“It was jn the summer of 1922 that my parents and I were invited to go for a tour of Wales with Sir Robert Jones and his son-in-law Frederick Watson… We crossed over the Mer rsey by the ferry to Birkenhead, and here the Rover left us to pursue our stately way over the Dee at Queensferry, on to Mold and over the high ground to Ruthin where we stopped for lunch. “After lunch, I asked if I could ride in the back of the Rover with Mr Watson and JC. We headed north eats for Denbigh and up over the moor to  enjoyed the drive, but was disappointed by the lack o distance in the view. “He turned to me as we topped a low pass with the remark, ‘'Now, we should see a stretch of country, but when we got over the crest there was another one ahead. After this had happened four or five times my father asked Mr Watson, “Is this damned country never going to show itself to us”. However later in the afternoon he was appeased by wider views and a straight length of road where Mr Watson let the Rover out and we touched nearly sixty miles an hour… We arrived at the hotel at Betws-y- coed about teatime and JC enjoyed the peace and quiet of a sunny evening in the mountains.

“Next morning, we left about ten o’clock, retracing our road of the previous day and then going on to Corwen and Llangollen, before turning south for Oswestry and then south west for Llanfechan where we stayed with Mr and Mrs Watson for a few days…”

DEREK JONES tell of how Charles Darwin and George Borrow are joined by John, son of Joseph Conrad in taking rest and refreshment in our town as they travelled North Wales