Three Men On A Walk

Mountain report by Russ Crooks

2016-09-06T18:15:00.001+00:00

Take a look at @Goodisongiants's Tweet: https://twitter.com/Goodisongiants/status/773193456659341312?s=09

Stunning Helvellyn

2016-09-05T12:55:00.001+00:00

Take a look at @ThreeMenOnAWalk's Tweet: https://twitter.com/ThreeMenOnAWalk/status/772453482238513152?s=09

Pics from Helvellyn

2016-09-05T12:54:00.001+00:00

Take a look at @ThreeMenOnAWalk's Tweet: https://twitter.com/ThreeMenOnAWalk/status/772675350832812032?s=09

We are now on twitter

2016-09-02T09:53:00.000+00:00

Please follow us @threemenonawalk

Tryfan & Glyder Fach

2015-05-21T20:02:00.000+00:00

Good evening,

Well today has had to have been our toughest days climbing so far. With the plan of doing Tryfan at 917m (3010') we also scaled Glyder Fach at 994m.

The good news for us and the reason we did two of the most popular major peaks of Snowdonia in one day was the fact that they were next door neighbours, but this not make it any easier.

Our accent up Tryfan was tough going up the miners path, and then once we got the main climb up the east face leading onto the southern face it was a good old scramble to the top.

Tryfan

After climbing Tryfan we decided to just go for it and climb Glyder Fach which was opposite. We did have to decend about 150m and then climb back up 150m back to start the 250m climb back up to Glyder Fach's peak which stood at 994m (6th highest peak in Wales)

The views as you can see have been amazing for us all week and to get the weather we have had (albeit the odd bit of a 5 min shower) has made this weeks walk truely memorable and certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys their walking / climbing.

If you do like the dare devil scrambling, then Bristly Ridge just before Tryfan is a definite, but must be approached from the North as going from the South is downhill and if you fall..........there is not much to stop you.

We however did NOT choose this route and walked round underneath it, and even from our point of view it looked immense and intimidating. Not one for the faint hearted.

Bristly Ridge - From the East

On top of Glider Fach

Bristly Ridge - From the south face of Tryfan

We hope you have enjoyed the blog this week, and we will post once we have returned back home tomorrow as we still plan to do a 4 hour walk on our last day.

All the best

Andrew

Cnicht - The Matterhorn of Wales

2015-05-20T18:46:00.002+00:00

Good evening all,

We again have been very lucky with the weather, and where we were climbing today, as Russ put it sounded like something out of a Monty Python sketch.......

As ever with our climbs this week the views were just incredible and the landscape constantly changed with the moving clouds and sunlight, which made for some brilliant photo opportunites (you always get brilliant photo opportunities in Snowdonia)

A saying has stuck with me and will do for the rest of my life......."If you don't climb the Mountain, you won't get to see the view." And that is an absolute definite around Snowdonia.

Our walk started off with a mile or so of road walking, and then we hit the fields that took us up to the summit of Cnicht.........to say they were slightly damp would be an understatement! Swampy, boggy, marshy, take your pick it was anyone of the aforementioned descriptions of wetland. Anyhow despite this we carried on up and through some majestic scenery with lakes popping out of nowhere each time you turned a different corner.........stunning!

Our final stage to the summit was a bit hairy, but not quite has bad as the ridge was crossed a couple of days ago......the drop to the immediate left of us was only 1700' but it was only on one side.

Once passed the ridge our route to the top was fairly easy with a small bit of scrambling left to do. Once at the top the views were that nice we decided to sit down on the cliff edge for a bite to eat as the views overlooked Cardigan Bay (at this point we were 2300' up)

Once we finished lunch we headed back down the same route, and the further we got the nicer the weather was getting and we had great weather on the way up!

Our decent was a little quicker despite the boggy and very slippy rocks, so a good 6 hour day was had by all.

If you want to see anymore photos Russ & I also tweet our adventures so please retweet or favourite

@goodisongiants & @ajspencer81

Many thanks

Andrew

Beautiful afternoon walk

2015-05-19T19:59:00.001+00:00

Good evening,

We kept to the plan of going into Caernarfon late morning, and then do a low level walk from Beddgelert in the afternoon.

Our visit to Caernarfon was brief, but well worth it and to see the impressive castle was terrific. Caernarfon is a very picturesque town with plenty of character, history and charm.

We then headed for Beddgelert for our afternoon walk, and even though it was only around 5 miles it was an absolutely beautiful walk with some glorious backdrops and wonderful moments which you don't see everyday.

