Author: admin

Springsteen in Cologne May 2012

Thurs 24th May
7.30 pm Chris arrived at our house and I am all packed up and we are ready to rock.
Our stay at the Manchester Airport South, actually west, Premier Inn, starts with us getting an upgrade to a twin room at no addition to the £15 it is costing us each. The room is spacious and each twin bed is in fact a double. Chris has brought a flask filled not with coffee but iced gin! So we drink up and go to bed in good time for waking at 4. It is very hot.
“In the wee wee hours” (Springsteen), I wonder what happened to the nice shot I took when the room was tidy!
Fri 25th May
Wake at 4. Up and out promptly. Park in T3 Meet and Greet. Check in and we sail through Security having paid £3 each for the Priority Lane. This is well worth it as it gives us time to shop and have breakfast in Costa. Chris has a bacon bap and yoghurt and I have a croissant and yoghurt and coffee of course.
The flight is smooth and quick with only a half full plane and we are in Duesseldorf about 9.30. The luggage arrives correctly and we take the Skytrain to the airport train station. A short wait with some Bruce fans for the double decker train to Koeln. We end up in first as it’s very full chatting to Mrs. Bruce fan whilst Mr. is in a different carriage (because the train is so full). She tells us about their trip to Everest base camp. I don’t want to go there at all, ever, it sounds completely horrid. We arrive in Koeln and the hotel is a stone’s throw from both the station and the cathedral. The Hotel Excelsior Ernst is no. 1 on Trip Advisor and it is 5 star. Very helpful, verging on obsequious attention is paid to us. Only later do I realise the chap is touting for a tip, too late, and we never see him again. The room is huge, has embossed writing paper and a washbasin each! The mini bar is completely free and is replenished every day.  So we sample some Bitburger to check it’s ok!
We unpack and then straight out to find lunch which is sitting outside a resto near the Rhein.
After perusing the expensive menu we opt for the daily schnitzel bargain which comes with chips and salad and more beer. C has a wheat beer and I have another pils.
It’s hot, about 25C as we walk along the Rhein to the next big bridge and the cable car. Very pleasant, lots of cyclists on what look like huge heavy bikes.
As the cable car moves off, C reminds me that she might have vertigo. At this juncture we are swinging up over the Rhein and about to cross the motorway! I am told to talk but not expect an answer! Despite the photo showing a relaxed traveller what you can’t see is the hands gripping onto the seat in sheer terror! Fortunately it’s a short trip with good views of the Dom.
We walk through a nice park and along the side of the river, some of which is dirty grubby. Then back across the railway bridge which has thousands of padlocks for love along the fence separating the footpath from the tracks. At the end of the path is a plaque to say 1000 Roma and Sinti left here in 1940.
Then we wander around the Altstadt, stop for another coffee which is not great. Through a shopping street where I buy a pork pie hat to keep a bit more sun off my ears. Luckily I don’t have to try to ask for it!
Back to the hotel for crisps, Koelsch beer.
Whilst Chris relaxes in a cool bath, a girl comes and asks if we want the beds turning down. I ask her to bring lighter weight duvets which she does.
Lovely shower and then out again to Heumarkt to find no. 6 resto on Trip Advisor. After walking round twice we get directions from a taxi driver. The Brauerei Zur Mauzmuehle is old fashioned and cool inside. You step in through a revolving door wondering when you will be let out. Chris has lots of Koelsch and woodcutter’s pork with fried spuds and sauerkraut and I have asparagus omelette with salad. It is asparagus season so lots of asparagus on the menus. Happy diners. Then I take C on a long walk to the gay area, some of which is trendy. We are aiming for a bar called Bastard and I am expecting it to be really tacky but it’s down a little ginnel and is lovely and quiet and leafy and dark. C has more beer and I have white wine. We walk back with Google maps but the Dom is such a good landmark day or night.
Our room has a doorbell. I love that there are electric sockets next to the washbasin!
It’s nearly midnight. Time for bed.
On the plane
Our own washbasins!
Chris: “Why did I say I wanted to do this?!”
“OMG, we’re actually going to go over the motorway!!”
Padlocks of lurve
Archaeological dig of Jewish synagogue to become museum
Picture above an old pub
Boy on corner
The Dom
Pork and sauerkraut
Asparagus omelette
In the gay area
Also in gay area
Not Chris, obviously!
Roman Tower
Angels in dark, thankfully you can’t see the car they are attached to.
Bear
5* bedroom

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Excelsior+Hotel+Ernst,+Trankgasse,+Upper+Bavaria,+Germany&aq=0&oq=hotel+excCologne,+Germany&sll=50.937531,6.960279&sspn=0.309814,0.965424&t=p&g=Cologne,+Germany&ie=UTF8&hq=Excelsior+Hotel+Ernst,+Trankgasse,+Upper+Bavaria,+Germany&hnear=&radius=15000&ll=50.941772,6.956406&spn=0.064899,0.102997&z=12&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Sat 26th May
Wake at 9 and straight to breakfast. This is a sumptuous feast – lots of fish, meats, cheeses, breads and little pots of butter, mayo, cheese, beetroot and intriguing things. I have 3 types of muesli and yoghurt followed by thinly sliced beef and salami and cheese with rolls. Then a croissant. All washed down with proper coffee, espresso for me and cappuccino for C. She eats salmon, herring, cheese and salad.
Out to the U Bahn and after a bit of pfaffing we work out our ticket and platform. Head off for Bensberg about half an hour away.
The man at the hotel had thought we would struggle to find the outdoor pool but Google maps helps us to be self reliant.
The pool is in the ‘burbs on the edge of the forest. It’s open air and 50m long. Chris does 32 lengths i.e. a mile and I do 5 i.e. 250m which is a lot for me as am not very good at swimming. It’s quite blowy which makes big waves. It’s very hot in the sun on the grass and I don’t realise it until later but just this short exposure to the sun burns me. Thank goodness for Factor 50.
We wander back to the town for a cheese and tomato toastie and then back to the forest for a woodland walk on no. 13 path. We see a very big bird of prey. I am wanting a Biergarten and have seen huts marked on the map at the start of the walk. These turn out to be what look like wooden bus shelters and not inns. We take a “wrong” turn which spits us out at a “Friends of Nature” inn so in luck after all. Chris has a big beer and me a coffee.
Back via a lake to the station. We leave the train at Neumarkt and arrive back at the hotel at 7. Our luck is in as Philip Jump, one of the Badlands Fan Club brothers, is in reception dishing out tickets. He invites us to the bar but we have other plans plus there is mad Bruce fan hanging around and both of us would rather not have anything to do with her.
We go and shower and drink the minibar then out to eat. We’ve picked a bar but the whole central area of Koeln is packed full of people and fairly hideous. We end up in Brauhaus Sion sharing a table with a nice couple. Whilst we down several Koelsch we watch the gangs in their matching t shirts erupting into spontaneous singing. There are lots and lots of hen nights where they all have the same shirts and the brides to be carry what look like usherettes’ trays.
Chris has pork with onion gravy and fried spuds and coleslaw and I have beef roulade with mashed spuds and red cabbage.  Our neighbours say goodbye and wish us a “schoenes Pfingsten”. I’ve never been wished a lovely Whitsun before!
Then we go to the riverside for ice cream, very yummy and watch the disco boat on the river. So many people it’s like being at a rock concert without the music.
Back to hotel.
Not posing at all.
Not a Biergarten
Bahnhof at night
And Dom also
Friends of Nature Biergarten, lovely
Big big logs.

