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maica worked by slaves. Their profits If You Go
were reinvested closer to home in the
booming slate industry nearby and the For information on travel by rail Electric Mountain, Llanberis. Tour
family became even wealthier. through Wales and the rest of the one of Europe’s largest hydro-
United Kingdom: www.britrail.co electric power stations. www.fhc.
The interior resembles a cathedral in the
Grand Hall with vaulted ceilings and a Guide Amanda Whitehead: co.uk
grand staircase of limestone and grey walesguide@gmail.com National Slate Museum, Llanberis.
sandstone The house was designed to Getting around North Wales Free admission. www.museum.
impress, and indeed it does, even if it‘s can be tricky. It’s best to stay in wales.ac.uk/en/slate
considered the best example of a “fanta- a larger town and hire a guide,
sy home“ in Britain. Beyond the architec- such as Amanda Whitehead, Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, A Nation-
tural pedigree, the castle estate includes with a car who can shepherd al Trust property, admission is
a lavish garden, a major art collection, you through the back roads and charged for entry to the grounds
doll museum and a railway exhibit. or castle. www.nationaltrust.org.
explain the sights. I took a high- uk. Search “Penrhyn Castle.”
Though slate is used extensively in the speed train from London and
house for decoration, one visitor was not stayed in Llandudno, a Victorian The Welsh government’s tourism
impressed. It’s said that Queen Victoria, seaside resort on the coast. One site, the place to start for travels
on a visit in 1859, refused to sleep in a of the better hotels is The Impe- to Wales: www.visitwales.com
four-poster bed made of the rock. rial (www.theimperial.co.uk). For additional information tour-
Whitehead took me ing Britain: www.visitbritain.com
Opposite: The Welsh National Slate Museum. Above: on the short drive to Penrhyn
Penrhyn Castle, the ancestral home of the Pennant Castle and on to Llanberis, the
family, who owned the massive Penrhyn Quarry. heart of slate country.

Wine Dine & Travel Spring 2014 87