More from us tomorrow as we challenge Cnicht (Knight)

Andrew

Caernarfon

2015-05-19T10:17:00.001+00:00

Good morning all.

A gentler day today. The plan is to head into Caernarfon and have an amble round the town and then if the weather is ok we will do about a 5 mile low level walk round Beddgelert.

Andrew

A window of opportunity

2015-05-18T19:34:00.001+00:00

Good evening all,

Apologies for the delay, tonight was my turn to cook the dinner :-)

With the morning looking very dreary and wet, we kept an eye on the weather reports and between 11am & 3pm there seemed to be a glimmer of light at the end of what appeared to be a very dark tunnel.

Our climb today took us up Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd & Trum y Ddysgl and as we drove to our start point, Snowdon was not to be seen (it was completely engulfed in black cloud).

As we progressed up to the Obelisk on Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd we could see to the right of us that the weather was just going to get better, with blue skies glowing, and passing clouds as white as snow creating some fabulous shadows across the enormity of the surrounding mountains.

After reaching the Obelisk there was a decision to be made, and at this point we didn't realise how narrow the ridge we crossed was going to be. We however did decide to continue on what was a very clearly marked path and with a 1000' drop either side of the ridge we crossed over with extreme caution to continue on up to Trum y Ddysgl, and from there the views were phenomenal with the meandering valleys and contours of this amazing mountain range.

Our descent down after stopping for a bite to eat was an adventure to say the least, but as we knew the weather would be changing shortly we carried on through the heather and eventually found a designated footpath which took us back to the car......I'm sure there were 3 farmers though that would have chased us around Snowdonia if we had not turned right at the point we did :-)

Hope you enjoy.

Andrew

:-)

Every cloud has a silver lining..

2015-05-17T18:32:00.000+00:00

...and despite the heavy cloud cover at the summit of Snowdon, the views were still something to behold.

Our climb up was via the Watkin Path which is one of the harder of the paths due it starting the closest to Sea level (around 1010 m).
The path starts in some beautiful woodland with fantastically vibrant colours and some lovely streams flowing through - perfect for a picnic if you don't fancy the full climb up :-)

Once we were out of the woods, the landscape opened up with Snowdon in front of you and the peak buried in the clouds looking very eerie, but spectacularly intimidating at the same time.

The early part of the walk was a walk through history with and one location passing a stunning waterfall was used in the film Carry on up the Khyber.

Just past this we came to an old house that used to belong to the South Snowdon Quarry Manager, and during WW2 soldiers used this (once abandoned) as target practice for D-Day......bullet holes are still very much visible.

Only a few hundred yards past the house was Gladstone Rock which was named after Prime Minister William Gladstone officially opened with path addressing a crowd of over 2000 in 1892 at the age of 83.

Shortly after this we arrived at the old Barracks of the Quarrymen, and from then on up it was a very steep climb up to a point where could get the last photos of what were some fascinating views over looking the basin of the Snowdon Horseshoe. At the bottom of the basin is a lake called Llyn Glaslyn lake which is where, according to legend (and i'm sure Russ mentioned this last year, but i'll mention again) Bedivere carried King Arthur down from where he was shot with an arrow (Bwlch y Saethau) and has Bedivere passed Llyn Glaslyn he threw Excalibur into the lake......Apps are great :-)

Lake Llyn Glaslyn

From here on up it was the steepest and most challenging part of the climb, and it was very much scrambling up on your hands and knees, and loose rocks etc to contend with. It was here we entered the clouds and our visibility was very limited in terms of viewing. A shame but still what an amazing climb it had been so far.

We reached the Summit of Snowdon in 3 hours, and once up there, there was a sense of achievement and satisfaction..........a wee bit nippy mind.

After a spot of home made soup (Thank you Russ) and a breather, we started to descend back down via the Rhyd Ddu path.

The descent was a steadier than the climb, but it was after a good 300m that we started to get below the clouds again...and boy was it worth it.

To Conclude, today, despite lack of visibility at the summit was a thoroughly enjoyable day, with some incredible scenery and tremendous memories. We hope again that you enjoy the photos and the post.

Cheers,

Andrew

Snowdon

2015-05-17T06:54:00.001+00:00

Snowdon today, weather looking ok for now.....

Mynydd Mawr Climb

2015-05-16T18:36:00.001+00:00

Good evening all,

Well what a superb days climbing we have had today. We planned to climb Mynydd Mawr prior to arriving at our fantastic cottage in the small village of Talysarn.

