August 18, 2013

Conwy, Wales - Our Summer Holiday, Part 1

Summer holidays for us tend to take place in Ireland like last year's one in Kerry. We like the ease of just being able to put everything in the car and drive off without any delays. This year though we had to go abroad as a good friend was getting married in the Lake District. We have always wanted to go there so we used it as an excuse and worked her wedding around a two week holiday. So we packed the jeep to the brim, drove to the ferry and in under two hours we were in Wales. Who knew the ferry was that easy!! I always assumed it took hours for some reason but the Irish Ferries 'Swift' got us to Wales in an hour and 50 minutes. From there we were to drive to the Lake District but made a few stops along the way including one which involved a lot of shopping at the Cheshire Oaks Outlet!! 

First off though we made our way to Conwy which was onroute. The boyfriend is a big weaponry fan and had heard that there was a sword shop located near a castle in Conwy. What we hadn't realised was how well preserved and absolutely stunning Conwy Castle was going to be. The castle itself is huge and is still surrounded by its battlement walls. You can walk all the way around the battlements and there are lot of places to stop and take lots of pictures. The boyfriend was in his element!




After all the exploring it was time for lunch. We found ourselves in The Press Room, a lovely local cafe which was located by the entrance to the castle and which had an outdoor courtyard. We ordered two different types of rarebit: an original Welsh rarebit and mackerel rarebit. They were oozy cheese covered parcels of goodness. The mackerel was beautiful in it and gave the rarebit a nice bit of texture. One lovely touch was that the tomatoes had been roasted and they worked really well with the rarebit. We had just been expecting a small lunch but this was much more and kept us filled for the day. Lunch with two coffees cost £19. There is also a fairtrade shop located downstairs in the cafe so once you have eaten you can do a bit of shopping if you want!

Mackerel Rarebit


Welsh Rarebit

During our holiday I had read about a fabulous sounding fish and chips shop in Llandudno junction which is also in the borough of Conwy. So on our return visit we went about five minutes out of our way to find Enochs Fish and Chips. Enochs is split into two areas; the takeaway area and the restaurant area. It's a bright, airy place with comfortable seating and as one would expect a fishy theme adorning the walls.
 
 

All Enochs' fish is cooked to order and served in batter, golden crumb or poached in milk with parsley sauce. We ordered the Scottish hake and the Scottish haddock. All fish is served with chips and peas. Since I am not a fan of mushy peas the staff kindly allowed me to substitute them for beans.

Hake
Haddock
The batter on both fish was light and crispy and the chips were perfect, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Another lovely touch is that Enochs have bread and butter on sale so you can make yourself a chip butty. We do this all the time at home so it was fun to see this on offer here. In total our meal cost us £23 and that included drinks. 

Conwy is a beautiful town and one that we can't wait to go back to. From Holyhead it takes only a hour so it would also be well worth a weekend visit if castles and great food sound like fun to you too!

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