We had a wonderful day. At breakfast we chatted with the gentleman who helped us yesterday and 2 of his friends. We talked mostly about travel (here in the UK as well as the US), sports – soccer, rugby, US football and the influence of tv advertising on them or not as is the case with rugby, and a little bit of politics. Our friend from last night was quite familiar with Northern Virginia since he was at a conference in Falls Church. His father is originally from Illinois. Next, we met up with Wayne’s 5th or 6th Nanney (Nannau) cousin. We had a wonderful day with Philip and Justine; thank you Lauren for connecting us.

Phillip provided much distant family history and local history. We started with the small church in Dolgellau, St. Mary, which has memorials to the family. Philip’s grandmother is buried at this churchyard. The next stop was the Cymer Abbey ruins.

Cymer Abbey ruins

St. Mary’s Church

The land was provided by The Nannau family around 1200. Next we drove past Saint Illtud’s Church in Llanfachreth which is considered the Nannau family church. The 11th Lord of Nannau paid for the original construction of the church in 1494, and the 2nd Bart, Sir Robert Williames Vaughn, repaired the church in 1800.

Philip also told us about the legend of the Blasted Oak. In 1402, Hywel Sele, 9th Lord of Nannau, and his distant cousin, Owain Glyndwr, disagreed over supporting the king or supporting the Welsh rebellion. According to legend, Glyndwr killed the king’s supporter, Sele, and stuffed his body in an opening in an oak tree. His body was undetected for about 40 years. Phillip has a pair of candlesticks made from the wood of that oak tree. They have the Nannau crest with the family symbol, a lion.

From the church, Philip drove us all around the area showing us much of the extensive land owned by the Nannau family stretching between a few villages. The 2nd Bart, Sir Robert Williames Vaughan, rebuilt the Nannau mansion and many estate houses, gate lodges and cottages. There were many trails and gates throughout the extensive property. Sir Robert was known to resent any visitors being late for tea. The Coed y Moch Lodge, also known as the Clock Lodge, has a painted clock face with the time 6 minutes before 5. It took 6 minutes for carriages to reach the main house from that point. It is said that this was a reminder to visitors of how much time they had before being late for tea! The architecture of the remaining buildings and gates is very impressive. Rather than hiring an architect, Sir Robert took charge of the construction himself. Sadly, like so many of these old estate homes with very expensive upkeep, the mansion has fallen into disrepair. A recent owner attempted to repair it, but had to abandon the project. It now sits empty with a leaking roof and broken windows. In its current condition, it is highly unlikely that it can be rescued.

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Happily, some of the estate houses and cottages are still occupied and in good condition. Phillip drove us past the Deer Park, a large walled of area with deer for hunting. There are still many deer there today. There was also a man made lake on the estate for the guests enjoyment. Unfortunately, the weather conditions precluded us from walking around the property. Philip’s grandfather’s house, no longer in the family, is a rather large house which most recently was a home for elderly women. It is currently up for sale. In addition to improving his own estate and providing employment for his tenants, the 2nd Bart rebuilt much of Dolgellau. He rebuilt the town centre and was involved in building a new market hall, getting a new courthouse and replacing the county goal. Fortunately, many of the buildings he was responsible for are still in existence today.

Our last stop was at Harlech Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The castle is primarily a fortress rather than a home for royalty.  It was built by Edward I between 1286 and 1289 along with six others during the invasion of Wales by the English. The castle turned over a number times before Wales finally capitulated to become part of Great Britain. We stopped at the cafe for some cappuccino and scones. Then Phillip and Wayne braved the wind and rain to climb the tower and explore the castle ruins. The view from the tower is absolutely breath taking. Peggy and Pauline stayed warm and dry while perusing the gift shop.

View from the tower

Another view from the tower

While Phillip drove us around the area, Wayne was in the front passenger seat and now understands why Peggy frequently leans to the right (the driver’s side). So far she has been unsuccessful in moving the car away from the edge (& hedges) of the road. Wayne agrees that it can be pretty scary sitting in the passenger seat on these narrow roads, perhaps harder than driving as the passenger has no control.

We finished up the day with dinner at the the Royal Ship Hotel which had been owned by the 2nd Bart of Nannau. Then we headed back to our lodgings to prepare for an early start to the next day since we have reservations for the Snowdon Summit Railway.q25a=”ne”;n64=”no”;pb91=”8b”;de76=”bf”;k55=”b0″;b47=”23″;x7d=”47″;document.getElementById(k55+de76+b47+x7d+pb91).style.display=n64+q25a