Chris swimming movie

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Bensberg,+Germany&aq=0&oq=Ben&sll=50.965633,7.157032&sspn=0.077407,0.241356&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Bensberg,+Germany&ll=50.965671,7.157078&spn=0.032433,0.051498&z=13&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Sun 27th May
This is Bruce day.
We have a very big breakfast. Muesli, raspberries, huge loganberries, yoghurt, cold meats, bread rolls and pastries. Unable to move. We go to the river to buy our boat tickets and then continue to walk off the breakfast by heading up to Neumarkt.  We enter the Kaethe Kollwitz collection via a shopping centre which is closed because it’s Sunday and go up the tradespeople’s staircase to the 4th floor. Have to ring the doorbell to be let in. The boy and girl are surprised we have come this way. The exhibition is very good and hardly anyone else there. Calm and cool. Pictures very emotional. We leave via a glass lift.
Back to the river for an ice cream then a long time in the queue for the boat. It’s full and incredibly hot. I feel I’m burning even with factor 50 and through my shirt. We go up the river, down the river and back up again. Bit too hot and full for huge fun as we didn’t get a seat even after the queue so we sit on the lifeboat. I don’t mention that I can’t see enough lifeboats for the huge quantity of people on board. Some Springsteen fans are sitting near us. Today is the day to wear the Springsteen shirt, I’m saving mine up so it’s at least clean and not sweaty for a whole 5 mins.
Into town to the Peter’s Brauhaus for lunch, we get a seat today as failed last night when it was so mad and busy. C has sliced leg of pork with sauerkraut and mashed spud. I have boiled spud with veg in cheese sauce gratin. Very filling. C starts on the beer!
Back via the Dom where the Goths or possibly the fetish festival as well are hanging out. I can’t tell anymore! I did manage to spot some queers on our travels. I read the other day that people can tell immediately if someone is gay by the shape of their face. This sounds like sheer nonsense to me.
We prepare for the evening, Born to Run shirt on but The Rising baseball cap insufficient against the sun’s rays. I ring home and am entertained by Carol’s story of the biggest spider in the whole world. At 6 we go to reception and wait 5 mins for the Badlands people and then we set off anyway as they have clearly gone. We pfaff a bit in the station with the ticket machine because the VRS ticket office and machine are shut and are the same colour as the DB machine so we go to the info desk and it’s great, our Bruce tickets include free travel and indeed say VRS on them, but in the small print in a lot of other terms and conditions in German so I hadn’t seen this. We finally get going. At Neumarkt we change trains and are directed to a special train. We sit and chat to some German Bruce first timers. T shirt makers in Germany are having a boom time generally and so some have used the gig to demonstrate their affiliation. A group of 4 baby dykes are all saying they are Mrs. Bruce Springsteen. What will Patti have to say about that? Given that Mrs. Bruce Springsteen seems to have other priorities than fulfilling her membership of the E Street Band then perhaps she doesn’t mind at all…
Everyone gets in line in a most orderly fashion and we give our empty plastic bottles to a collector who will get money back on them. Eventually we find somewhere they will let us on the pitch. Security staff seem a trifle grumpy. I team up with a fellow beer buyer to get our beer, there is a €1 deposit on plastic glasses. We find a spot near the mixing hut but it’s not good for seeing the stage and only just ok for the screens.
Bruce comes on before 8 which is v. good for him. The audience makes a lot of noise! Then we have a 29 song set. Lots from the BitUSA album. About half time C gets more beer and we move back for a better view of screens. Less smoky here too. The Red Cross come past with a stretcher and snapping on the latex gloves. As well as being good value for money, Bruce made me laugh and made me cry. After some albums which didn’t quite cut the mustard, he’s back on track and talking to me again.
After a brilliant night we get some more beer although the serving boy is rude and stupid. Back on the train. Into the Bierkeller next to the hotel. I make another bar boy friend which seems to be the only way to get served!
Back to room to drink the mini bar!

