Bike Route: Conwy to Llandudno Junction 2mi 60ft of climb
Train Route: Llandudno Junction to Lancaster, about 6 hours
Bike Route: Lancaster train station to Halton 4mi 200ft of climb
Accommodation: Private room and ensuite in Halton (Airbnb); hosts Sarah (called Sadie) and Mark. Help yourself at the breakfast bar to fruit, cereals and croissants/and or bread. Spreads, jam, butter, milk and juice are all in the fridge, help yourself to coffee and tea on the kitchen worktop. Dog named Cordy.
Dinner: The Greyhound. Pepperoni pizza and a scampi basket. Just okay.
We had a leisurely morning, checking out around 10:00, stopping at a bakery, and eating breakfast on the pier in the sun. By 11:00, I had picked up our tickets from the machine at the train station and we were trying to figure out which platform our train would arrive on. A station worker looked at our tickets and suggested that we take a later train, which would require just one change instead of the two we had booked. Sounded good to us, so we settled in for another half hour of waiting and then boarded with just a few other people.
As we approached Manchester, more and more people got on the train, until there were crowds jamming all the aisles and doorways. An announcer on the speaker system apologized for the overcrowding, and said two cars would be added to the train at the next station. Apparently, the railroad wasn't quite prepared for the Bank Holiday crowds. (This was Saturday of the UK's big end-of-May holiday weekend, similar to our Memorial Day Weekend.)
We switched trains in Manchester, and made it to Lancaster about an hour later than planned but much more rested than we would have been with the original itinerary.
The bike ride to Halton was easy and pretty. We followed a gravel path through city parks and along a river to the suburbs, and found our accommodation at the top of a steep hill just past a pub that was open. As it turned out, that pub was the only place to eat, or even get groceries, within several miles.
Our hosts were a wonderful, welcoming couple expecting their first baby (a boy) in just a few weeks. They grew up in Halton, moved away to go to university and work for a while, and returned during Covid. Sarah is a freelance book designer and proofreader, Mark is a project manager. They have been renovating their old house, and it is very nice, fresh, and open. We were given access to a lounge, the kitchen and dining room, and our own bedroom and bathroom. The bikes were locked in a garden shed.
We quickly washed up and headed back down the hill for a simple meal in the back garden of the pub.
Wales in the rearview mirror; Lake District through the front windshield.
