Wales II

Wales Again!

A last minute decision on Friday took us to Wales for the second weekend running. Betws-Y-Coed (pronounced “Bettous a coyd” I think) was the destination. Hendre Farm is the name of the camp site; it is on the A5 a few hundred yards outside the village. Nothing to shout about, the fact that this camp site is within easy walking distance of the pub is its redeeming feature. The grass is flat and the pegs go ‘all the way in’ and the facilities are clean. It is just the constant orange glow of the sodium street lights that somehow seem out of place.

As far as touristy villages go, Betws has it all. A river, a bridge a waterfall and a chippy! It also boasts a huge range of outdoors gear shops. Put all of this together with a warm day and the crowds can become quite unbearable. The sad thing is that, much like The Lake District, many of the visitors have no interest in the outdoors. So, why do they come to such places when there is nothing for them to do? Wouldn’t they be better off in, say, Blackpool? (Or St Annes if they are posh)!

I don’t have all of the answers (I am sure there are many) to this question, but it is a fact that outdoors gear has recently become trendy. It isn’t uncommon in Betws (and Keswick) to see people wearing £300 waterproof jackets but putting up umbrellas at the slightest hint of rain! This isn’t a bad thing in some respects as it ensures a steady supply of quality kit at a reasonable (ish) price. Let’s just hope that the manufacturers don’t compromise functionality with fashion.

The Glyders

Waking up to the pitter patter, well, roar of rain hitting the tent roof doesn’t exactly fill one with optimism for the day ahead. We decided to skip breakfast and head strait to Idwal Cottage in the Ogwen Valley. This was our rendezvous point and the start of the walk. We sheltered from the rain whilst eating awful bacon toasties bought from the little shop on the car park. I forgave them for the rubbish food though as they showed us where to park for free. Soon the rain stopped and we were off.

Cwm Idwal is a Hanging Valley and the most southerly point in the UK where Alpine plants can be found. These include the Snowdon Lilly, which is exclusive to this area. It has recently been voted the 7^th natural wonder of the British Isles and is a Mecca for climbers, walkers, botanists and geologists.

The path up to Cwm Idwal is strait-forward and picturesque in a tolkien sort of way A waterfall cascades under an old wooden bridge with warped handrails and Tryfan peers down on you like a prehistoric beast. Ahead lies the Devils Kitchen and with dark, menacing clouds swirling around the crags, it was clear why it is named as such. Even the lake (Llyn Idwal) is named after a prince’s son who was supposedly drowned in its depths.

Rain Again!

There is no way up the Devils Kitchen for mere mortals and it is best left to those with ropes, slings and harnesses. The path, however, passes close and rewards those who have put the effort in with a spectacular waterfall and views into the valley below. As we passed it started to rain again. The waterproofs were frequently on and off as we ascended into the cloud and the view deteriorated. By the time we reached the summit of Glyder Fawr, conditions had become dangerous for the unprepared.

The lack of visiblility and the driving rain added to the alien landscape of the mountain. We pressed on, pausing only briefly to touch the jagged summit, making our way along the intermittent path towards Glyder Fach. At one point the rain made the showers of last week look tame. This rain was torrential and persistant.

Eventually we made it to the summit plateaux of Glyder Fach - we were pretty Fach’d off with the weather! Climbing wet and slippery green rock did not seem like a good idea so we decided to leave the 5 metre scramble to the summit for another day. There were quite a few other people wandering about and I think they thought the same. I climbed up onto it but I dared not go near the end as even the Cantilever was covered in the same wet, green slime. It remained vacant and the photograph I had been looking forward to never materialised.

Mackerel

Upon leaving the summit, the rain stopped and an occasional view appeared as the clouds parted. At last, we could stop in relative comfort and eat our lunch!

Not so long ago it was brought to my attention that tinned mackerel makes a filling and healthy hill-food. I thought I would give it a try. I was impressed. I recommend it to anybody venturing into the hills, tinned mackerel is a great alternative to a chocolate bar. It is surprisingly tasty (the tomato sauce version), it fills you up and it gives you an energy and moral boost. The only problem is the disposal of the tin. This can be solved by squashing it and putting it in the bag your sandwiches were in – learn from my mistake – eat the sandwiches first!

The steep scree slope descent to Bwlch Tryfan was avoided by heading down towards The Miner’s Track. A brief photography stop was made by a couple of little ponds and then again at Llyn Bochlwyd. The clouds lifted as we descended to the car. Typical! Tired and wet, we decided to forget camping meals and headed strait for the pub.

Moel Siabod

I have no idea how to pronounce this one but I have wanted to climb it for quite a while now. On Sunday I got the chance. Mrs RAR stayed behind in Betws to finish off School work (Don’t become a teacher, just don’t)! Two of us headed to Capel Curig in glorious sunshine and began the ascent. My footwear was till soaking wet from the previous day but I was optimistic about the sunshine drying it out. It didn’t.

Moel Siabod lies on the very edge of the map and no real paths are shown so we decided to just head for the ridge as this seamed the easiest way up. The views from the summit were excellent and the sun was beating down on us in complete contrast to the day before.

I could go on but I will leave it here, with fond memories of a great weekend.