6 North 7 A Getting there: American Airlines has A nonstop service from O’Hare Interna- tional Airport to Manchester, England, about 40 miles from the Wandering through Wales border. Best time to go: April through October. By Katherine Rodeghier encyclopedic knowledge of Wales with gusto, storm the gate. Begun in 1295, it was Edward Getting around: Blue Badge driver/ Scenic corner of the U.K. Daily Herald Correspondent as well as her inside take on the local chit- I’s last and left unfinished when he ran guide Judy Brough offers guided tours chat. But there’s one piece of information she out of funds. , one of the first for groups or individuals; guidenorth- enchants with castles, ISLAND, Wales — “Fourteen won’t divulge: Edward I built, stands on a rock overlooking wales.com. If you rent a car, stick to years I’ve been here, and not a day goes by Where do William and Kate live? the Conwy River and Irish Sea to defend itself the “A” roads; the “B” roads are often coastlines and quaint towns when I don’t think how lucky I am,” says The Welsh are fiercely protective of Prince from attack by water. With eight huge round winding, narrow and one lane. For rail Judy Brough in her proper Dame Judi Dench William and his wife who live somewhere towers, and originally whitewashed, the cas- travel, visit arrivatrainswales.co.uk. accent. Would she ever go back to England on Anglesey Island where William is a heli- tle was a gleaming show of strength, impos- where she was raised? “Oh, no, no, no. Wales copter pilot at RAF Valley. ing enough to scare off invad- Where to stay: is home.” Known here as Wills and GOING PLACES ers before the king’s men could • Plas Rhianfa, near , was For Brough, Wales combines the best of Kate, they’ve been spotted shoot a single arrow. built as a private home resembling Scotland with its mountains, and Ireland with in the White Eagle Pub near and To establish his stronghold at Conwy, the a French château and opened as a its warm, open-mannered people. It’s a place dedicated a new lifeboat station at Tread- king offered English families incentives to set- five-star hotel last year. June bed- she’s passionate about. A registered Blue dur Bay. After the honeymoon, Kate settled tle within the walled town he built around his and-breakfast rates from about $213; Badge Guide, Brough knows which one-lane into housewife mode by shopping at Waitrose castle. The walls and their 22 towers still stand. plasrhianfa.com. road to take for a shortcut across farm fields, supermarket, which locals promptly dubbed Walkers can make almost a complete circuit of PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATHERINE RODEGHIER the most scenic route over the mountains, the the “Kate Rose.” the town from atop these ramparts. • Hotel, Ruthin, built A surrounds Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey Island in North Wales. It’s considered the most within the ruins of a 13th-century best time to stop at a charming little teahouse But ask where to find their house, and the Many of the castles in Wales lie in ruins. technically correct medieval castle in all of Britain. for scones with clotted cream. She shares her normally sociable Welsh shut up. Denbigh Castle was one of the biggest. Now castle, offers a medieval banquet and The royal couple may miss their quiet life only a few walls and its huge, triple-tower gate- streets lined with whitewashed shops rise to St. this “stream in the sky” gives goose bumps last year opened an indoor/outdoor spa here once their baby is born this summer and house survive atop a hill with the houses in the Peter’s Square with its clock tower, church and whether making the trip on foot or by boat. in what had been the castle’s moat. the spotlight shines on them with renewed town of Denbigh scattered below. Peacocks half-timbered buildings dating back 600 years. Motorists crossing through North Wales Room 222 is rumored to be haunted.

intensity. And one day they may look back preen and strut around the ruins of Ruthin The Old Courthouse, built in 1401, still has the are usually on their way to Snowdonia and June bed-and-breakfast rates from AY D N U S ! T U O E M I T fondly on the early years of their marriage in Castle where a 19th-century aristocratic man- gibbet from which criminals were hanged. the mountains of Snowdonia National Park. about $280; www.ruthincastle.co.uk. this tranquil corner of the U.K. with its patch- sion, now a hotel, was built inside the crum- In Llangollen, barges depart for excursions Mount Snowdon, at 3,560 feet, is the tallest in • Craig-y-Dderwen, Betws-y-Coed, four- work quilt of rolling green hills divided by bling walls. on a canal crossing the world’s longest and England and Wales and often stays capped star, family-owned, country house hotel 300-year-old stone fences; baby lambs gam- highest cast-iron aqueduct. A World Heritage with snow until June. Whether driving, or rid- on the banks of the Conwy River. June boling after their mothers. Historic towns Site, the stretches more ing on the narrow-gauge trains once used to bed-and-breakfast rates from about With a population of 3 million — and 9 mil- Ruthin is one of several charming market than 1,000 feet across a valley with the Dee lion sheep — Wales is smaller than New Jersey, towns in the North Wales Borderlands. Narrow River flowing 126 feet below. Traveling along See WALES on page 12 $182, double; Snowdoniahotel.com. but boasts an amazing range of terrain, from Where to eat: All of the above hotels broad, sandy beaches to snow-capped peaks have excellent dining. In addition: climbed by toylike narrow-gauge trains. Towns • Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo, owned by set in valleys look like the inside of a box of Michelin-star chef Bryan Webb, uses

