Snowdon Blue
Snowdonia is the second largest national park in England and Wales, covering some 2,171 square kilometres of north west Wales, and including the Carneddau, and Glyderau mountain ranges as well as the highest mountain in England and Wales (1085m/3560ft)- Yr Wyddfa (the Tomb in welsh), or Snowdon from which the Park takes its (English) name. This was our destination, and a popular one too. We all arrived at the union on Friday night hoping to pile in the bus and set off for sunny Wales. This proved a little complicated, as the bus was blocked in and much faffing was required before we could get it out and load it up at the union. Eventually we all piled in. Enthusiastically I pulled the passenger door shut thinking we were all ready to go. Unfortunately however that car door meet Matt’s fingers on the way... Matt’s fingers appeared to be a bit dented from this experience and so we sought medical help. Thankfully there were no breaks, and Matt was given the all clear to travel.
So off we pootled, along the car parks that we English people call roads. We discovered a new chippy in Daventry, and finally arrived at the hut at about 1.30am, at which point I walked in on one of the other residents who was undressing at that precise moment. In the morning we amazed the climbers we were sharing the hut with by rising promptly at 7am. The weather looked great so one group set off up Snowdon, and the other along the Nantle Ridge. The Snowdon group later split as some took the Crib Goch route and some took a shorter route in order to allow time for them to go shopping in
Betws-y-Coed. There were only fleeting views from the top of Snowdon, but the Nantle ridge group enjoyed amazing views of the mountains and sea, and practiced a bit off their off path navigation too.
Alex conjured up a wonderful Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner, and we heated apple pies on the stove for pudding. Sam got the fire burning bright.... In fact it was a bit like a sauna in there! As per usual a variety of classic games and drinking followed including the cornflake box game, ladder game and various other tests of strength, balance and stupidity. The climbers had a distinct advantage in most of these areas, but there were some good efforts from Sarah and Matt in the cornflake box game.
After another late night we did ourselves proud by rising yet again at 7am, and setting off for Cnict. Cnict is known as the Welsh Matterhorn, because if you look at it from just the right angle, squinting your eyes a bit, you can sort of see the resemblance with the real Matterhorn. The weather was truly glorious - blue sky and sunshine... you would hardly know that we were in Wales at all! The climb up had us all panting, but it was well worth it for the amazing views across the national park. We were particularly pleased to see that there was still a little bit of cloud on the summit of Snowdon.... it’s nice to know that even on a clear day you are still doomed not to get a view from it. After reaching the summit of Cnict we descended to an old slate quarry for lunch and then ambled back to the bus in plenty of time for the journey home.
We left Snowdonia via one of the smallest roads imaginable. I realised I had definitely chosen the wrong seat when I found myself getting out every five minutes in order to open a gate. Eventually we made it onto decent road only to find that the bus had lost most of its power. We did a bit of investigation and decided to carry on, as nothing too serious seemed to be wrong. Stopping at the Wheatsheaf in Crick we found they no longer served meals, and had to find a new pub, we were due some luck, and thankfully found a nice new pub, which will no doubt become a fellwanderers classic. The bus continued to play up a bit, but we made it home before 11, which is pretty good for us lot.
Another great weekend - Thanks to all who partook!
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