Men (and women) of Harlech

There is nothing quite like a hearty breakfast the morning after a hard walk. The Wynnstay grill went down a treat last Sunday Morning (as did the smoked salmon and eggs for the vegetarians amongst us - like me!). We decided over the coffee to go to Harlech for the day. The weather wasn't as nice as the previous day, but it was dry and forecast to remain so.

The coastal road between Barmouth and Porthmadog is lovely, so we drove up the A470 and came down along the coastal road to Harlech. Then at the end of the day we drove from Harlech to Barmouth on the way back to the Hotel. A long walk along the beach over the dunes, a meander around the steep and narrow streets of Harlech and exploration of all corners of the castle was interupted only by tea and panninis at the Castle Hotel.

Just the women

The Castle from the beach

Cadair Idris

What a lovely weekend we had in Wales! We stayed at The Wynnstay Hotel (mentioned below) enjoying great food and great company. On the Saturday we ventured out to walk up Cadair Idris. It was a beautiful day, sun shining and very mild for February. We started the walk on the Minffordd Path doing this route:

http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_b/1204/

taking the left fork out of the trees towards Craig Cau to go clockwise round Cym Cau (the lake). You can go the other way round but on this route, the very steep decent that starts halfway between Mynydd Moel and the finish is challenging. Its a mixture of stone and soft, which I personally would have found difficult ascending.



Looking over Cym Cau from Mynydd Pencoed


We started off about 10.15am. It was mild and sunny and for much of the day our coats, top fleeces, gloves etc stayed in the backpack. However, about 50 mtrs from the Craig Cau peak it got windy, cold and very cloudy and we put everything we had on! If it is cloudy at the summit, remember to stop long enough beforehand to take in the breathtaking views of Cym Cau. You see it again on the other side but it is breathtaking from all angles. The steep drop from the Craig Cau side make it particularly dramatic. From Craig Cau to the summit we couldnt see a hand in front of our faces, which was a little scary when one considers the sheer drop off one side of the ridge down to the lake!!

Cym Cau

Looking back to Cym Cau and the clouds at the summit

It was my first hard walk for some time because of my heart problems, so I wore my heart monitor all day. I wasn't going to overdo it so I took frequent stops and it didn't go over 135, so I was very pleased with that. The other half likes to think he's fit as he still referees the odd rugby match, but on the way down he had to admit that we have a long way to go before Kili!! We took 6 hours from start to finish, which we thought quite respectable.

Admiring the view (and a chocolate biscuit ;) )

We met up with some friends from London after the walk, who stayed the weekend with us. After a hearty meal at the Wynnstay Hotel and probably too much wine, we retired to the four poster and slept like logs.

Snowdon is next on the Wales section of our prep list but we'll wait until at least the end of March as the weather can make Snowdon very dangerous.