TIME OUT! SUNDAY chocolates, the stone houses lined up in rows high-quality seasonal ingredients, many along winding lanes. And then there are the from local sources. Six-course tasting castles, 641 of them, more per capita than any menu, about $106. Billed as a “restau- other place on earth. rant with rooms,” this stone country The king’s castles house has 12 guest rooms from about $275 with breakfast; tyddynllan.co.uk. COURTESY OF KATHERINE RODEGHIER William’s father, Prince Charles, was The last in a string of castles built by Edward I, Beaumaris invested as the Prince of Wales in 1969 at Caer- • Ugly House Tea Room in Snowdonia Castle, above, was begun in 1295 but never completed. The narfon Castle. Like many of the most famous National Park. This ancient stone cot- Ugly House, right, was headquarters of the Snowdonia Soci- castles in Wales, it was built by King Edward tage opened as a tea room last year. ety until it opened as a tea room last year. I of England, also known as Longshanks who Tea and cakes from about $6.40 to $20, terrorized the Scots in “Braveheart.” At the sandwiches and lunch plates $7.75 to time, Wales consisted of a collection of prin- $15; theuglyhouse.co.uk. cipalities that Edward systematically sought • Hayloft Restaurant, Bodnant Welsh to control. In 1282, he defeated the last Welsh prince and brought Wales under his rule. Food center, near Llandudno, has He told the Welsh he’d give them their own entrees from $13 lunch, $20 dinner; A broad, sandy live Welsh music on Thursday nights. beach stretches prince, and rushed his pregnant wife to Caer- narfon to give birth. Edward II was born there Located on an 18th-century farm, the along the Irish center also has a tea room, food store, Sea on the and became the first Prince of Wales. fringes of New- Built as a fortress as well as a royal palace cooking school, beekeeping center and borough Forest and government center, ’s towers guest rooms in a farmhouse from $120, in Wales. The and walkways are rife with uneven steps and double, with breakfast; bodnant- 2013 19, MAY SUNDAY, mountains of blind alleys, all part of its defense system. An welshfood.co.uk. Snowdonia Na- arduous climb to the top of Eagle Tower pays • Bison Café, on the Rhug Farm Estate tional Park rise off with a view of the town crowded around its near Corwen, is known for its burgers in the distance, thick stone walls. made from organic meat raised on the often capped The United Nations put Caernarfon and two with snow until estate. It also has a food shop and take- other castles in Wales on its list of World Heri- away counter; rhug.co.uk. June. tage Sites. Beaumaris, considered the most technically correct medieval castle in all of Details: visitwales.com Great Britain, has a moat and murder holes COURTESY OF KATHERINE RODEGHIER — Kathy Rodeghier

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013 for pouring boiling oil onto enemies trying to Houses line up in pretty rows in the town of Denbigh in the North Wales Borderlands. 12

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COURTESY OF KATHERINE RODEGHIER Wild ponies roam on Lovers’ Island.

WALES from page 7 wllllantysiliogogogoch. In Eng- lish, the town name translates transport slate from the quar- as: St Mary’s church in the hol- ries, Snowdonia is all about low of the white hazel near to scenery. the rapid whirlpool and the Sightseers take time to church of St. Tysilio of the red shop in Betws-y-Coed, an cave. Got it? artist colony begun in 1844 But Anglesey, and adja- that’s become a bustling gate- cent Holy Island, are known way to the national park, more for their dramatic coast- and have tea in Beddgel- lines than impossible-to-pro- ert, a cute village of stone nounce names. There’s the houses built around a rush- and its 1826 iron ing stream in the heart of the suspension bridge, Holyhead park. They tour the National Mountain looming over a Slate Museum in Llanberis solitary lighthouse 400 steps that tells the story of the slate down a rocky coast, and Lov- industry in the workshops of ers’ Island named for St. a now-shuttered quarry that Dwynwen, the Welsh patron once employed 3,000 work- saint of lovers. ers. Like the coal mines of When the tide goes out the Wales, slate quarries have island connects to a forest faded into history. and broad beach with views

TIME OUT! SUNDAY of the mountains in Snow- Island for lovers donia National Park. Wild Road signs throughout ponies graze on its flanks and Wales appear in both English 10 miles of footpaths lead to a and Welsh, which is rife with lighthouse and the ruins of a double L’s and absent of j, k, q, church. It’s a romantic place v, x or z. The letter y is always for a picnic, or for two people a vowel. This, and a penchant to get lost for a few hours. for stringing names together, Did William woo Kate here? makes for some tongue-twist- The Welsh aren’t telling. ing words. The longest name in Europe is given to a town on • Information for this article Anglesey Island: Llanfairpwll- was gathered on a research trip gwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob- sponsored by Visit Wales. SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013