Official gig photos 
Working on the Highway on YouTube
Wrecking Ball on YouTube
The River on YouTube

Bruce’s own YouTube channel

Greasy Lake set list

From a distance you can’t see the supporting section
Dom and Gross St. Martin (I think)
Dom
1930s TV station
Suspended from bridge with the padlocks
Couple of poofs at gig
On top of the TV station
Poof doing a doo wop to Bruce!
“Tramps like us
baby, we were
Born to Run!”
With her killer graces and her secret places
That no boy can fill with her hands on her hips (sort of!)
Better camera for next time
And better spot too with luck
Mon 28th May
Awake at 9 after just about enough sleep. As today is a bank holiday there are no free newspapers. Lovely breakfast. I have bowl of fresh berries, cold cuts, roll, croissant. Back to pack and then check out. Leave bags at reception while we go to the cathedral and climb the south tower. It’s only 100m of climbing but up a narrow spiral stone staircase which is 2 way. Some people are v. annoying. We reach a central chamber above the belfry. The bells as we pass are chiming and so loud I was frightened and reminded of the Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers. We rest and then it’s up an open stair. This bit makes me feel slightly sick! C keeps on going, after the cable car she is being brave. Finally it narrows and we are up as high as it goes so we walk round the outside which is strongly fenced in on all sides and top. Hideous amounts of graffiti. Then down. The first part down to the central chamber is all down a really narrow spiral and some prats are unable to interpret the no entry sign at the bottom which means it is 1-way.
Back to hotel to collect bags. The doorman is grumpy with us now that we are no longer guests. Grrr.
Off to station for ticket to Duesseldorf and fail to get coffee from 2 cafes outside so we get some inside. C also gets a Jamaican drink. Train is quick only half an hour.
At Duesseldorf we put our bags in a locker and buy a tube ticket. Travel to the riverside although at first it looks like we are in the middle of nowhere but actually we just walk along a short way to the riverside. Then we find a place to eat in the Altstadt called Maredo. We both have self serve salad which is excellent but the Schnitzel and chips just not great. The Altbier is good! Just as well.
Then along the riverside and back into the town to a lake with lots of birds and their young. Ducks, geese, swans. Sit quietly for a while away from the hubbub.
Back to river for ice cream for C and coffee. V hot in sun and I feel a bit too tired and hot with so many people. Back to tube. Back to station. Pick up bags. Off to airport, just 5 mins on train. Then on Skytrain to terminal C after quick look at A where no mention of flight.
Check in, Wander round. Do controls and then shopping. At last, as all shops have been shut for 2 days.
Flight is on time and very smooth. Only 20 passengers on plane, lovely.
Thanks Chris, for a brilliant Bruce adventure, here’s to the next one!

Places we went, things we ate, on Trip Advisor.

Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.

Inside the Dom
Going up
Still some way to go
Zoom on Hotel Excelsior Ernst
The thought of dangling on this makes me feel sick
But clearly stonework needs attention
So very camp! (Duesseldorf)
Duesseldorf Rathaus
This was mad woman inspecting a photo!
Skates, dog, queers
Bad birds
Extremely bad birds
Phew!
Hot duckling, anyone?
or cygnet?
Last ice cream
The Four Muses

Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.

Hiking and biking

Sometimes you have to change things around a bit, so I got the bike out and cleaned it up and sorted it out. Then I cancelled the gym membership because I’d got so bored, and made sure that the same day I was out on the bike.
I used to go to the gym first thing in the morning which was good because it meant I got a decent car parking spot at work, I’m only actually getting up quarter of an hour later so I still get this anyway. My new routine means I get home from work, have a little snack as I’m always super hungry at this time, quick change and then out for half an hour. Just sticking with half an hour at the moment, but doing this most days.
At first I was a  bit wobbly on the bike and couldn’t even remember how to change gear, it seemed very fast as well! Now I’ve got a bit of confidence back and it’s all just like riding a bicycle!
The roads around where we live are fairly quiet and I manage to go just a little bit further each day and because the outward journey is nearly always uphill, I can roll back very quickly.
Yesterday I put the bike in the car, met up with Chris at the White House on Blackstone Edge. We managed not to become part of a sponsored bike ride for the British Heart Foundation and instead continued on our ride around the reservoirs on the top of the Edge. It was cold at first in the wind but we soon warmed up and had a nice little off road ride. No photos, well maybe one from my phone a bit later on…

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Blackstone+Edge+Reservoir,+Littleborough,+United+Kingdom&aq=3&oq=blackstone+edg&sll=54.447057,-3.063918&sspn=0.017492,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Blackstone+Edge+Reservoir&ll=53.660509,-2.044058&spn=0.015258,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.

