Croeso i Gymri

I've just spent a a couple of days in Wales. Last year the reason for my return was for our sponsored climb of Snowdon. This time it was a little more relaxing, though not much drier! 

We stayed in Beddgelert where I spent most of my childhood holidays. It is one of my favourite places- in the heart of the mountains of Snowdonia but within twenty minutes' drive of the sea. I could quite happily wake up to views like this each morning.

We remained in the village on the day we arrived and had our customary stroll down to Gelert's Grave (for those who do not know the story of poor old Gelert the dog, click here) and then walked along the river and down the Aberglaslyn Pass. There's no walking through the tunnels anymore since the reopening of the stretch of the Welsh Highland Railway that runs between Caernarfon and Porthmadog, so the route now follows the slightly more rocky Fisherman's Path. It is a beautiful stretch of the Glaslyn although on this occasion the water wasn't tumbling down over the rocks quite as it does after a period of heavy rainfall. 

Below are a couple of photos taken of the Aberglaslyn Pass, the rest are here, and more photos from my previous visit to Beddgelert are here.

The next day saw us visiting Portmeirion, the coastal village created by Clough Williams-Ellis in the style of an Italian village. The village is surrounded by 70 acres of woodlands and there are woodland and coastal walks that could easily keep you busy for a couple of days. Portmeirion is famously known for being the location of 'The Village' in the 1960s television show 'The Prisoner', and the gift shops have certainly not missed any opportunities here for the selling of merchandise! I didn't realise that Portmeirion was also one of the main locations for the shooting of Brit-Pop band Supergrass' video 'Alright'.

I first visited Portmeirion as a child probably (cough) around 25 years ago. I can distinctly remember spending ages trying, and failing, to find the Pet Cemetery and the Ghost Garden. This time we found them! I'm still a little unsure what exactly constitutes a ghost garden, but I guess I can leave that for someone who believes in ghosts to work out.
The day was a fairly wet one (at times the land on the opposite side of the estuary was completely obliterated) and the tide was partially in while we were there, so we didn't get chance to walk along the beach, but we covered a fair amount of the woodland area and even went on the forest train! I really enjoyed the day, the serenity of our surroundings only being broken once when two fighter jets screamed overhead on low-flying practice through the mountains; it was quite funny seeing the rather alarmed looks on some people's faces who were obviously not accustomed to this happening!
Again, a couple of photos I took are below, with the rest found here.