On route to Snowdonia, we stopped at Ffestiniog Slate Caverns. Three of the group went off to the Zipwire Experience. Zipping high above the ground at speed, between the slate hills.  The remaining three “chickens” headed deep underground to the slate caverns, learning about the harsh conditions the miners worked in in the not too distant past. Despite the layers we were wearing it was freezing and really damp down there. Coming back up to the daylight our zipwiring mates were waiting to tell us about their experience. A great time had by all.

Now time for tea, we headed to the Ugly House at Capel Curig for a traditional Welsh Cream Tea. If that wasn’t enough, we also purchased the largest scotch eggs I’ve ever seen, for lunch the next day. Very quirky house, marvellous cream tea, and beautiful gardens to stroll around.  I did avoid the composting toilet though and hoped it wasn’t too far to our next campsite.

Just twenty five minutes away & we were settling into our next pitches. Or so we thought, we were just the other side of the fence to a cockerel & his hens!!! So after seeking out the facilities we found a second, empty field and requested a move. Rather than pack the table & chairs away us girlies ran, much to the amusement of the other campers, carrying them towards the gate to open it for the drivers, allowing them across the train track to the next field.

Hilarity subsiding, there was more wine before heading to the onsite pub for dinner, then sleep ( as long as we couldn’t hear the cockerel ) to be ready for our exploration of Mount Snowdon in the morning.

We woke, having not been disturbed too much by the cock, to a cooler day. We had checked out the local bus timetables and decided it would be easier & probably cheaper to call a taxi to take us to Mount Snowdon. When he arrived he advised us that the Snowdon train had been fully booked for the past few days. He kindly called & the only tickets available were at 4pm. A quick change of plan he took us to purchase our tickets then dropped us in Caernarfon.

Caernarfon is a walled town on the shore of the Menai Strait. There is a small marina and a castle. We had a lovely stroll around the town before stopping for lunch at an old inn called the Black Boy Inn. The inn has been serving travellers since the 1500s and is still very quirky with old beams and solid walls, but has been very sympathetically modernised. We ate al fresco, in the central courtyard, enjoying the friendly atmosphere.

Walking off dinner whilst waiting for our taxi, we were accosted by a couple of guys taking photos promoting Caernarfon. Why not we were happy tourists.

We arrived at Mount Snowdon in plenty of time for our train, paid the taxi & he headed on his way. Regrettably we let him go too quickly as we spotted, that due to adverse weather, the train was only heading 5/8 of the way up & we wouldn’t be able to get out of the train! For the price, we felt we would prefer to enjoy the whole experience and take in the views from the summit. So decided to get a refund & put Mount Snowdon back on our to do list.

With no taxi we watched a few of the old trains puffing about in the yard, pootled around the shop, then had a stroll around Llanberis grabbing a “Mr Whippy” as we strolled. As we had found with everywhere we’d visited so far Llanberis was beautiful.

After picking up some supplies, we managed to grab a taxi and arrived “home” just as the rain started drizzling. We had planned to eat our massive scotch eggs, purchased at the Ugly House, whilst at the top of Snowdon, but with the inclement weather, we had scotch eggs and nibbles in the van, whilst playing Yahtzee & cards. All washed down with a few gins or beers 🍻.

In the morning we upped sticks again heading for Elan Valley in mid Wales. Arriving late morning the weather had improved so it was off on the cycles. Elan has several cycle routes up and down the hills, with fabulous views and numerous dams. After 12 miles of cycling it was back to the homestead for a final barbecue as a group of six 😢.

Enjoying the early evening sun, we were suddenly attacked by midges. Nasty little things, nipping at our heads, necks & ankles. There was nothing for it but to clear up and head to the pub! We kept the hotelier up a bit later than he’d expected, but to compensate we booked breakfast for the following morning.

Sadly the following morning after breakfast, we had to say farewell to two of our campers, who had come to the end of their adventure and had to head home and back to normality. 👋 👋

Then we were four ……………..