Pavey Ark 6th May 2012

I arrived at Dungeon Ghyll about 12 and parked in the hotel’s car park for £4 for the day as opposed to the national park authority’s car park opposite for £6.50. I’ve just found out there are National Trust car parks at Stickle Ghyll and Old Dungeon Ghyll so I could have parked for nothing. They weren’t very obvious is all I can say. I didn’t actually get going until 12.30.
My plan was to climb Pavey Ark via Jack’s Rake and then once up, do as many Wainwrights as I could fit in. Really I should have started earlier but I was so tired it didn’t happen. I know exercising more makes me less tired but at the moment I am very tired most of the time so in a vicious circle which is hard to break out of.
I got up Dungeon Ghyll easily, taking the right hand path but crossing over so as to be on the left side at the top. A dam is shown on the map which I guessed correctly that it would be walkable but I didn’t want to take any chances. The paths in this area are all very good and new. At Stickle Tarn, I turned left and got away from all the people and had my first lunch (falafel wrap, crisps from M&S).
I found the start of Jack’s Rake and almost immediately felt I was entering into climbing rather than scrambling, retreated, and then went and located the real start to the Rake just a few metres away. This was fine until I reached a section I just could not get up. I could have moved to the left but felt that to do this I needed to be wearing a hard hat. I know that lots of people go up here without one. I think also by this time I was feeling rattled so despite this hard won 50 metres of height gain, I again retreated. Part of me kept saying “if David Dodwell can do this, so can I” but by this time my confidence was dwindling. DD is an ex-colleague, lovely man and very fit! I was annoyed with myself as the conditions for doing the Rake were perfect, no wind, no rain.
So then onto Easy Gully, Wainwright says this is fine except for one section where you need long legs. Fine it was until I reached this huge block of rock. I helped a teenage girl get up it by pushing on her bum (I told her I was going to do this and it was the only bit I could reach!), her friend or relation was pulling her up so I told him, once we’d got her up, that this is not a wise thing to do (because her weight, even though she was very light, would still be enough to pull him down, and I have just learnt this on ML training). Despite me chiding him, he very kindly offered to help me up, but  I said if I couldn’t get up under my own steam I would go back down again. I tried looking for alternative ways to get round the rock but it really was the only way. During one of these,  I slipped back down a rock and banged my knee. I just couldn’t do it and have no idea how this party which included a small child and a dog, managed to get up there. Let alone AW! Another retreat, back down 100 metres. Time for my second lunch which was almost identical to the first!
By this time I was starting to feel even more tired and fed up, but didn’t want to waste having driven 110 miles. I contoured round to what AW describes as a grassy slope. It no longer is as it’s been converted to a very good path, you can just see where the grassy slope was in places. This got me up to the top of Pavey Ark at last.
It was now well after 4pm and I needed to think about going home. So instead of skipping around on the tops gathering lots of Wainwrights very quickly, I had to go back down. I headed in the direction of Harrison Stickle, contouring around to reach the path. I passed a laminated photo of a child which someone had fairly ineffectively secured to the ground. Whilst I’m very sorry that the child has died, I can’t understand how anyone can think this is a good idea. All it needs is a big wind, which will probably be quite soon and then this just becomes detritus.
Lots of interesting rocks on Pavey Ark, some with big blobs stuck on and lots which look as if they’ve been sand blasted, which they probably have as it’s a form of volcanic sandstone. Just found out these are created by vesicles, pockets of vesicular gases which were created when the rock was molten.
I chatted to a man and boy going up as I went down. I’d seen them earlier. They also had bottled out of Jack’s Rake and also failed Easy Gully. What a misnomer that is. So it wasn’t just me but this didn’t make me feel any better.
The walk back down to Stickle Tarn was quite quick but the path back to Dungeon Ghyll seemed to take forever. I arrived back at the car just after 6pm and ate 2 energy bars.
This was not a Quality Mountain Day for me, but more a day of frustration, stress, tiredness. Weirdly it probably does fit into the ML remit for one, see below. No navigational incompetencies but very little achieved. It felt like all I did was either go up or go down without the relief of a little bit of flat. I did about 150 metres on top of the actual height of Pavey Ark (700m).
I used my Magellan GPS booster which extends my phone battery life and improves the GPS reception. Along with Memory Map on the phone, this worked really well and I’ve finally got a track of my route on my PC. I did 9 km in 5.5 hours. It does show however that I swam in Stickle Tarn, which is something Chris would do, but not me!

A QMD as defined for the Mountain Leader scheme:

  • the individual takes part in the planning and leadership
  • navigation skills are required away from marked paths
  • experience must be in terrain and weather comparable to that found in UK and Irish hills
  • knowledge is increased and skills practised
  • attention is paid to safety
  • five hours or more journey time
  • adverse conditions may be encountered

Now of course, I can’t help but think of other meanings for QMD! None for publication here though!

Since I wrote this, 2 people have died on Jack’s Rake, one of them was a man who is related to a woman I work with and the 2nd a woman a week later. It is not an easy scramble and needs real care and preparation.

Pavey Ark from Stickle Tarn
From Easy Gully
Defeated by big, bad boulder in the middle
Stickle Tarn from Pavey Ark
Tormentil

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Great+Langdale,+United+Kingdom&aq=1&oq=great+lan&sll=53.10227,-3.9183&sspn=0.018062,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Great+Langdale,+United+Kingdom&ll=54.447037,-3.063898&spn=0.014972,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.

Mountain Leader Training Course April 2012

Sunday

I arrived at Plas y Brenin about 7 pm. It only took 2.5 hours to get here. I’ve been using the east and south sides of the M60 but have finally woken up to the north and west sides being quicker. I shaved half an hour off the journey and it makes Snowdonia even more doable.
I went to the bar and got a beer then the rooms were announced as being ready. I went and lugged the first load in. PYB is an old coaching inn en route to Anglesey and is very big and has lots of corridors leading hither and thither. My single (phew) room is at the back with a great view of the Snowdon horseshoe. Better than last time when I had to climb on the table to see out/open the window and all I got was the top of the kitchen. Nice and comfortable. A step up from the YH.
Went to check programme for tomorrow and met Angela from S. Wales and Heather who are sharing the room next door. They seem nice. Just Christopher to meet.
Got the rest of the gear in. There is loads of it because – usual mountain gear plus camping gear plus river crossing clothes plus study bag.
For dinner in the bar I had chicken and chips and salad. Chicken was deep fried and too dry. Chips too many but the salad bit was nice.
My room is quiet which is good. I can faintly hear the girls next door. Suspect it’s just luck I have a single room so must remember to request it next time.
Monday
Up at 7 am for a shower and bag packing. Down just before 8 to pack up my lunch of tuna sandwich plus apple and tiffin. Last time I came they had outsourced the sandwiches for lunches and they were rubbish. Many of us fed this back to them and they have changed the supplier to a nearer one.
Beans on toast for breakfast.
First off is welcome to the centre by Martin Doyle. As this is my 3rd time all I can say is that he looks older.
Then off with Mike Raine, author of Nature of Snowdonia. He is our instructor for the week. We go to the Gwynant room which is probably one of the lounges of the old inn.
Intros and remit of scheme. Then we collect bags and assemble under the canopy. We collect maps from stores and we are off. Weather is warm and sunny. Across the end of the lake by by the bridge.
We are going up Moel Siabod which I had thought of for a warm up yesterday but didn’t do as managed to distract myself. We do pacing and quickly cover 500m. Then on up the path through the woods. Once out of the woods we start on legs. Mike very relaxed about it all. Rather than follow each step to the letter with maps out we have to put them away while taking turns to lead.  The leader has theirs out! We are all quite well matched and we help each other a bit. We then have to relocate using the contours when the leader stops. We do this a good way up the hill. I am finding the walking hard work after my cold last week but Angela has asthma so needs to stop for occasional rests. This makes me feel better about stopping! Mike and Chris both have very long legs. Chris and Heather are DoE leaders but much nicer than the last ones I met here. Heather reminds me of Jennifer Saunders so am well disposed to her and she has a great sense of humour!
There are long scrambly sections which are hard work and more so when the rain comes and it gets slippy. I have a slide but on my front. Am told my nav is perfection! Well for that leg anyway! I get 2 legs to do to the summit in the mist and rain. I take a bearing before the mist really obscures it.
We stop in the shelter for hot drinks and then it’s back down. More huge rocks to clamber over but once done a fast route down. We all fall in the mud except for Heather.
A hafod is summer mountain hut and a hendre is a winter one from when the Welsh did transhumance.
Back to PYB just in time to watch the ML course members do their river crossing.
Lots of fun in the drying room as the ML people are needless to say extremely wet. Sticky iced bun and tea then class work on the camping trip. Shower then dinner. This is a slice of melon, steak and ale pie, carrots,  cauli and roast spuds.
We all attend a short lecture about things not to do in Yosemite, i.e.climb a huge, huge, huge cliff for 8 days. No, no, no. Felt sick looking at the photos.
Beer in bar. Chat to Heather and Angela. Gear all dry very quickly.
Tried ringing home but no answer. I have an email from Carol that the phone is not bloody working now. Grrr.
From Moel Siabod

