Llanberis offers another tourist magnet - the Dolbadarn Castle. This castle is "a symbol of a medieval prince's power, a forbidding prison and a tower framed by a mighty landscape" which inspired great artists like JMW Turner. The castle is set in a dramatic location atop a small hill, with the 2 lakes, Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris on either sides.
To reach Dolbadarn Castle from Llanberis station, walk down to Padarn Country Park Car Park. Opposite to the car park entrance there is a small gate aside the sidewalk, from which it is a 5 mins short hike up the hill to Dolbadarn Castle.
The Dolbadarn Castle was built during the beginning years of 13th century by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), the prince of Gwynedd, who eventually became the king of Wales. Dolbadarn was plundered during the end of 13th century. Later on it was used as prison during the 1400 rebellion led by Owain Glyndŵr, after which the history is obscure. The external stone staircase was built in mid 18th century by which time Dolbadarn was already a picturesque ruin.
We left Llanberis, crossed the Pen-y-Pass and drove towards Beddgelert. Though we had to go towards Conwy, we thought of of taking this detour and we weren't disappointed.
The serpentine road took us through a breathtaking scenery, with the lofty mountains on all sides. We crossed two beautiful lakes, Llyn Gwynant and Llyn Dinas, before reaching the idyllic village of Beddgelert. The river Afon Colwyn joins the Afon Glaslyn, one of Gwynedd's primary rivers.
"Beddgelert", pronounced as 'Beth Gelert', literally translates to 'Gelert's Grave' and got it's name from the legend of Gelert the Hound. It is said that one day Llywelyn the Great returned from hunting to find his baby missing. The cradle was overturned and Gelert had a blood smeared mouth. Believing that the dog had savaged his child, he drew out his sword and killed the dog. The yelp of the dying dog was followed by a baby's cry, who was unharmed under the cradle. A wolf also lay dead beside the child, killed by Gelert when it came to attack the child. Filled with remorse, Llywelyn arranged Gelert's burial ceremoniously, which is still found in this village. No one saw him smiling since then.
However, we had only stopped for some time, admiring the beauty of the place. and then drove further towards Conwy to reach our night-halt before nightfall.
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