Beddgelert Wales

31st August

A smooth morning - taxi to Port of Dublin, not long before we boarded a bus which drove on to the ship, found a good spot with lounges  next to a window, a  good cooked breakfast, and a very smooth trip across the Irish Sea. We arrived at Holyhead, Wales in the same bus that had driven us onto the ferry, in bright sunshine and quickly picked up our car - a Vauxhall, almost new in far better condition than the car we had in Ireland - a tick to Hertz and a cross to Avis. We could not find anywhere in the town to make us gluten free sandwiches, unlike in Ireland, but we were able to buy a loaf of bread and some ham, cheese and tomatoes and we were off to find South Stack for a picnic and some bird watching. Sadly for us many other people had the same idea and the place was crowded. We finally found a a spot near the end of the road and had a lovely hour or so in warm sunshine.

After some more shopping in Holyhead we had an hours drive to Beddgelert, a very lovely spot. Many stone buildings on the banks of two fast flowing streams, with narrow winding roads and surrounded by mountains. It is in the Snowdonia National Park and we have seen many hiking groups. Our accommodation is in the Coach House, right in the middle of town and our first floor room has a large window with a great view across a large grass field to a river and high mountains.  We shared a g/f pizza for tea and had an early night.

1st September

After talking to our host we packed up and headed off on a 10km hike. We felt truly blessed. Warm weather, an easy mainly flat track alongside the river, spectacular scenery - some farms, rugged mountains, a lake which we walked around, old stone buildings and lots of stone fences, some going up and over the mountains at seemingly impossible angles. We had time to talk to Welsh ponies, sheep and the occasional dog. It was interesting to see large numbers of Silver Birch trees in fields alongside the track - the Autumn colours should be spectacular in a few weeks. There were also masses of Rhododendron plants which the Parks people are trying to remove as they are invasive weeds. We got the idea that some of the locals did not think this was a great idea. 

It was a most enjoyable trek which saw us home early in the afternoon for a quiet and restful afternoon. The type of day you need every now and then.