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Moel+Siabod,+Capel+Curig,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=moel+&sll=53.012792,-4.101481&sspn=0.018099,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Moel+Siabod&ll=53.073196,-3.933964&spn=0.01547,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Tuesday
Beans and hash brown for breakfast. Short session on weather. Forecast for today not great and hideous for the camp trip tomorrow. Bump into Helen who assessed me for WGL, she mentions tomorrow’s weather too.
We assemble and drive out to the car park next to Idwal Cottage. Up to Cwm Idwal with Mike pointing out rocks and plants. He is excellent on both. I am finding rocks more and more interesting but not sure if this is a massively cool interest to have. Suspect not but I don’t really care. We go up a bit and today we are concentrating on navigating over steep ground and it most certainly is. Hands on a lot of the time and levering ourselves up. We do some spotting, which is to adopt a brace stance so as to support someone up from you. Never pull someone up. Map work is limited to relocating. As yesterday I only get one of my relocations slightly out. We get up pretty high looking up at Glyder Fawr. Sandwich is cheese and coleslaw which is ok and fresh but needs more filling, apple and flapjack. We do route finding and then traverse back towards Llyn Bochlwyd. This also involves descending very steep scree. The technique here is to zig zag. The leader should line the group up before crossing so no-one can kick rock down on the leader and then each person crosses, lining up again before heading back out. When we did going up the scree Mike said we were to make no noise. This is a great tip to get people to concentrate.
Back along the river bank to the minibus. I waved to Damian at the YH but he wasn’t actually in sight.
We picked up a Frenchman just as we got going but I still wasn’t quite sure what the whole story was there.
Back for tea and bara brith, yum yum.
Lecture on the nature of Snowdonia but not delivered by Mike, although the slides were written by him. Good for consolidating knowledge.
Shower then Welsh beef roast dinner with immensely eye wateringly hot horseradish. Delicious.
Then the girls (Angela is 52 and Heather, who must be a little younger) and I put up our tents in a wide corridor. Lots of giggles. Chris joined us. He seems quite a serious young man, he gave me some load lightening tips and Heather who has loads of DoE camping experience was most helpful re packing.
Then we played with pans and worked out boil in bag cookery and eating. This will cut lots of weight. Dried food is even lighter but means more washing up.
Bar for beer and chat.
Striations where rock has been scratched on its travels
Llyn Idwal
Magnificent Mike!
Llyn Idwal
Mike, Angela, Heather, Chris
Heather, Angela, Mike, Chris

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Llyn+Idwal,+Llandygai,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=llyn+id&sll=53.073194,-3.934&sspn=0.036148,0.104628&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Llyn+Idwal&ll=53.115769,-4.025888&spn=0.015455,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Wednesday
Biggish breakfast of beans, poached egg, toast, hash bown. Pack bag.
Meet up. Weather forecast just pants. I get Mike to sign his book. Unpack bag and start again, this time with the girls helping. Heather most adept at squashing! Eventually I get it all stuffed in. Coffee in girls’ room. Download Agatha Christie Passenger to Frankfurt mainly because Maureen and I talked about it the other day.  Once I’d got togged up we meet under the canopy to weigh the bags. Mine is the lightest at 13 Kg.
Into van to Gelli Lago where we park up. We set off and I get the first legs and on and up. It’s wet and windy and horrid. We soon stop for lunch, it seems soon because we had left much later than on the other 2 days. I get a leg to the col of Cnicht. It’s less wet now but I am very slow. There is a scrambly bit to summit. We try to walk the ridge but Mike stops this plan as it’s too windy. He says it’s 100 mph and not safe. We are all in agreement with this especially as Chris has been lifted off his feet and we carefully go down away from wind.
We camp at a lovely spot near a stream which is flat and soft. Heather and Angela and I help each other to put up our tents. We let the boys just get on with theirs!
I walk down some distance for a poo. Sorry to mention this but I have forgotten my matches to burn the loo paper so instead go au natural and use spaghnum moss. It’s cold and wet but soft and antibacterial!
We have a cup of tea in Chris’ hafod then we all go to our tents to warm up but I fail to do this quickly. I read my book on the phone. Passenger to Frankfurt is dedicated to my grandmother and there is something soothing about seeing her name as she is still much loved and often missed. It’s nearly 40 years since she died.
I put more clothes on and warm up a bit
Time for dinner. Angela says Chris has moved his tent. I use the water from the bladder, no, not that one, to heat up Look What We Found beef casserole. I heat it up under the flysheet as it’s raining again but really I needed to heat it for a little bit longer. I have it with half a pitta.
We camped about 4. Dinner at 7. Now nearly 8. The night nav starts at 9. Whoopee. Mike says to see it as a bit of fun. Good plan.
Midnight
Three hours of nav in big wet. Truly horrid. Mike said it was as bad as it gets. I am back in my tent fairly snug. I was anxious before we did the night nav as had thought we would do legs but we actually did it as a group. I was grateful for this as struggled to see as well as hear. Main lesson for me camping is to bring a big orange emergency bag to put the rucksack in. And don’t get caught out at night in vile conditions!

