Last day in Wales

The sun was back out so we made the most of our last day. Kath followed us in her car and we went to beautiful Conwy.

Conwy is known for mussels

The smallest house in Great Britain;

The castle;

And to walk the walls;

Kath then left for Leeds as she had entered a mini triathlon that afternoon. Martin and I drove on to Llandudno and, after a quick cuppa walked up the Great Orme. The path on the side we chose to walk up was steep with a vertical drop to our side which worried me so I took it slowly. The views were amazing. We stopped for our lunch just before the top - lucky we picked that spot as it was very peaceful.

There is a cable car and a tram up from the town and, as we turned the corner there were crowds of people and ugly buildings.

On the way down we walked through the pleasant Halfre gardens;

There were 3 escapees but as we walked further into town we realised by the amount of sheep poo on the pavements this was not unusual.

That's another great trip done. We are now in Liverpool for 2 nights to see Martin's mum.

Friday - gales

I had planned for us to visit 

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

then walk round South Stack cliffs on Anglesey today but gale force winds were forecast so we stayed inland.

We walked through forests and saw lots of old mine shafts and works. We then stopped in Betws y Coed to walk by the river and have a cuppa and cake.

It has surprised us how much Welsh is spoken throughout the country - sometimes it has given us the feeling that we are abroad. There is also the lovely smell of coal fires in the villages.

Unusual activities

When I booked our last week in Llanberis I didn't realise that there was a hydro electric power station and scuba diving in a slate quarry within walking distance.

So it didn't matter that it was still raining today as Kath had booked to take her dry suit diving qualification and Martin and I booked for a tour of the power station.

After our tour we walked to the quarry and watched Kath go down for her second dive having done her knowledge and skills tests.

After a late lunch at home we stayed put as it was still raining.

On the power station tour we couldn't take any bags nor phones nor cameras because of security.  I took this picture of the entrance beforehand.

We boarded a minibus at the visitor centre and were driven deep into the mountain. The cavern where the turbines and generators are could take St Paul's Cathedral it's so vast. The water comes from the top reservoir and is released into the lake in the valley and is then pumped back up overnight to be used again the next day. It was a very interesting visit.

This is the diving centre and the quarry for diving. The quarry has boats, mining carts etc on the bottom to provide interest to divers.

Rain, sleet and snow

We had our second day of this trip not venturing out. Overnight more snow came down to cover the hilltops and the forecast was dreadful so we turned the heating up and hunkered down. Needless to say Kath got a lot of revision done.

One quick dash through the rain to the Spar for supplies was the only exercise we got today but it was good to rest our legs and feet.

Snowing now;

Tuesday

Kath has an exam in 4 weeks so stayed in this morning to study. Martin and I walked to the National Slate Museum which was excellent. After an introductory video we watched a slate splitting demo by a quarryman then a demo by the blacksmith.

The enormous waterwheel which used to drive machines in the foundry and sawmill still turns.

The Chief Engineer's house and some quarrymen's cottages have been restored along with the workers rest room.

After lunch at home Kath came out with us for a 6 mile hike around the lake. There was one hailstorm whilst we were out and it had snowed at a higher level overnight. Today's forecast for Snowden's summit was -4, snow and 25mph winds.

Anglesey

CW had to catch her train back to Leeds from Bangor this morning so we went a little earlier to look at the long pier which juts out far over the Menai Straits and have a wander on the beach.

After seeing CW off we crossed over onto Anglesey to walk along the eastern coast path - but not too far as our legs were tired from yesterday.

The tide was on it's way out so we could cut the return  journey shorter by crossing the beach and having a look in the rockpools.

We ended up in Moelfre for an ice cream, a wander around the village and a visit to the RNLI visitor centre.

Snowden

Kath's 26th birthday today, Sunday. I had been keeping an eye open on the weather as we wanted to climb Snowden. The forecast looked really good for today although when we woke up it had changed for the worse. However it was still meant to clear at lunchtime so we decided to go for it. Glad we did as the weather has certainly deteriorated since then.

At the start of the walk in Llanberis there was a very steep hill which certainly warmed us up and when we returned 5 hours later some of us walked backwards as our toes were hurting.

The path was quite steady after that and I think we were all pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as difficult as expected. I especially was nervous as I remember the last time I had been up Snowden, when I was 15, but I had used a much more difficult path round the other side.

As we neared the summit I started to chat to a chap who was climbing the mountain for a charity in St Helens. He had terrible vertigo and his legs were wobbly. I kept him talking and made sure I walked on the side of the drop. He made it but absolutely could not walk up the steps to the cairn although I can't blame him as even I went up that bit on my hands and knees.

The weather was so good and we had amazing views all day.

The end is in sight

We had been complaining about the amount of litter along the path - even an empty champagne bottle had been left at the summit. Then at lunchtime Kath's plastic bag flew off in a gust of wind. We tried to spot it but couldn't. On the way further down Kath thought she could see it so diverted off the path. Martin and I decided to collect litter to make up for the bag but when we caught up with the girls it transpired that Kath had got her bag - 20/20 vision. We kept on with the litter collection and met a couple coming up who were doing the same. We had quite a full bag by the time we finished.

Back in the village we stopped at The Heights for a pint. We had planned to eat here tonight but there were several drinks we asked for that they didn't stock, Kath's glass had lipstick on it and the menu folder was really tatty. So plan B but most of the other eateries were closed or had limited menus (our party had a vegetarian and a vegan). In the end we got an Indian takeaway which was delicious.