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.

A trip down memory lane

Last weekend I spent a couple of days in Snowdonia. As I was going to be climbing Snowdon on the Sunday, we decided to travel on the Saturday and come back on Monday to make the most of the weekend. It's years (I feel ashamed) since I was last in Wales and I didn't realise just how much I had missed it till I returned. We (my Mum and Auntie came with me) stayed in Betws-y-Coed, which is itself a beautiful town set in the heart of Snowdonia, but travelled out to Beddgelert on the Saturday- having spent the majority of my childhood holidaying there, it is like a second home to me. The village itself hasn't changed much, except for the re-opened stretch of the Welsh Highland Railway which now runs again through the mountains and alongside the river. I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing one of the trains come past, not to satisfy some long-repressed urge to become a trainspotter, but because I have walked the stretch so many times over the years. Part of me felt a little disappointed that I could no longer walk through the tunnels that carve their way through the mountain above the Aberglaslyn Pass- I remember the thrill as a child of walking through the longest tunnel and not being able to see light at either end when the halfway point was reached- but it was great hearing the whistle of the train as it emerged from the mountainside.We didn't have that much time to spend in Beddgelert but we had a good stroll down the river and I even had a paddle (had to for old time's sake!)...it was freezing! We then walked back up to the new train station to see the diesel train collecting its next passengers- I felt a bit like I was on the set of Thomas the Tank Engine!I've posted a couple of photos of Beddgelert below, the rest are here, and a few of Betws-y-Coed are here.