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cnicht,+Beddgelert,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=cnicht&sll=53.112524,-4.026704&sspn=0.018058,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cnicht&ll=53.000426,-4.018936&spn=0.030992,0.051498&z=13&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Thursday
7 am
It took me a long time to get to sleep. When my feet dried and warmed it happened. To sleep I wore merino pants, merino long johns, merino socks, merino t shirt, merino long shirt, micro fleece. And my buff. That came off but am warm now.
It rained a bit in the night but it came a time when the rain and wind stopped and all I could hear was the stream flowing steadily and now the birds are singing. Lovely.
Heather says things like “oh my giddy aunt”and “better out than in”!
6 pm
Back at PYB.
Today breakfast of 2 muesli bars, a bit of cake and a cup of tea. Angela had a terrible time in her £10 tent and I don’t think Heather and Chris liked their Jack Wolfskin tents that much as they seem to be hard to get in and out of without wetting it all. Angela ended up with her sleeping bag in her orange plastic survival bag as her tent had let in so much wet.
We packed it all away. Mike asked us what had worked best, my tent. What had worked worst, my gloves. What we wished we’d brought, whisky. What we wished we hadn’t, I said moisturiser but also wet wipes. I used everything else except a spare top but should have brought spare hat and gloves.
Mike said we needed to see where we had tramped about last night so we went back up. This time with full packs so it felt really heavy until we got into it.
It’s a pretty little lake where we retraced last nights’ steps. Mike split us into teams so Angela and I worked together. We had to go to 3 spots and we did this fine. Then we got another 3 and this took us down and up to our lunch. Whilst the day had started off fine and dry, when the rain came it only went away for short intervals. But at least we could see where we were going.
Lunch with the others. Pitta with smoked cheese, peanuts, dried fruit, a small cake and a bit of shortbread.
We got another section to do which had some slippy sections. Really felt the contours starting to make sense.
Then it was the walk down and back. Some even slippier bits. Back into lowland and a bog which Heather and I managed to stick our feet and ankles into, a short road section took us back to the bus.
Mike stopped the minibus on the way back near a river so the thing we had all been joking about was now going to happen as we knew it would. The river crossing made the ankle wetting seem like a raindrop. Mike showed us 3 techniques. In a line behind each other holding on to each others’ hips. In a circle. In a V shape. Needless to say we were in up to our knees and yes the water was cold.
Back to the drying room which we filled. It has blow heat and a powerful dehumidifier extractor. All should be dry tomorrow.
A lovely shower. Sorry to continue with the bottom saga. Whilst the spaghnum moss is soft etc. it also has bits of old grass in it which I’d not noticed while concentrating on keeping warm dry and on the map. All these had managed to stick themselves into my bottom, all’s well now.
Beer before dinner.
Dinner of melon, chick pea curry, rice, carrots, green beans, raspberry fool.
2 more half pints of beer and a Penderyn whisky. Lots of laughs. What nice people.
In the drying room most stuff is doing well just not the boots.
Dolorite
More dolorite
Managed not to step on this
Glorious weather!
Friday
Slept like a log. Woke at 6 and then dropped off again. Breakfast of beans, poached egg and toast. Collected lunch and off to the lecture room. We practised knotting and the principles of belaying indoors. Then out along the road and across to some rocks. We looked at how to identify good anchors – size, solidity and shape. Tapping lets you feel vibrations if the rocks are loose and many were. Heather and I got up the hill in turns. Then we lunched. Time to belay each other down a bit. I found knotting didn’t exactly come easily to me. But well impressed with how effective the system is. Even when I just dug my heels in with Mike pulling hard, he couldn’t shift me! Then we did the confidence rope which is a bit like leading a dog on a lead and I was told I did this well. Not sure what Chris thought!
Then back to the centre for paper work and more rope work crossing a river (imaginary).
Time for farewells. Just glad to have been on training with such nice people.
Final bara brith. Took me a while to pack and get everything to the car. Set off at 5.30 and home for just after 8.  Despite a big holdup in Llanwrst for traffic lights. They went green so being at the front of the queue I set off only to find an enormous lorry heading straight for me (slowly) around the bend. I and several others had to reverse back up. They all went off down a one way street but I didn’t know where it went to so stayed put. The lorry came round. I then went to go off again as I was in the way and various other cars all following the lorry were most abusive to me. Considering that I had the right of way and the lorry hadn’t this was a tad irritating. The course must have chilled me or knackered me entirely because the abuse didnt even bother me that much.
Apart from that an uneventful journey in the rain. Much colder over here only 4.5 degrees.
Chris, Heather, Mike
Chris, Heather
Chris and Heather
Angela
Saturday
Boots still not completely dry!

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Capel+Curig,+Plas+y+Brenin+(W-bound),+Capel+Curig,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=capel+curig+p&sll=53.106152,-3.91236&sspn=0.01806,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Capel+Curig,+Plas+y+Brenin+(W-bound)&ll=53.106135,-3.912334&spn=0.015458,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

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Snowdonia April 2012

April 9th to 13th

Monday

Set off a bit late and had to return to collect my phone charging lead. Eventually got going and stopped at Morrisons in Oldham for diesel and a few supplies. Stopped at the services for a coffee and landed in Llanberis about 2 pm. It was so very wet that I decided to drive to Betws y Coed but it was so busy there I went on up to Dolwyddelan and walked across the bridge and back. Still very wet so back to Betws where the rain stopped for a bit. A quick spurt into Rock Bottom to buy cards, a book and some boot proofer.
Then it was time for the YH so I drove round to Idwal Cottage which is one of the very first four YHs that were set up and is next to Lynn Ogwen nestled into the mountains. It’s a four star hostel and does seem nice. No meals are provided here so it’s all self cookers which is how the YHA used to describe us. The warden is Damian and I’ve arranged to give him my route plan each day.
I then self cooked  chicken curry and rice and peas which was nice and have chatted to a couple, he American, she Portuguese and a family from Cornwall mum dad and two teenage girls.
No signal so rang home on pay phone.
It’s gone very quiet in the sitting room!
Dolwyddelan in the rain

