On to our last stop

Friday morning and time to move on to our last stop deep in Snowdonia in Llanberis. We drove to Criccieth for a coffee stop and a short walk on the way.

Carnarfon was our lunch stop by the castle before buying a week's food from Morrison's then driving to Llanberis.

We have a 3 bed cottage for the week as Kath is coming to join us and her friend, Catherine is coming for the weekend.

View from the patio

Barmouth day 3

We decided to do a shorter walk today but it was still over 8 miles. We went across the bridge and walked along the coast path to Fairbourne which was a quiet place. But there is a miniature steam railway, a par 3 golf course, a lovely beach and an amusement arcade so it'll be very different story in a few weeks time. Along the path we spotted a bird called a Dipper.

We climbed up a hill to see the Blue Lake (disused slate quarry) which we accessed through a tunnel.

Surprised to see fish in the lake

After lunch on top of the hill we made our way back towards Barmouth.

After a rest at the apartment we wanted to make the most of the sun so walked into town for an ice cream and a wander around the lifeboat station which had a brand new boat and huge tractor to take it out across the sands.

Barmouth day 2

We caught the bus up to Dolgellau at the top of the Mawddach estuary and walked the 9 miles back to Barmouth along a track high up the side of the valley. 

We could see the bridge we needed to cross at Barmouth way in the distance and it looked a long way away.

Lunch stop by some lakes. There were a group of Outward Bound youngsters climbing a steep high crag just by the lake and we were pleased to see the clouds lift as they reached the summit - their view must have been super.

As we neared Barmouth I spotted my future home;

And as we neared the bridge we could see our apartment (just above the blue spot but the photo is from the next day when it was nicer weather).

Three great days in Barmouth

Barmouth is known as Birmingham on sea - when the railway was built Birmingham residents came for their seaside holiday.  It is a typical British seaside town but has such a fabulous setting, with Caider Idris dominating the skyline.

Our first walk took us up onto the Panorama walk above the town for the views.

We then took off up a long, long track steadily climbing up the side of the valley. Eventually we reached the top and could see our destination way in the distance and also spotted a buzzard.

After a cold stop for lunch we started our descent. The way markers were few and far between. We found tracks using the Viewranger app so made it down to a proper footpath. We tried to keep off the main road for the last few miles back to Barmouth but again lost sight of the way markers. We knew the general direction and walked through one field not realising until we had got out that this bull was in there!

12.3 miles we did today and boy do my feet feel it.

Heading north

After watching Adam firing up his kiln (wood fired) we bade farewell to Val and Wyn and set off for our 3 hour drive up the coast. The journey to Barmouth took longer than expected as there were many roadworks.

We called in to the Centre for Alternative Technology near Machynlleth which has free admission in the winter season. Good that it was free and we didn't pay £17 as it was a waste of time - badly maintained exhibits and many sections just reserved for students attending courses. It really needs some attention.

Just up the road was a craft centre.....closed.

Fortunately our apartment was ready for us to check into early. We met the owners David and his wife Heather - who was born and brought up in Fleet!

The apartment is lovely with fabulous views. We are here for 4 nights and should be able to leave the car again.

View from sitting room;

After settling in we walked into the town to check it out and buy food.

Day two from Llanferran

Another long walk of over 11 miles this time turning right and making our way to Porthgain via Abereiddy. The latter stretch is one of the top rated UK walks in the Guardian and we saw more people on this path than we've seen in the last 10 days - probably also because the sun was out.

We stopped for a drink on this beach and had natural slate coasters and place mats;

Two great walks - day one

The beauty of staying at this Airbnb is that we could leave the car and walk left to the coast path one day and right the next.

The first day our walk was about 11 miles - up to St David's Head, past Whitesands beach, along to St Justinian then inland to St David's to see the cathedral and have a drink, then 2 miles to the finish at home. We saw a kestrel hovering and got fairly close when it rested on a fence near the path but it didn't wait around for a photo.

We stumbled upon this burial chamber;

Brand new lifeboat station;

Llanferran Farm

For 3 nights we are back in a hosted Airbnb. Val and Wyn are a lovely couple who run a small holding. Two sheep, three lambs, a house cow and her calf, a flock of doves, three ducks, lots of chickens, a tank full of tadpoles, a soppy Great Dane and a cat. The house was a bit chaotic and messy but our bedroom and bathroom area was clean and cosy and we religiously closed our doors to keep the animals out. One of their sons, Adam Buick is a renowned potter who has a studio in their barn so we had a tour and a chat with him. His speciality is the Korean moon jar - he has one on display in the British Museum and was recently filmed for a Korean TV channel.

When we saw the front we were worried it was small to share but it was like the tardis inside.

The wonderful view from the dining table with the duck pond and doves in the foreground.

Fresh eggs each morning