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. Caernarfon


Q2. Thomas Cook


The initial clues seem to place us at the remains of the Roman fort of Segontium, which now lies within the town of Caernarfon, in Wales. According to some sources, Welsh legend says that the emperor Constantine the Great was born within the fortifications c 272 ad, while others say he was born in Serbia. Some of the references I checked, claim that Segontium covers an area of six acres.

Caernarfon castle was built c 13th century by the completely hatstand Edward the first. Looks like it has more than seven towers but think two of them are actually gate houses, so possibly don't qualify. The walls do appear to have horizontal layers of different coloured stone in them. The fortress houses a museum to the oldest infantry regiment in Wales, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers (no doubt full of very interesting stuff acquired from the various places the army have 'visited' over the last three hundred years). The town itself is walled and the walls have eight towers and two gateways.

The novelist Amy Roberta Ruck lived in Caernarfon for a time and some of her biographies claim that she was educated at home there. She wrote several novels including one published c 1929, 'The Unkissed Bride' and a British prime minister who won the by election at Caernarfon c 1890 is probably David Lloyd George, some references say he won by eighteen votes, some say nineteen.

Some of Thomas Cook's (a travel agent born c 1808) biographies, say that he ran his first excursion to make a profit c 1845, from Liverpool to Caernarfon and Mount Snowdon. The heritage railway in the clues, is probably the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, which is around twenty five miles long and has a terminus at Caernarfon.