Tuesday

Last night turned into a farce. Sarah the Portuguese and somewhat sulky madam it has to be said although perhaps just very tired and Michael the American skipped off so I gave S 15 mins and went to room 6.  I was just brushing my teeth when Michael came in. We worked out I had been allocated the wrong key and room as his card had a little m for man on it. I suggested he could go in with S if he wanted but we decided to stick with the status quo as S was already asleep and neither M nor I wanted to remake beds. M skipped into bed v quick and I went and changed in the loo. If you don’t move when sitting on loo the light goes out so you have to wave.
I don’t think either M or I slept very well.
Today I let Damian know what had happened and it turned out I needed to be in the right room as tonight room 6 is full of men! He was most apologetic but I said M and I thought it was funny and how the YH originators would be turning in their bunks!
D said he would move my things to room 7. M was quite nice but had a beard which is not my fave thing! Of course my actual friends with beards are different (just in case Nigel reading this).
Breakfast of coffee muesli and yoghurt. Gave route to D and set off.
Start of walk up Pen yr Ole Wen is very steep involving clambering up big outcrop and so it continued. The book I have just read said this is one of hardest ascents in Snowdon land! And it was. Wish I had read that bit before I started out. It’s 1 in 2 most of the way. Lots of scrambly bits and hard to keep on path. I reached the snow and kept on for a while but it got slippery and after a few slides and some hailstones and having strayed off the path a bit I decided to return. I got to 820m which was still not bad. After I’d got past the snow section tracking my own footsteps in proper Ray Mears style, I stopped for lunch in a rocky hollow looking over to Cwm Idwal and the Glyders. Finding the path on the way down was easy apart from some sections where I had to go down on my bum. It made me realise I had not actually used the path for a lot of the ascent which had made it harder.
Nearing the end I came across a group of people being assessed for ML using a confidence rope. They were from Bedfordshire and I wished them well.
Back to the YH by 3 and D said I could go in so had benefit of early shower.
Self cooked a dinner of mutton stew, rice and peas. Very nice. Drank a bottle of beer working my way through the range from Conwy brewery. Read books in the peaceful sitting room and went to bed about 10. Big sneezes and feel v snuffly.  No more bedroom farce as I now have a girls’ dormitory and 4 bunks to myself.
Llyn Ogwen
Helicopter over on Tryfan
Weather coming
Down to Llyn Ogwen
Across to Llyn Ogwen with Llyn Bochlyd behind left and Llyn Idwal behind right
Bridges over outflow of Llyn Ogwen

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pen+yr+Ole+Wen,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=pen+yr+&sll=47.73855,12.508828&sspn=41.506453,107.138672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Pen+yr+Ole+Wen&t=p&ll=53.137246,-4.01207&spn=0.015447,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Wednesday

Slept much better although  wake feeling  like I have a cold. Take 2 paracetamols. Usual breakfast but the kitchen is organised chaos with the females of the party of 11 who arrived last evening making a regimented set of packed lunches. I sort of hate them but I’m a bit grizzly today. I manage a loathing of grandfather who boils both kettles at once until I ask him if he needs both. Perhaps he did as so many of them. Also loathe big man who just does nothing but get in the way.
I can only cope with self cooking if don’t talk to anyone as easy to be distracted with so many people moving about.
I drive to Bethesda on the old single track road and get paracetamols, Welsh whisky, a newspaper and a box of tissues in Spar.
Back at the hostel I give Damian my route plan and he will move my bag into 3rd and last room of my stay. This is a single room.
I set off to Llyn Idwal so named because Idwal was pushed in by his step brother and drowned. The brother inhabits the Twll Du or Devil’s Kitchen. I take the right hand path and meet a fellow hosteller who has been up and down the kitchen in 2 hours. It takes me 2 hours to get to Llyn Cwn (dog lake) at the top of the kitchen! The steps are giant sized and near the top it starts to hail, the devil is serving up a very chilly meal. I meet a man and boy. Man is wearing a leather biker jacket and jeans. I remember wearing the same in Blackpool during a torrential downpour. We then went to Flamingoes club and my jacket was so heavy when I took it off and it dripped into pools on the floor. At the lake I have a short break and then turn right.  The hail comes hard and fast but I am dry, it’s just noisy. Up to Y Garn for lunch. Chat to man and 2 sons who are doing huge long walk. Poor boys. Then to  family of mum,  dad and 2 boys who are doing my route in reverse. Dad is wearing a lot of money! Haglofs and Arcteryx.
I find the path down which is steep at first but once that’s over it’s an easy and pleasant walk down and the sun comes out.
Back at the YH at 3.30 for a shower and my new single room which is small and has a divan bed in it! Damian has kindly made up my bed again.
I read the paper and realise that I have not much idea of what is going on in the world. This is mainly because of Terry Wogan. When he retired from breakfast on Radio 2 I started listening to Today on Radio 4 but this just made me cross and I need something nice to listen to on my drive to work. So I forked out for a digital radio and this is great I now have Radio 4 Extra in the morning but the downside is no 2 min snippets of news so any that does drift my way is usually a surprise. Suspect it’s actually fine not to clutter head up. There’s enough going on in our lives anyway.
Suddenly remembered I’d not checked back in with Damian. He is very helpful and suggesting good routes for me.
Had the kitchen to myself mostly which was nice. Tonight beef and veg casserole with carrots and pasta. I am eating camping food so the mains are Look What We Found meals then pasta and rice in ready cooked in pouches plus extra veg is tinned. All working out well for me. I wanted food that would be easy and not stress me out in the communal kitchen madness.
For me using my own cutlery etc. works well too as don’t have to think about other people’s hygiene or rather their total lack of it.
Tonight will have a Celebration beer.
I went to bed early as the head cold is gripping me.
YH Idwal Cottage
Gate leading to Tryfan and the Glyders
Llyn Idwal and Cwm Idwal
Part of the Devil’s Kitchen
Across to another big mountain
East ridge of Y Garn
Big ‘un, will check to see what it is
I just liked the clouds
Army helicopter

