A trip to Snowdonia in the springtime is always a good thing and so early April 2018 saw Wayne’s Wanderers heading off for a weekend at the Snowdon Bryn Gwynant hostel alongside Llyn Gwynant, beneath the slopes of Snowdon itself.
Upon arrival, we found ourselves as often seems to happen, banished to the annex, which actually turned out to be a good thing due to the cozy private kitchen/sitting area – there may have been other people in there at times, but I think we drowned them out 😮
Saturday saw us embarking upon the inevitable Snowdon ascent, this time via the Watkin path, reputed to be one of the trickiest routes due to the low starting point – this reputation turned out to be well deserved. The weather wasn’t great at the start of the walk – misty rather than raining – but cleared up slightly around the middle of the day. By the time we reached the main ridge to the summit, the mist had rolled back in and visibility was pretty limited other than a few spectacular views of the summit and the ridge leading up to it emerging from the mist (see photos). At the summit, we could basically see bugger all due to the mist, but having seen the view before and knowing it was there somehow made up for it. The cafe being closed, however, didn’t 😦 Maybe next time we’ll come up in the Summer…
You can view the route for the walk here and also a video playback here.
Saturday evening found us down at the Saracen’s Head in Beddgelert (correct pronunciation, please) for the evening meal and very nice it was too. Certainly an improvement on the hostel fare from the previous evening – no slight intended to the hostel staff, but the new YHA ‘Supper Club’ really doesn’t cut it. To paraphrase Groucho Marx – I wouldn’t want to belong to any supper club that would have me as a member. Anyway, Tom can speak at length on this subject and will do so if prompted… 😀
On Sunday, some of us headed back to Beddgelert for a walk around the village via the grave of Gelert, which gives the place it’s name. A final stop at a local cafe for coffee and cake concluded a very enjoyable weekend.
Until next time – Wander On!
All photographs can be downloaded here.
Wayne's Wanderers 