternoon to join us for the curry and drinks.

Travelling in groups, we met up mid afternoon at the Premier Inn at Llandudno Junction. Jaycee was still in an excited state after spotting his first red dragon of the day.

Warm to hot weather was forecast although it was trying to rain as we arrived in Wales. We settled in to our rooms and Mothy immediately unpacked some English tea bags taken from his motorhome.

Keithee confirmed he'd thoughtfully let Jaycee have the big bed in their room so he could fit his doll in. Scarilly, he also admitted that his dog, Soukie, licks between his toes. He hoped his generosity to Jaycee might be reciprocated with a few licks later. Eeucchh…..

We sat outside in the sun admiring the sea view and contemplating whether to catch the bus back to Conwy or walk along the seafront. As we were jumping on the bus Tim and Yup made a last minute decision to walk the coastal path and waved off the rest on the bus. It proved to be a long and dangerous walk where they were dive bombed by seagulls protecting their chicks and suffered the trickle of ice cream melting down their fingers from a 99. Very dangerous was that….

They arrived back at the hotel at 6.10pm after around 13 miles in total, where Spike was found sitting outside in the sunshine with a pint.

The lads who'd stayed in Conwy for the day enjoyed their day that began with Joseph making a mess of his shirt whilst dribbling a magnum ice cream. A boat trip out into the estuary and a stroll around the castle walls etc. They also enjoyed a drink or two in the Bank pub where Jacko yet again fell foul of an expensive round and was left stunned. No notes were provided sadly so there won't be any mickey taking.

It was going to be a hot day so the remaining 11 of us travelled light. The walk began from Conwy along the Conwy mountain in a westerly direction to Altwen. We then swung anticlockwise around the northern sideof the hill and returned up the valley to the Fairy Glen Hotel at Capelulo. We then headed north west to the coast and settled in the Gladstone garden in the sunshine. The total length was probably around 8 miles although the additional coastal walk added around another 6 or so for Mothy and Yup.

It was a fair pull up the first stretch and it wasn't long before Dasher's shirt came off. Little were we to know it was maybe one of the first signs of a forthcoming hospital operation and further treatment.

Pedro's decision to come on the walk despite his fear of falling off the cliff edges paid off and he survived totally unscathed.

A few took the top route over the ridge to see the fort remains whilst the rest took the easier option and met up at the far end of the ridge. We then all circled Alltwen, slipping down an extremely steep grassy slope where Granpop Bill's balance began to trouble him, before we turned back towards the Fairy Glen Hotel.

The front runners quickly disappeared out of view as the group at the rear, now under Pedro's leadership and guidance, detoured down and through a caravan park by the A55.

Once in the caravan park we joined the road before heading back up the road to the aptly named Fairy Glen Hotel. Pedro revealed his latest acquisition of a lodge near York. You'd better get 17 keys cut then, we uttered.

At 6.30pm we began to assemble outside the Inn although word hadn't quite got around to some who were still finishing their afternoon naps. Yuppers and Mothy were still drying off after their quickest shower ever to be ready in time.

Joe was wearing a jumper to hide his chocolate stained shirt. Dasher asked why Jaycee had chosen a sky blue Squarry shirt declaring that no one in their right mind would choose that colour. Craigee, skulking in the background and sporting an identical shirt, squirrelled back to his room and swiftly changed to avoid similar embarrassment

All we had to do now was to jump in a taxi or bus and enjoy the evening. The receptionist tried to assist at the same time as a bus arrived and left, despite Jacko's pleas to wait, and further calls to local taxi firms were made by Yuppers.

Like a party of unruly schoolchildren the numbers increased and decreased. 'Who's missing now?', came the cry as we realised Malc J was now missing. Further frantic calls to taxi firms finally came up trumps with Castle Cars finally agreeing to send us an 8 seater but not until 7.40pm which would return for a second turn to take the remaining 8. Just a shame we'd been ready from 6.30. 'I'm not doing this again', said a frustrated Yup. 'I'm never coming back to Wales'.

Finally, we made it to the Albion which was pretty busy and we managed to get a round or two in before descending on the indian. We discovered that there had been a Blue Grass festival on this weekend which had affected the numbers of available taxis. If only we'd have known before …..

