Snowdon View Caravan Park Llanberis

.....as Dan and I manage to miss our first train atthe beginning of the trip!! Excellent!! After moi's rabid seraching over a month earlier to guarantee us £16 super-apex singles to London we manage to miss our train by nano-seconds. In fact Dan was on the train but I was 20 meteres away running with my big ...

... was the shortest shower i've had in a long time though!

So off we set in the silver bullet once again - we stopped through Betws y coed, a small alpine like village in the mountains. The Autumn leaves were all different colours and it was just beautiful.

Then through the Snowdonia national park. Mt Snowdon is the highest peak in Wales and England - only a 1 in 10 chance of seeing the summit but we were lucky enough to briefly see it! We were also lucky enough to see a ...

... tradidionally given by the man to his lady friend as a sign of love and devotion.

Tonight we're staying in Bala - a lakeside town, known for it's watersports and prehistoric fish that inhabit the lake! Dinner was at a pub (for something new!) and we enjoyed Steak and Brains stout pies - Brains is a beer brewed in Cardiff that Josh is enjoying - he is also getting into the Magners and Bulmers ciders!

Nos Da!
XO

... next to the old car park area of demolished Chalets so our van is on tarmac the awning is on grass. Electric is 16amp and standard IEE plug normal polarity. Water is available at the end of every other row of pitches. There is Re-cycling its basic (glass, paper, tins) but its there

The site has:-

A swimming pool complex with kiddie’s pool and three very big water slides at least 5 others inside ...

... i.e. greater than the length of a normal rope. It is also good for practicing placing protection (squeezing nuts or friends into cracks) and trying to get protection out again. A couple of guys were free climbing it.

It certainly wasn't challenging climbing, but it was fun for the kids and me. Nick sat at the bottom with the dog on a long lead, guarding the picnic and enjoying the scenery. He makes no pretence of wanting to heave himself up a rock-face.

Capel Curig, Wales, United Kingdom rachelkw

... which were now turned into picturesque tourist rides were most probably once used to transport the miners to the copper and slate mines up in the mountain. As soon as our attention diverted from the passing train, we turned and entered a realm very different from what we had seen so far around these parts. We expected a clearing in the forest but this part was thicker, lusher, and we could already hear ...

... Lu: "Oh god, which path?!?" Ed: "That one" (he points to a path right on top of a high ridge)   Lu: "No way, it looks too dangerous and longer than the one we're SUPPOSED to take which is that one!" (I point to the path from whence we came, where everyone who didn't have an acute psychosis were heading)   Ed: "Oh come on, it'll be fun and I'll help you along the way.  I know what I'm doing. Besides, we can cut across and finish this in no time."   Lu ...

... never. We started on Miner's Trail pretty late in the day, at around 2pm. Considering the trail takes about 6 to 7 hours to complete, we were in danger of not finishing before it got dark. The first part was pretty easy as we walked through a broad track with views to the Gwynant Valley on our left. I was extremely impressed when Ed, studying his map, talked to me about how this valley was probably carved by a ...

... could hitch a ride. He consented, but only after putting a jumper down for Sam to sit on. As Sam didn't have a muddy bum, this was a little confusing. Maybe he wanted his jumper warming? A good day was had by all. Ugly Troll called shotgun on the first shower, which was fine because then Sam didn't shower at all. Dirty urchin. Ugly Troll then nearly fell asleep in her dinner. The End.

... the day before up into the hills behind Betws-y-Coed (the camping store capital!!). Was not as spectacular as Snowden but rates a mention. There are about 6 or 7 different ways you can hike up Snowden, with varying degrees of exertion required. I went up the PYG Trail and came down the Miners Track, both join up to Pen-y-Pass. It's a reasonably easy hike in good weather. The guide books estimate 5 hrs rtn, which is about what it took after stopping all the way up to take ...