I made it!! I survived the busiest weekend of the year and I'm tired but unscathed. The weather ensured that the weekend was a physical washout but I still managed to get some nice shots and more than that, I had both my daughters with me.
I got up at 4.30 on Friday morning, headed up the M40, M42, M6, turned left on to the M54 at Stafford Services and I came thence to North Wales. The journey was the usual swapping of radio stations to keep me amused whilst my daughters slept. I had a plan for the journey and it went wrong very easily as I missed a junction of whatever "A" road I was on and the next thing I saw was a sign for Chester in 10 miles. Having woken my youngest to tell her off for not warning me, I apologised and asked for her map readng skills. After a few hours I realised that we were taking the longest route possible and was expecting to see signs for Stirling. My beloved daughter was taking us the incredibly scenic route, but without the scenic bit.
Eventually we found something to look at, the Conwy Falls. It was indeed a powerful double chute style fall. As we stood there in the pouring rain, getting wet from the spray, it dawned on me that this was going to be a very wet day and could very easily end in tears all round.
I was due to meet a friend and her children as they have a holiday cottage somewhere in North Wales and we agreed to meet mid afternoon. As it was now 12 and I wanted to see Snowdon, we didn't have much time. I drove and we saw various cloud formations masking anything taller than a metre. I took lot of pictures and I am sure that one of them must have part of Snowdon in it but I couldn't tell you which one. The driving rain and heavy mist/cloud should've dampened even the most hardy of spirits but for some reason Wales is more atmospheric and mystical because of it. It was certainly inspirational from a photography standpoint but all the more difficult to capture.
Our friends cottage is breathtaking. I had to abandon my car and she drove me to her cottage in her 4 wheel drive as there was no way on Gods green earth that my car would have made it. The track was little more than tire grooves in swamp. The cottage is tucked away on a hill. A busy stream cascades down the hill right next to the cottage, creating various waterfalls on its way. The cottage is picture book, white with a black slate roof. The surroundings were bleak but beautiful. This was real Wales, the stuff of legends, the hidden life that beats beneath the thin veneer of civilisation. Some places are closer to it than others. In the South we are the furthest removed and the most likely to see it, without even being able to name it.
Anyway, we went for a walk around the cottage and it didn't take long till my feet were soaked but it didn't matter, I was snapping away, trying to capture the mist, wildness and beauty. We jumped streams, squelched through bogs and generally had a lovely time getting wet and dirty, it made me feel 9 years old again.
The real reason for this trip had been a song my youngest sang for a music exam, it mentioned Cadair Idris and a little white cottage. We left the cottage at 4.30 and headed to Cadair Idris. Again, it was covered in mist but looked absolutely stunning. By this time, everyone was cold and hungry so we decided to leave it for another day and passed it by. Now I am a little like Columbo, it's always "Just one more thing" so I did make the executive decision that we should make one more stop at the Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall. The only reason for going there was because I had bought a book on a 1000 must-see places in the UK. The entry didn't have a picture so it couldn't be that impressive so it was a case of let's go see it just to check it off as we're passing.
All I can tell you is that if you go to Wales, it is an absolute must see. It is glorious, powerful and pretty. The fall is listed as 240 feet and it is amazing to see. There is a long drop to a bowl and the water flows out of that for the final drop. All three of us stood there with our mouths open, this is not what we expected. I am now thumbing through that book, working out what else I need to see and worse, what I missed.
The journey home was uneventful and we arrived home at 10.30pm.
Saturday I did get up and run 2 miles. It helped with the tiredness and stiffness from sleeping so heavily.
Sunday we got up at 5am and the 3 of us headed to Dorset as my daughters wanted to play in the Sea. I understand that the weather forecast hadn't been great but we decided to take a chance. As we had number 1 daughter with us again, we decided to show her some of the things we had seen and to visit Swanage. It all went a little pear shaped as the weather was attrocious once we neared the coast but Corfe Castle looked amazing in the grey mist and rain. We reached Swanage and it drizzled, then a little harder and then it poured down. My girls were frollicking in the sea, laughing and just enjoying it. Sensible people were under umbrellas and getting coffee. I was standing on the beach under my umbrella, watching my growing daughters morph into children, it was a wonderful moment.
From here we went to Blue Pool. As my girls are wheat and gluten free, it was a real revelation to find that Blue Pool has a gluten free menu. We had a very short wander round as the rain had stopped which made the colours particularly vibrant.
I used the satnav to get home and it listed the fastest route as 150 miles in 2 1/2 hours. It listed the shortest route at 100 miles in 3 1/2 hours. Now I know that 100 miles could be crawled in 3 1/2 hours, there is no way the satnav could be right and to save 1/3 of the journey, it had to be done. Once it started directing me up single track farm lanes and I was crawling along at 3mph, I understood. I did manage to make up some time and when my daughters stirred from their slumbers, I was 28 miles from home and totally reliant on the satnav as I didn't have a clue where I was. As the miles counted down, I was still clueless as to my location. It wasn't until I was 15 miles from home that I knew exactly where I was. I found that incredibly disconcerting, I know my local area pretty well but to find that I can be 15 miles from home and effectively lost, that is a most odd feeling. Anyway, we were home by 5pm and I can tell you that I am absolutely paying a price for this weekend. I hurt so much this morning that I didn't run. I feel like a wreck and I am so tired, infact it is very easy to describe how I feel, remember burning the candle at both ends as a teenager? Those late nights with far too much alcohol and no thoughts for the following days? I feel like the following days.
Nevermind, time to be brave, I have a London trip mid week and my last adventure of the Summer next weekend and it is the big one!
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