The only gay in the village, (check out Little Britain if you haven't seen him before), was in control of the kitchen and had set up a table for 6. No, we booked a table for 12 of us said Yup; so he altered the tables to put us together.

We had decided however to sit outside so we had the challenge of telling him we were now sitting outside. With no one brave enough, Stubby took on the challenge and all was well.

As it was so hot we decided not to do any more walking up Foel Lus. Someone suggested we continue and include Ffridd Wanc but even that sounded too much of an effort in the heat. A stroll down to the Gladstone pub near the A55 was unanimously agreed.

The meals and service in the Raj were better than anticipated. Danny's meal however looked like a red soup which won't have helped with his stomach problems. I'm glad to say at the time of writing, some 6 weeks later, that he's fully recovered.

Spike resurrected the ordering of a bottle of red wine, unseen since Keithee last ordered one several months earlier. Keithee sat next to him and his eyes lit up as the bottle was opened. 'I'm going to be really good', said Keithee and stick to Cobra. Ten minutes later he'd succumbed to the temptation.

The final bill worked out to £21 each which we settled and then returned to the Albion.

An amazing lightening show was arranged by Yup to complete the evening accompanied by a few spots of rain, but these subsided as you'd expect as he came out of the pub and jumped into the minibus to return to the hotel.

The rest returned for a guaranteed good night's sleep before returning home the next morning.

Thanks to Joe for contacting the brewery and arranging the tour; and to RGBargee for his local advice. See photos below of the breakaway group in Conwy town.

Yuppers

(enjoy yer dragons)

The Conwy brewery was to be our destination on our first night. 'All-day' passes for the buses had been advised as we anticipated catching 4 buses during the evening. Bus no 13 was caught outside the hotel which dropped us off outside The Station pub in Colwyn Bay (which we later decided to return to for food after the Brewery).

A second bus was then caught which took us within a couple of hundred yards of the brewery. Strangely, no-one, including the bus driver, had ever heard of the brewery, or it's location.

Danny and Joe had arrived ten minutes earlier and were found waiting with their tongues hanging out in the brewery car park.

We were introduced to the Brewery by Gwynn, who then gave us a quick tour followed by a much welcomed sampling session. A selection of their bottled ales and one of their draught ales was provided, all for the princely sum of £10. Some had already eaten £10 worth of barley during the tour cus they were so hungry. It had been over 6 hours now since Anytime Tone had eaten ......

Their beers which had now been brewed for over 12 years include Conwy Ales, Seasonal Ales and West Coast Ales. We eagerly helped in taking a mixture of bottles up to the tasting room. Clogwyn Gold, from the Conwy Ales range was one of the favourites although the black IPA (Riptide) also proved intriguing. A draft ale was then proposed and we chose the Clogwyn Gold again which was produced at a slightly weaker strength to the bottles at 3.6%.

Several questions were asked including why the brewery wasn't actually based in Conwy. The short response boiled down to the cost of the premises and maintenance costs which were much higher in Conwy.

The final question posed by Yuppers after being egged on by Debris, was what the name meant above the door - 'Bragdy Conwy Brewery'. Bragdy was translated to Brew House. So, 'Brewhouse Conwy Brewery'. Makes sense??

Joe packed his boot with a selection of ales, which he would no doubt be sharing with us all at some point in the future, and we then headed back down to the Station pub in minibuses which ranged in prices between £1 and £2.50 per person depending on which one you managed to get in.

Meals were available till 9 s we wasted no time in ordering. The staff were very obliging and shoved several tables together to get most of us together. There was a fine selection of ale available with Boon Doggle and Ubu Purity being amongst the favourites. By this time Tony had had nothing to eat for 8 hours and 45 minutes.

2 minibuses were called for by Yup and we returned to the Premier Inn.

There was no need for a blanket today as it was so hot. Even Yuppers declined ....

We approached the bar at The Gladstone and were served by one of the friendliest barmaids you could ever expect to meet. A total contrast to the Fairy Glen. Pedro initiated a conversation saying he'd seen an ipod docking system at Argos like the one he could see behind the barmaid. She sweetly pointed out that it wasn't an ipod dock and that it was actually a phone. 'You'll need to check your Argos catalogue again she suggested. I bet you've got one of those…'.