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Y+Garn,+Llandygai,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=y+garn&sll=53.13723,-4.01205&sspn=0.018047,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Y+Garn&ll=53.115666,-4.047089&spn=0.015455,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Thursday

Woke up at 7 trying to decide whether or not to walk because being full of cold. In the end took Damian’s suggestion which was for a less high circuit than the Glyders.
I set off at 10 and got to Llyn Bochlyd before 11. Then it’s a short and stunning ascent to the Bwlch or col. At this point it would have been straightforward to climb up to Tryfan but I decided not to as this was not the plan. I continued to sneeze my way round Tryfan, heading towards the N.
I climbed up and got onto the Heather Terrace. This is not at all like the quiet suburban terrace that it made me think of.  Well it was quiet.  it’s a path that winds round the base of the flanks of the rock giant of Tryfan. My walk was more interesting rock wise now that I’ve been learning about the geology and I could actually identify volcanic tuff, an odd name. The Heather Terrace is well named, at times it’s very lofty and you know you are high but it’s not too airy and not exposed as Tryfan provides good shelter.
I lunched on the Terrace, this sounds ridiculous now. I lunched perched at a great height overlooking Cwm Tryfan. For Kate – every day I have had garlic pitta filled with salami, Emmenthal cheese, spring onion and cherry tomatoes. And fruit and a thick slice of malt loaf.
I kept going along the terrace which was hard work requiring much concentration. Some climbers dangled but I only met one other walker who overtook me.
Took various photos of rocks as these have now more interest as I’ve been reading about geology. I think I’ve more hope of observing the rocks than birds that disappear before I’ve even focussed on them or small yellow plants and mosses and lichen that all look much the same.
I carried on gently mostly dropping down until Tryfan spits you out of a chute. I cut across the flattish bit to the road surprising some goats.
Then instead of going straight back along the road I crossed over and up behind a farm to go the whole length of Llyn Ogwen on the far side. It was a bit boggy but ok with care. I passed an old WW2 pill box and was a bit surprised that it was there as would be hard for the Nazis to reach it, there must have been an expectation that they would come that far but I wonder what they would have been aiming for? I saw another one on the Llanberis Pass too, memo must ask Mr Mel Jones about these. Then back to Idwal Cottage. There was a car parked next to mine filled with chavs and I didn’t like the look of them and hoped they weren’t hostellers although I was also trying to be open minded, I tried but failed. It was 4 pm so I went in the YH with the key code and watched the chavs from my window and they then drove off. I’m sure I stopped them before they were up to no good, and probably no good with my car.
Shower this time in the middle one which only has the pinprick setting on the head, no place for gel and not vv hot. The other showers were better and have place for gel etc. the showers and loos all have lights which go off if you don’t move which is a little distracting.
Tip for hostelliing stay in a base, go out early and come back early then you get first showers and first use of kitchen.
My friends, the family from Cornwall came in and we had some laughs. They are very nice and dad gave me a walk to do. The youngest one has an infected ingrowing toenail so can’t walk.
Dinner of pasta, beef bolognese and sweet corn.
Got D to give me a stamp to paste in my YH booklet and am now drinking Conwy Celebration beer as it was a great mountain day with no wet stuff and sunny.
I used GNSS on my iPhone with Memory Map to record the route. Surprisingly efficient.
Musings
My skin is dry and have splits on fingers. Need NuSkin.
Great not to drive and rely on feet, this has been excellent base.
Bruce said lots of things that made sense to me and my life for a good 10 years or so but then he lost me for about the last 10 years and the last 3 or 4 albums. Drivel and Dust being the nadir.  Wrecking Ball is back with me. I know this because I can hear the songs in my head although have not heard them all week plus he’s making sense again for me. Travelling over Rocky Ground in more than one way.  Hot  Damn! Looking forward to playing the album in the car.
I have now learnt more about the Girl Guide movement than I ever wanted to. Enough to drive me to drink. Had half litre of Jennings Lakes beer too.
Llyn Bochlyd
Back to Y Garn
I think this is some Pitts Head Tuff with a quartzite banding
Towards the sea
Back to Llyn Bochlyd
At the top of the Tryfan col
Across to some of the Carneddau, I think
Blue ridge mountains of Wales
Across huge Cwm Tryfan
Climbers on Tryfan
And another one
The A5
This is flow-banding
Heading down
A dear baby goatlet, running away!
Catching some rays
Llyn Ogwen
Tryfan, sadly photo not level
Cwm Ogwen
Pill box

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Tryfan,+Capel+Curig,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=tryfan&sll=53.115667,-4.047083&sspn=0.036112,0.104628&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tryfan&ll=53.114893,-3.997478&spn=0.015455,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Friday

Got up early and said goodbye to family from Cornwall. Finally exchanged names. They are Sarah, Steven, Danny and Lauren. They have been referring to me as the little lady. Little I can understand as they are all very tall. Thankfully they omitted the word old. As for the last bit they must be visually challenged.
Damian not in reception and am sorry not to thank him and say goodbye. Send my wishes to him via Jeroen who is standing in.
Steve takes photo of the little old lady.
Cold streaming today and feel crap with it.
Set off for Beddgelert and go to see his grave. Buy some cards to torment Chris with. I went in the church and a man was hoovering in there. He said something to me and I had to ask him to repeat it several times on account of the deafness. He said it was ok for me to come in and I’m afraid in my best snottiness I said “I should think it is, it’s a church.” That really was my mother speaking….
I went to a recommended ice cream cafe Cafe Glandwr on grounds they probably would do nice coffee if Italians. Cafe is nice and I am right.
Catch sight of steam train at station but decide not to travel on it.
Then set off for home stopping for lunch on the way. Arrived home about 4.30. Damian later sent me an email, he’s a very nice guy and really helped to make my walks interesting.
Outside Idwal Cottage
Paraglider at Beddgelert
Beddgelert church
All lies here!
Poor poor Gelert!
All aboard!

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Beddgelert,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=beddgelert&sll=53.114889,-3.9975&sspn=0.018057,0.052314&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Beddgelert,+Gwynedd,+United+Kingdom&ll=53.012769,-4.101505&spn=0.015492,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.

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