Welsh Mega Steam – day six

The railway that inspired Thomas

On day six, we visited the Talyllyn Railway, which inspired the Thomas the Tank Engine books, and the film The Titfield Thunderbolt. We then went for a trip on the Bala Lake Railway, before travelling to our third, and last, accommodation, at Wrexham University.

The weather on day six was cloudy, and there were a couple of spells of very light rain, though not enough to wet the ground. The sun made a brief appearance on a few occasions and it was still mild. The trousers and jacket were still stored in my suitcase.

After breakfast, we left Aberystwyth behind and travelled north up the coast to Tywyn. The Talyllyn is situated in the town, next to the main line.

We boarded the 11:00 departure and travelled inland to the terminus seven and a half miles away. I don’t know whether I had now seen enough of trains, but I found the line to be nothing spectacular, although there was some nice mountain views to be seen. By now, I had seen it all before.

On our return trip, I chose not to alight at the engine sheds for a tour and I stayed on the train for an hour’s break in Tywyn. There was time for refreshments and a tour around the little museum.

When the rest of the party returned on the next train, we boarded the coach again and made our way to Bala for the Lake Railway. This is a pretty little railway which trundles its way slowly around the lake. Again, nothing spectacular, but it was relaxed and offered lakeside views for almost all of its four and a half mile length.

The return trip took about an hour, and we were then treated to a run past to give the photographers what they wanted.

We boarded the coach again and travelled to Wrexham, our home for the last two days of our Mega Steam Adventure. My room was similar, though older, than my previous two, but it had a large sink and a decent shower. Unfortunately, within a couple of hours of signing in, I leant on the towel rail and it snapped clean off the wall. Oops!

The evening meal was simple, a Bolognese with potato wedges and cheese, followed by fruit salad or chocolate sponge cake. I had both desserts. Probably the best meal of the week to date.

Hoping for an early night, I headed off to my room only to be awoken after an hour by the guy in the next room whose lights had fused. After much discussion, and doors slamming, it finally went quiet and I was able to get some sleep.

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Related articles

• In the Shadow of Mountains, Snowdonia (vagabondbaker.com)
• Bala Lake – > North Wales (vanplusfour.com)