After settling in we set off for Mynydd Mawr and after a brief stop to take some photos of Snowdon (which was irresistible) we started our accent around 12:30. As we climbed, Snowdonia really started to show its true beauty and we were blessed with glorious weather and some breathtaking views.

The climb was around 550m (starting about 150m above sea level) so the constant stops for photos helped with steepest parts of the climb. In all honesty we are still all speechless with how stunning these view are and no matter how lucky we were photos really do not do this majestic place justice........tranquil, mesmerising, and memorable are certainly words that spring to mind.

We really hope you enjoy the photos below, and for more incredible photos @goodisongiants has also tweeted.

Andrew

some more photos from Edale

2015-05-14T08:09:00.001+00:00

Peak District Practice walk

2015-05-11T21:08:00.000+00:00

Good evening all,

A few pics from our last practice walk before we set off for Snowdonia. A special thanks to Catherine for allowing us to stay at your cottage for the weekend. You hospitality was most generous.

Forgive the brief blog on this, but we hope you enjoy the photos below......(there will be more to follow)

Andrew

Location: Edale, Peak District.

3 Weeks to go

2015-04-22T11:26:00.001+00:00

Good afternoon all,

The team got to together on Monday 13th April to finalise plans for Snowdonia again this year. All being well we will be travelling up early on 16th May, and once settled in at our base we will be doing a half day walk up Mynydd Mawr in preparation for our walk up the Watkin path on Sunday to the peak of Snowdon.

For me personally it has been nearly 20 years since I walked up Snowdon, (I was 14 on a family adventure holiday in North Wales). I am very excited about going back to see the stunning views of the National Park.

Andrew

Back with the team this year

2015-03-02T21:54:00.001+00:00

First things first, it is great to be back walking with the team again this year, and despite missing out on Snowdonia last year, we have made the decision to go back again this year. I am really looking forward to this years walk and getting back onto the blog to post about our ventures.

Please keep posted for updates of our progress.

Andrew

Planning for next year

2014-10-06T12:18:00.001+00:00

So for those of you who follow this blog and keep tabs on our jaunts, you will know that it's generally quiet at this time of year. Most of the threemenonawalk team have been involved in staging our recent drama production 'Oh What A Lovely War!' But now that this has finished our attentions will once again turn to walking and, in particular, planning for our 2015 week-long hike to wherever that will be. Our intention is to get together in the coming weeks to finalise these plans and then, once again, the blog should come alive with training walks and plans for our next big adventure. If you've got any ideas for next years jaunt, then do please get in touch via the blog. In the meantime here's a pic of the #ohwhatalovelywar cast which you are free to print out, frame and hang above your fireplace - if nothing else it will keep the kids away from the fire!

Cheers

Russ

Our newest walker....well for dovedale anyway

2014-08-05T16:43:00.001+00:00

Leo loves his new walking boots.....

Back home and back to work tomorrow :-(

2014-05-26T15:05:00.000+00:00

We're back home, it's Bank Holiday Monday and unsurprisingly it's raining here in Lutterworth. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share a few more photos from last week's trip.

Once we've washed our gear, made small repairs, re-proofed our ponchos and dubbened our walking boots, then I guess the threemenonawalk team will get together over a beer at some point and discuss next year's plans. Not sure on the destination yet, although I suspect the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin and the Scottish Highlands will both be contenders - we'll just have to wait and see. Wherever we decide to spend a week I'm sure it will be another cracker and I know that we'll all enjoy a full year ahead of training walks and possibly the odd camping weekend in the mountains.

Enjoy the photos and please don't hesitate to drop us a line via the blog if you'd like more information on any of the walks we've covered on the blog over the years.

Russ

Last day's walk in a wet Snowdonia

2014-05-23T19:46:00.001+00:00

Up early again this morning and it was lashing down. We decided to head to Beddgelert and do a fairly low level walk along the river Glaslyn and part way up the Watkin path which eventually leads up to the summit of Snowdon.

Beddgelert is a beautiful little place. The name literally translates to 'Gelert's Grave' and, according to legend, the stone monument standing just outside the village marks the grave of Gelert, the faithful hound of Llewelyn the Great, a Welsh Prince. This is the story as written on the tombstone:

"In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, ‘The Faithful Hound’, who was unaccountably absent.

On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood.

The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry.

Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here".

As we set off along the river towards Llyn Dinas just before 10am, the rain stopped. The river walk was lovely:

We left the river and started the climb and were soon in a beautiful valley of waterfalls and copper mines:

Spin the wheel anyone?!!

