Walk: 11am - 2pm - 4 miles
Only a short walk planned today after our aborted trip to the summit of Snowdon yesterday - we were both a little disheartened that we hadn't reached the summit, but you have to enjoy the walk and no point pushing on just for the sake of it. So, we took the 30 minute drive over to the Ogwen Valley. When on Moel Siabod earlier this week we chatted to a local artist Peter Moore who told us about Llyn Idwal and what a beautiful spot it was - and he wasn't wrong.
We headed over towards the A5, and then north-west towards Llyn Ogwen, where we parked in one of the plentiful parking areas by the side of the water. We set off towards Ogwen Cottage where we were met by large numbers of teenagers on various outward bound courses. We picked up the path south-east, then turning south-west over to the Llyn. I always find it amazing how well looked after many of the paths are in our national parks, and also lament those who do their utmost to get out of paying for parking and the like - where do they think the money comes from to keep these paths in the well-kept state most of them are? We had put some money in the 'honesty box' next to the path, but everyone else just seemed to ignore it.
As we walked up the path we could see a fire up on the hills - looking like it was coming from somewhere in the Elidir Fawr area. The smoke was blowing along the tops and reducing visibility quite a bit on what was another clear bright and sunny day.
When we reached the Llyn we came across a group of school-children having the natural history of the corrie explained to them. Why did I never go on such interesting trips when I was at school? As we walked around the shore, we were stunned by the view in front of us - looking up Devils Kitchen with the 1001m Glyder beyond it. Unfortunately there wasn't much hope of good photos of it as the sun was directly behind it and tracked along the ridge all the time we were in the area - we could only imagine how awe inspiring it must look with the sun blazing on it's slopes.
I don't think photography was a priority for the many climbers making their way up the cliff faces, they had more important things on their minds. For the first time I found myself thinking "I wouldn't mind doing that" - but at 20st I think I'd need arms and wrists like Popeye to drag myself up. We had quite a chat near the 'beach' next to the water, with a lovely North Wales couple, the gentleman was part of the Ogwen mountain rescue, although at a little over 70 years old he admitted that his days in the hills are past now. That said, he is off to Sweden in May to teach tracking - good on him we thought.
We settled down for some lunch, and I wanted to go on a little 'expedition' to get a better view of the Llyn, so I made a quick burst 200m or so up Devils Kitchen, then like an outdoor expert ran back down - skimming over the rocks on my descent. I was well out of breath when I got back to Donna! Have I already mentioned Bear Grylls? We continued around the rest of the water taking in the great views - one being the great lump that is Pen-yr-Ole-Wen across the valley, then headed back down the path to Ogwen Cottage where we stopped briefly for freshen up, then back to the car. A lovely short walk.
On route back we stopped in Betws-y-Coed again, had a 'Muffin Melt' in the local ice-cream parlour, and of course another round of rummaging around the racks in the outdoor shops. I was very tempted to buy a Berghaus Bowscale jacket in Field & Trek, but didn't. However, that's not to say that I won't be back there later this week...
Only a short walk planned today after our aborted trip to the summit of Snowdon yesterday - we were both a little disheartened that we hadn't reached the summit, but you have to enjoy the walk and no point pushing on just for the sake of it. So, we took the 30 minute drive over to the Ogwen Valley. When on Moel Siabod earlier this week we chatted to a local artist Peter Moore who told us about Llyn Idwal and what a beautiful spot it was - and he wasn't wrong.
We headed over towards the A5, and then north-west towards Llyn Ogwen, where we parked in one of the plentiful parking areas by the side of the water. We set off towards Ogwen Cottage where we were met by large numbers of teenagers on various outward bound courses. We picked up the path south-east, then turning south-west over to the Llyn. I always find it amazing how well looked after many of the paths are in our national parks, and also lament those who do their utmost to get out of paying for parking and the like - where do they think the money comes from to keep these paths in the well-kept state most of them are? We had put some money in the 'honesty box' next to the path, but everyone else just seemed to ignore it.
As we walked up the path we could see a fire up on the hills - looking like it was coming from somewhere in the Elidir Fawr area. The smoke was blowing along the tops and reducing visibility quite a bit on what was another clear bright and sunny day.
When we reached the Llyn we came across a group of school-children having the natural history of the corrie explained to them. Why did I never go on such interesting trips when I was at school? As we walked around the shore, we were stunned by the view in front of us - looking up Devils Kitchen with the 1001m Glyder beyond it. Unfortunately there wasn't much hope of good photos of it as the sun was directly behind it and tracked along the ridge all the time we were in the area - we could only imagine how awe inspiring it must look with the sun blazing on it's slopes.
I don't think photography was a priority for the many climbers making their way up the cliff faces, they had more important things on their minds. For the first time I found myself thinking "I wouldn't mind doing that" - but at 20st I think I'd need arms and wrists like Popeye to drag myself up. We had quite a chat near the 'beach' next to the water, with a lovely North Wales couple, the gentleman was part of the Ogwen mountain rescue, although at a little over 70 years old he admitted that his days in the hills are past now. That said, he is off to Sweden in May to teach tracking - good on him we thought.
We settled down for some lunch, and I wanted to go on a little 'expedition' to get a better view of the Llyn, so I made a quick burst 200m or so up Devils Kitchen, then like an outdoor expert ran back down - skimming over the rocks on my descent. I was well out of breath when I got back to Donna! Have I already mentioned Bear Grylls? We continued around the rest of the water taking in the great views - one being the great lump that is Pen-yr-Ole-Wen across the valley, then headed back down the path to Ogwen Cottage where we stopped briefly for freshen up, then back to the car. A lovely short walk.
On route back we stopped in Betws-y-Coed again, had a 'Muffin Melt' in the local ice-cream parlour, and of course another round of rummaging around the racks in the outdoor shops. I was very tempted to buy a Berghaus Bowscale jacket in Field & Trek, but didn't. However, that's not to say that I won't be back there later this week...
Comments
Post a Comment