Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:


Q1. Canovium


Q2. Rhos on Sea

внимание друзья! Again, a little more difficult this week. The fort at Canovium is also sometimes called Caerhun but as the puzzle author is a bit of a history buff, they are probably looking for the Roman version of the name. Not totally sure if Rhos-on-sea is a town in its own right , it is sometimes listed as being a suburb of Colwyn bay)


The initial clues seem to place us at Gwydir castle, in the Conwy region of Wales. The castle's web page claims that it has a ten acre grade 1 listed garden and the house appears to be Tudor in origin, being built for the Wynn family c 1500. Driving north along the B5106, would bring you to the village of Trefriw, the site of a chalybeate spa, which was according to some references, discovered by Legio XX (named Valeria Victrix, after they put down the Boudican rebellion c ad 60/61). The spa mineral water seems to be being sold to this very day.

Legio XX VV, depending on which sources you check,  may have been based at Tayside in Scotland for a time and also Chester, with forts at Northwich and Middlewich but a fort which lay near to the Trefriw wells spa, and which was used by them, was called Canovium and the name of the river Conwy, according to some sources, is possibly derived from the Celtic word for 'reedy one'. The OS map shows reeds and swampy ground near the remains of the fort at Canovium, which does lie next to the river as given in the clues.

Around six miles north of the spa, lies the town of Conwy. Conwy castle was built by a nasty old psychopath called Edward I (mother, Eleanor of Provence) and the town walls do seem to have twenty one towers.There is a three hundred and twenty six foot span at Conwy, which was allegedly built by Thomas Telford (born c 1757).

Journeying four miles or so to the north east of Conwy, brings us to the second town, Rhos-on-sea, a dorp which according to some sources, lost its pier to fire, c 1954. It does still have what is said to be the first permanent puppet theatre in the country, founded c 1958, ie the Harlequin Puppet Theatre.

The Eastender, as a paying customer, thinks the Sunday Times should offer more prizes to nice places like Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and some of the Baltic states. He also now refuses to put a link in to the competition site, as it no longer displays the puzzle entry form.