The rain started again at midday and apart from a brief respite of about 20 minutes stayed with us for the rest of the day, torrential at times. But I have to say it didn't spoil our enjoyment. To be honest if you're a hill walker in the UK and the rain does spoil your enjoyment, then you've probably got the wrong hobby!

The descent to Llyn Dinas was lovely:

Despite the rain, we decided not to turn back to Beddgelert, but to continue round the lake and then onto the Watkin path.

Just before joining the Watkin path, I thought perhaps Dawn had bought me a new Land Rover and put a personalised number plate on it for me, but it wasn't to be!

We turned onto the Watkin path and who did we bump into within 5 minutes walking with who we assumed was his daughter? Yep, you've guessed it, Fat Boy!!

Arty eh?

After half an hour of climbing in torrential rain, we turned left off the path and headed back down a lovely valley, past a couple of waterfalls and back into Beddgelert.

Once back in Beddgelert we stripped off our wet clothes, ditched the rucksacks and headed straight for a lovely little tearoom for tea and Bara Brith (which means 'speckled bread' and is a really tasty Welsh tea time fruit cake) - delicious and well earned!

We got back to Camp Talysarn at about 6, showered and went straight out for fish and chips which was brill and now I'm blogging with a glass of red beside me and......yeah, another night of cuddling up for Jacko and Tim watching yet another episode of Pacific. Jacko has just called Tim a 'naughty man' for some strange reason so I reckon it might be time for me to have an early night!!

One last thing, at the top of a beautiful valley today we came across a bench, placed in memory of someone who, from the dates carved into the bench, died far too early. Nevertheless, as their loved ones had gone to the trouble, we three sat on the bench for a while and enjoyed the view down the valley. This is the inscription on the bench....whoever you are I hope you don't mind me sharing it but I thought it was lovely.

Russ

I'm sure Michael Fish must be back at the Met Office!!

2014-05-22T20:31:00.001+00:00

Naively, and probably stupidly, we put our faith in the weather forecasters and decided that today's forecast was going to be horrific so we'd take a day off and go sightseeing. I mean, it wasn't like they'd sat on the wall and given us a fifty fifty chance of poor weather - they said it was going to lash down today and did it? Did it buggery!! We've had one shower which lasted 20 minutes.

But, moaning aside, we've still managed to have a great day. Regardless of the forecast, Tim needed to have a day off from climbing and so, following a breakfast of sausage, bacon and egg butties, we headed off in the car to the Royal Town of Caernarfon. Caernarfon is a beautiful little town (although in 1955 was actually in the running to become the capital of Wales - Cardiff won 136 votes compared to 11 for Caernarfon) which sits on the eastern bank of the Menai Strait facing the Isle of Anglesey. The town is dominated by its castle, a hugely impressive structure built in the thirteen century by the English following the defeat of Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd - ruler of Gwynedd - at the hands of Edward I.

Here's some pics of our visit:

Obviously I was simply holding this ice cream for the person who kindly took this photo for us!

So as you can see, Caernarfon is lovely and we spent a very pleasant couple of hours there. But, by about 11ish it still hadn't rained and, in fact, didn't even look like raining so Jacko and I started to get twitchy and decided that we ought to get back to the cottage, get our gear on and get climbing. We discussed it with Tim who decided that he really needed a rest day but he was happy to chill at the cottage and watch the cricket whilst Jacko and I walked. So that's exactly what we did, Tim drove us back to Camp Talysarn and by 1230 Jacko and I were walking again and heading for Craig Cwn Silyn, a really rugged peak which dominates the Talysarn skyline at 734 metres (2408 ft). Within 10 minutes of leaving the cottage, you guessed it, it bloody rained! But it only lasted for 20 minutes and so we walked through now deserted slate mines towards the mountain.

Not a native of Wales I believe!

And so we started the climb, and what a climb! We climbed a lung busting 700 metres in less than an hour!

The view from the top was unsurprisingly beautiful, although it really was bitterly cold on the top.

This peak was in fact a slightly lower one at 700 metres called Garnedd Goch. We then walked along the ridge for half an hour to Craig Cwm Silyn. The going was really hard under foot because the ridge was literally covered in loose rock.

But we got there and the views were stunning, looking across to Snowdon and Moel Hebog, impressive mountains which we'd already climbed earlier in the week.

So after spending a few hours up on the ridge we headed back to base camp. It was incredibly hard to navigate because the footpaths clearly marked on the new Ordnance Survey Explorers simply don't exist or are so irregularly used that they are literally disappearing - really sad.

