Last weekend, my boyfriend took me on a "Magical Mystery Tour" of rural North Wales!

Since my geographical knowledge of Wales is shocking at best (as much as I hate to admit this), I was hopelessly lost as soon as we left the coast. Easy play for him indeed, to just drive me wherever.... I had no clue where we were going and couldn't pronounce half of the places we passed.

Being the sucker for roadtrips that I am, I loved the drive down there already! The changing scenery as we turned south from Llandudno Junction towards Llangollen; driving along the backroads in a Mini that's been around for a quarter of a century and most importantly the lovely company I was in! Pure bliss!

Then we stopped in this really small, old, rural town called Carrog, where I finally found out what the plan for the day was! We bought tickets for the train. In all fairness, though, I'd been taunting him about a birthday gift and wouldn't tell what it was, so he did the same with this trip! The station looked just like I'd imagined an old, rural, British station to look like! Two tracks, small bridge linking the two platforms, small covered waiting area and teahouse on the platforms, so travellers could pass the time in between trains. Red brick buildings in Victorian style, with yellow/white accents. A small ticketing office. I loved it! Then again, I grew up with trains and railway stations.

We had lunch at The Grouse Inn in Carrog, enjoying some gammon steak while sitting on a terrace/beer garden overlooking the river and pastures. Then we had to run to catch the train. Not any train, though! This one:


We were taking the vintage steam train on the Llangollen Railway line from Carrog to Llangollen and back! We could see it coming into Carrog from our spot on the sun terrace at the Inn. The valley filled with smoke. We had to run so we wouldn't miss it. The sight of the train amazed me though! Old first and second class red carriages, and a locomotive steaming up and ready to go!
The first class carriages had private compartments, which unfortunately had all been taken by the time we boarded. Being used to modern day Virgin and Transpennine Express trains, as well as Regional- and S-Bahnen and ICE's in Germany, sitting down on a proper, upholstered bench in second class made a nice change.

We didn't sit down for long though. To fully appreciate the scenery, we got up, rolled down the glass window in the door and peered out. Wind in our hair, a little steam in our eyes we enjoyed the ride through Glyndyfrdwy and Berwyn to Llangollen (and don't ask me how to pronounce that place that's never heard of vocals... I wouldn't know!). I hadn't been on a steam train since my childhood and it really felt magical - made twice as romantic by going on this trip with my boyfriend!

In Llangollen, we had just enough time to have a pint at the Corn Mill pub, just across the river Dee from the Llangollen railway station, before we had to catch the train back to Carrog. Again, we braved the February weather and sat on the sun terrace, overlooking the river and the railway station with the steam train we'd just come into town on. Returning early to the train, we found ourselves a first class compartment. That's what train travel should still be like! It would make taking the train special again!


Once back in Carrog, we got back into the Mini and drove the 8 miles to Llangollen where we continued on to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. We walked on the aqueduct, took in the views of the Thomas Telford Aqueduct just a few miles further away, and had another (non-alcoholic) pint in a beer garden at the mooring site for the canal boats.


On the way back to the coast, we took the Mini up Horseshoe Pass. The views were amazing and I can only imagine what it would look like in summer! Stopping off at Colwyn Bay for a view of the old pier made a fantastic ending to a great day out! I loved every minute of it!