My choice of where to go for a station starting with the letter V was rather limited. My research showed there to be just three to choose between. I could have gone to Vauhall in central London, Virginia Water in Surrey or Valley on Anglesey. I settled on Valley was I’d wanted to take the South Wales to Anglesey train for a while and partly because it was probably the cheapest of the three destinations though also the furthest.
I devised a cunning plan. I would get a Wales Rover ticket and on my way back I would circle around via Blaenau Ffestiniog and the Snowdon Mountain Railway and then down the coat to Aberystwyth and across to W for Welshpool. That was the plan anyway. It didn’t quite turn out like that.
The journey up was fine. The train only got busy as it travelled along the North Wales coast. I got chatting to a fellow passenger who was off to do one of the classic Snowdonia mountain walks. It transpired that he had done similar to me and walked the coast of England and Wales in stages. Fair play to him.
I was hoping to get the same train all the way from Cardiff to Valley but in this instance a change at Bangor was necessary. It was then onto a less busy train for the trip across Anglesey as I made sure I remembered my request for it to stop at Valley. I needn’t have worried – there were a few of us wanting to alight there.
The first thing that strikes you when you get off the train if you are not familiar with the area is that it is not in a valley at all. the whole area around seems pretty flat to me. In fact there’s a bit of debate over the derivation of the name but one thing for sure,, there’s no risk of it getting dark mid-afternoon as the sun dips down behind a nearby hill.
I hung around the station and village for a bit taking a few photos and then tackling a few geocaches before setting off on a walk into Holyhead, over the bridge onto Holyhead Island and then into the Penrhos Country Park. I very much enjoyed a wander around the park. It was now time however to head into Holyhead and visit and aunt of mine I hadn’t seen for a long time and to catch up on family news.
After a pleasant chat and afternoon tea with my aunt I walked out of Holyhead and up the Porthdafarch Road to a campsite with some hostel accommodation and bar serving evening meals – what more could a man want!
Date of trip: 24 Aug 2019
See progress to date: A-Z of Railway Stations
Cardiff Capers 