Tryfan Bach Midge Festival

I found a little friend today who seemed to have jumped the nest a little early!

He was walking around outside, looking a little disorientated, so I gave him a drink and somewhere to shelter for a bit. Hopefully, his parents will come and find him, or he'll give the flying another go after a rest?!...

I've been expedition planning and packing for most of the day, so by evening, I didn't need much convincing to head straight out for a swim. It's been hazy but still well over twenty degrees all day and with all this outdoor life on our doorstep, it seemed criminal not to.

Plunging into the water was totally energising. We were both feeling a bit zapped by the heat when we got there, but after a couple of dives, it felt like a whole new day was about to start...

And it sort of did.... as the evenings are so long now, we decided to stay out and go and join some friends who were climbing at Tryfan Bach. The sun began to burn through the clouds at this point, making the climbing wonderful, but in the shelter at the base of the cliff there were clouds of midges, which almost turned us back before we'd unpacked our sacks! With no time for faffing, Clare set off at warp speed and I soon joined her up at the top where we sat and enjoyed the views. The light, warm breeze up there was just enough to keep the bugs away. Beautiful.

On the walk down to the van, there were plenty of wild flowers in bloom, especially the Butterwort, which has a delicate purple flower (and sticky leaves for catching flies to eat!!)

Down by the river there were even some wild orchids in bloom.

Then, just to finish off such a nice evening, because it was still warm, (and because we can), we finished off the day enjoying a chilled glass of white wine outside in The Cottage gardens. Really felt like we'd made the most of living where we do today!

Tryfan Bach:

- Stepped Crack, Diff