Page 228 - WDT Magazine Egypt

just sit on benches to enjoy the bracing sea air and at its base. It’s one of a string of castles along the
views. Welsh coast that Edward I built to demonstrate his
It’s at the Great Orme Summit Complex – in authority.
Randolph Turpin’s Bar – where a tragic bit of British Acclaimed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the
history plays out. castle was deemed as one of “the finest examples
For a few months in 1951, Turpin was the world’s of late 13th century and early 14th century military
middleweight boxing champion. The Briton surpris- architecture in Europe.” Visitors today walk atop the
ingly beat the reigning champion, American Sugar walls and climb the towers to survey the Inner Ward
Ray Robinson, by a 15-round decision in London. and Great Hall as well as the surrounding town.
Overnight, Turpin became a national hero to Brit- Further afield, but within an hour or so south from
ons, a name known to all. Llandudno, is Snowdonia National Park, capped at
A few months later, he traveled to New York’s 3,560 feet by Mount Snowdon, the highest point in
Polo Grounds for a Britain outside of Scotland.
rematch with Robinson Lines of hikers trek over
after preparing for the the paths amid the moun-
bout in North Wales. tains after checking-in first
Suddenly, it was over. at the visitors center in the
He lost by a TKO with 8 town of Betws-y-Coed to
seconds to go in the 10th catch the ever-changing
round. weather forecast.
Considered a stand- To explore the Snowdon
out boxer, he had held region, the lovely Conwy
the title for less than Valley rail line leads to the
three months. area from LLandudno, with
That set Turpin on a bus connections to nearby
downward boxing-career towns such as Llanberis
spiral that was followed with the National Slate
by what is portrayed as a Museum and a Sherpa bus
tragedy for the onetime service serving the hiking
national hero. community.
Turpin was declared Along the coast west of
bankrupt. After trying to Llandudno rises Penrhyn
kill his young daughter, Castle, which is not a castle.
he committed suicide by shooting himself in Eng- Instead, following an architectural craze from the
land in May 1966. 19th century, fortress-styled Penrhyn is a country
Between 1952 and 1961, Turpin operated the pub estate today operated by the National Trust.
that today bears his name at the top of the Great It is partly a legacy to the wealth derived by its
Orme, where visitors can track his career through former owners, titans in the Jamaican slave trade
photos and mementos. and in slate mining that for many years was prime
Beyond its own attractions, Llandudno is a great industry in North Wales. Today, the mining of slate
base for exploring northern Wales. – once supplying much of the globe – is virtually
Nearby is one of the world’s most famous castles extinct.
– Conwy Castle – finished in 1287 by English King A mock Norman-style castle, Penrhyn Castle was
Edward I as a forbidding fortress to the rebellious reconstructed in the 19th century from an earlier
Welsh and to prop up a small English community home at a staggering cost of more than $50 million

228 WDT MAGAZINE SUMMER 2018