One of the nice things about being in the north(ish) of Wales is being around all the little steam railways. Wales is criss-crossed with narrow gauge lines thanks to all the mining that went on in the area. One of these little railways is the Talyllyn Railway, which found fame by being the basis for the Skarloey Railway, a narrow gauge line on the Island of Sodor created by the Rev. W. Awdry for his ‘The Railway Series’ books (and also the Thomas the Tank Engine TV show). So, while Hedgie wanted to go climb Snowdon, Echo and I preferred to go visit steam railways – and 2 vs 1: outvoted! Snowdon will be tackled by train when we go again – I’m far too unfit for walking that much, and uphill.

So we had a merry jaunt out to the Isle of Sodor and went to play with some of the Great Little Trains of Wales. The railway was reasonably close to our base, and soon we were at the car park – just in time to miss the train. So while we waited for the next one, we took in the sights of the gift shop and had a guided tour of the museum. Before too long our train arrived and, feeling rather well educated and entertained, we jumped on board.

Nant Gwernol was the end of the line, where the locomotive runs around the to the back of the train for the return journey. There was just enough time to jump off the train, grab our photo, take a brief look at the views, then leap back on. Thanks to Echo’s use of certain social apps, we managed to find another pup and his handler and the handler’s partner also enjoying the day out at the railway. So we had a nice chat during our travels as the train went back to our next stop where the train would pause for shopping and refreshments…