Anyway just to show you how brave Jacko and I really are, take a look at this vicious bunch who had lain in wait for us as we made our way off the mountain. Didn't bother us though, we never flinched.

So there you go, another fabulous day in Wales, a really enjoyable half day visit to Caernarfon - we also had tea and Welshcakes in the market square - followed by a 5 hour challenging hike - brilliant!

We've dined on Chilli, Rice and garlic bread (it's the future apparently) I'm blogging and Jacko and Tim.......yep, curled up watching Harry Potter - eh-ugh!!

The forecast isn't great for tomorrow (really?) but I think we'll just wait until tomorrow and stick our heads out of the window before we plan our day - all I know is that it will be another fab day in Wales.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Russ

Cadair Idris

2014-05-21T21:32:00.001+00:00

Believe me, I was much happier than I look on this photo today - the weather was fabulous all day, hot, sunny, perfect really and the walking, the scenery, simply breathtaking. Cadair Idris, which literally translates to the 'chair of Idris' is, if you've never been, one for anyone's bucket list - take my word for it, it is the first step on the stairway to heaven.

We were up at the usual 0630, breakfasted on sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs and were on the road by 9. Cadair Idris is about a 75 minute drive from the cottage but well worth it. So, by the time we parked up near the banks of Tal-y-llyn and got the walking gear on, it was a little after 1030 when we set off. Tal-y-Llyn is a glacial ribbon lake which was introduced to millions of people in 2009 when Microsoft released a photo of it as it's official wallpaper. Here's a few photos from today, although I actually took these during our descent.

We took the Minffordd path which immediately climbs steeply via wooden steps first and then stone steps all the while keeping pace with a beautiful woodland stream which runs fiercely in the opposite direction.

Within 45 minutes we had climbed over 450 metres (almost 1500 ft) and whilst the scenery was stunning, nothing prepares you for the site of Llyn Cau.

Tim took a load off and chilled in the sunshine whilst Jacko and I circumnavigated the lake. It took less than an hour and the different aspects were simply gorgeous.

Once reunited with Tim we started the climb up the first of three mountains, Craig Cwm Amarch, the sheer-faced, beautifully peaked mountain you can see immediately behind Llyn Cau. It stands at an impressive 791 metres (2595 ft) and was a punishingly steep climb in the hot sun. But worth the toil. Here's the views from the top.

We decided to have lunch at the top because the view was so fab. 20 minutes later we descended Craig Cwm Amarch and then immediately started another punishing climb up to the summit of Cadair Idris itself, a Snowdonian giant at 893 metres above sea level (2930 ft).There were a few other hardy climbers up there enjoying the views and the sunshine. Another 3 lakes are also visible from the north side of the summit, Llyn y Gadair, Llyn Gafr and Llyn Arran.

We sat for a while taking photos, chatting to fellow climbers and watching a couple of RAF Typhoons jousting in the skies above us. Then we set off again to climb the last of our 3 mountains for today, Mynydd Moel which is only 30 metres lower than Cadair Idris at 863 metres. Again, the sheer drops and sheer beauty were outstanding.

Although I have to say that after getting a bit of peace and quiet to ponder and take photos, I did feel like a bit of a gooseberry when I turned back to Tim and Jacko - not sure what I interrupted here but it was all a bit awks - clearly their cosying up watching Pacific in the evenings has developed. :-D

So that was the climbing out of the way and by now it was about 3.30 in the afternoon so we set off for the 2500 ft descent, which surprisingly only took just over an hour.

So that was today's adventure. As I said earlier, if you've never been to Cadair Idris then do everything you can to get there at least once in your life - it brought back many fond childhood memories for me having visited a number of times on school trips, but it's plentiful and diverse scenery always promises something new for each and every visit.

We're back at Camp Talysarn now, I've cooked and we've ate a roast dinner, I'm sat blogging with a wine and Tim and Jacko are......yep you've guessed it, snuggled up on the sofa watching TV. I'd tell them to get a room but the problem is it will be the one next to mine. Wow!!

Hope you enjoyed the photos, tomorrow's forecast heavy rain may provide us with a day off and a trip to Caernarfon Castle and possibly Portmeirion, we'll just have to wait and see.

Goodnight

Russ

Cheers!

2014-05-21T20:47:00.001+00:00

Although we are not there a small cheers from sunny Lutterworth......not quite the back drop, or the forefront for that matter of Snowdonia :-)

The three Moels!

2014-05-20T21:55:00.001+00:00

What a day!

An 8 hour walk today including a climb of around 1300 metres, but what an experience.

We started the day with the intention of climbing the 3 Moels as I mentioned yesterday. So we parked the car at the start point and set off at 1010. The weather was reportedly set fair and as we climed into the mountains the sun was shining and the temperature must have been around 20 degrees - it was lovely.

Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn fairly early on and instead of a left turn and a pleasant walk along the base of the mountain which would eventually lead us through a forest to the 3 Moels, we headed straight up a mountain (no idea what it was called and within half an hour we had climed over 200 metres and were thoroughly knackered. We took some time to find the right path but poor old Tim thought that although we were on the wrong path, he assumed we were already on the first of the 3 Moels - oh dear - I pointed towards the 3 Moels ( the next photo) and his language turned blue!!

I'm not sure the photo really does them justice ( although as you can see, Moel Hebog is the beast on the left covered in cloud standing at 2565 ft above sea level - not to be sniffed at). So down we climbed and eventually made our way to the right path and through the Beddgelert forest towards Beddgelert village. Here are some views of the journey.

We eventually dropped down into a valley and happened upon a deserted slate mine - I mean this thing was huge, the pieces of slate which had been left behind were huge, some as big as 15 to 20 long, there were ruined houses, ruined sheds, mine shafts, tunnels, you name it, this place had it, it was awesome!

This photo (above) gives you an indication of the size of one of the pits - Tim is stood on its rim to the right.

We continued out of the slate mine and then on through the woods towards Moel Hebog. The going was slow because there were loads of downed trees blocking the way, it took us over an hour to walk about a mile!

So eventually we reached the foot of Moel Hebog, the first and biggest of the 3 Moels and it was just beautiful to behold, blankets of bluebells and mountain streams underlined its majestic ruggedness - take a look.

So we sat at the base of Moel Hebog and had our soup and sandwiches before setting off to climb - and what a climb! Although the internet info described this as a straight forward climb, I shit you not when I say that this climb really stretched the limits of mountain climbing. It probably reached the limits of this discipline without the need for crampons and ropes - it was a really steep climb for over an hour followed by a precarious scramble over vertical rocks ( at over 2000 ft) for another half hour. If someone said why don't you relentlessly climb a ladder straight up for an hour and a half, this would give you some idea of what it took to climb Moel Hebog!

This was the only photo I took whilst climbing because I dared not take my hands off the mountain!! Here's the views on the top.

This next one shows the steep descent with Tim climbing down in front of me!

And so we moved on to Moel Yr Ogof where, as I mentioned yesterday was the hiding place of Owain Glyndwr.

So then we descended Moel Yr Ogof and headed to our third and final Moel, Moel Lefn, but as you can see, the weather closed in and within 30 seconds - I kid you not - we couldn't see a thing. I took these photos within less than a minute.

So just goes to show how careful and well prepared you need to be in mountainous areas, the temperature dropped considerably in those few seconds and within minutes we were soaked and couldn't see a hand in front of our face. That said, within ten minutes the weather improved and within 20 minutes we were back to normal.

So that was the day - an 8 hour really tough walk, but hugely enjoyable and exactly what we came here for. We're back at Camp Talysarn now, we've had our dinner, we 're all having a beer or wine, I'm blogging and Jacko and Tim.......yep you've guessed it, snuggled up watching the next exciting (yawn) episode of 'Pacific'.

See you tomorrow.

Russ

Stop Press - Snowdonia in Heavy Rain Shocker!!

2014-05-20T08:23:00.001+00:00

Would you Adam and Eve it, it's lashing it down again?

This is the view from the cottage right now:

So even though we were all up at 6.30 again this morning, we've decided to wait until 10am to start today's 'triple Moel' walk because the BBC and Met office seem to be in agreement that there will be a dry window of weather in Snowdonia between 10 and 4pm, so it seems to make sense to wait. So thought I'd write a few lines.

We had a pleasant enough evening yesterday, we dined on chicken, mushroom and smoked bacon carbonara followed by mature cheddar and biscuits all washed down with an Australian Merlot - very nice! I spent most of the evening sorting out my photos and blogging whilst Jacko and Tim curled up on the sofa for another episode of 'Pacific' from the box set which Tim has brought. From the momentary whoops and groans of delight at one point I can only assume that some young lady or another was bereft of clothes for a scene or two! This was confirmed when I came back in from the kitchen to be informed that I'd missed it - bugger!

So I'd better go and get my boots, gaiters and poncho on ready for today's hike and I'll tell you all about it this evening.

Russ