Clogwyn Cyrau Rock Climbing

Unbelievable conditions again today. Hard to believe that we're in North Wales and it's November tomorrow, as we've been rock climbing in T-Shirts today!

We chose to climb on the cliffs above Betws y Coed (Clogwyn Cyrau) as neither of us had climbed there in over ten years. We were surprised (and delighted) to find that the routes are superb. And on top of the crag, it was sunbathing conditions!

 

We climbed all four of the classic routes on the main cliff. The rock was warm to touch as we were in the full sunshine all day. We even took up our lunch and had a snooze after a couple of pastries. It felt like a total holiday!

 

In the distance, we had a marvellous panorama and could clearly see Moel Siabod, The Glyders and Tryfan above the autumnal colours of the forest.

 

All the routes were top quality and gave good climbing, which we both enjoyed.

 

With the short walk in and short drive, it meant that we'd had a holiday day, while even managing to make it back to The Cottage at dusk, in time to meet a friend for coffee. What more could we ask for! North Wales at it's finest...

Main Cliff, Clogywn Cyrau:
- Jingling Wall, HS (4b)***
- Bombers Wall, HS (4b)*
- Long Climb Direct, Severe**
- Central Route 2, VS (4c)*** 

The Snowdon Comeback

It's been a stunning day in the mountains, with a cloud inversion all day as we hiked up Snowdon from Llanbers with my friend Pete and several of his friends.



A few years ago, this would have been a breeze for Pete - he is a Mountain Guide afterall. However after a terrible accident, a brain injury and a battle with cancer, he's now making his way back into the mountains in an inspirational style. It wasn't long ago that I'd only be able to visit him in hospital; today he made his first steps back into the mountains.

After all meeting up in Petes Eates, we made steady progess up out of the gloom, above the clouds and into bizarrely warm weather. He's still a bit wobbly on his feet, but given that he was wheel chair bound for a while, it was an amazing effort. His personal traininer had even come over from Manchester to see him succeed! In fact, he was in pretty good hands really as our small team was made up of several MICs and a few fellow Mountain Guides!

And what a day to make his comeback! Not a breath of wind and exceptional conditions.

The ridge of Crib Goch as also standing clear of the clouds and we could identify different peaks that poked through like islands in the sea of cloud.

From the summit, the full Snowdon Horseshoe could be clearly seen.

With the clocks having changed, the sun seemed really low in the sky in the afternoon. After celebratory photos on top, we turned around and made our way back down and directly into the cafe for a well earned pint of tea. A fantastic effort and a real testiment to the power of motivation, focus, friendship and the bodies ability to mend.

The RAC Boulders

Unseasonally warm again today, so made sure we found time to nip out to Capel Curig for a spot of bouldering. I used to take groups there quite a lot, but had not been there in ages. The ground was damp and a few of the faces were a bit green, but this wall gave us some excellent entertainment.

Having not bouldered for a while, we both really enjoyed the process of working out the moves and piecing them together.

It was like having an exercise for the body and brain. When climbing a route, I usually don't 'work' the moves - I either climb it or I can't, but between us it was fun puzzling it out and good strength training too!

Believe it or not, we were working so hard, we were down to t-shirts by the end of the session!

Until sore skin stopped play and we returned to The Cottage for celebratory coffee and carrot cake, feeling suitably energised.

Climbing at Rhoscolyn - Porth Saint

The difference in the weather on Anglesey continues to amaze us. It's been a dull, wet, overcast and almost dark day across Snowdonia. Never actually really raining, just wet in the air. It's been a day for being indoors, trip sorting and expedition planning. By the afternoon though, we were both keen to get out and have some fresh air, so after checking the tides, took the gamble that the weather would be nicer out on the coast at Rhoscolyn. The new(ish) climbing guide to the area has got some areas that neither of us had visited, so we set off, with the anticipation of a wet cliff top walk.

Miraculously, as we neared the coast, the clouds began to part, the roads dried up and the sun came out! We arrived at the colourful cliffs in full sunshine! Unbelievable!

We quickly found the area that we were looking for and got kitted up. It needs to be low tide for easy access to the base of the routes and out timing was spot on. It was an easy scramble down to the base of a lovely little wall that was glowing in the low sunshine. It was almost t-shirt weather!

From the top of the routes it was easy to scramble back down for another. One of the reasons we'd come out is that the clocks change this weekend, so we wanted to make the most of the evenings. We felt like we really had!

As we were climbing a huge seal popped up in the water next to us and then a few minutes later a heron glided overhead and off down the coast. With the rocks glowing golden and no one else around, it was a really special moment. And the climbing was great!

Dusk was on its way when we finished our second climb, so we packed up and sat on the cliff top watching the spectacular light show out to sea.

All the clouds went pink as we walked back across the fields to the van. It felt like we were on holiday somewhere far away, but actually, we were back home by the fireside in well under an hour! What a diverse and compact place North Wales is!

Porth Saint, Rhoscolyn, Anglesey:

- Sea Spray Wall VS (4c)*

- Tide and Time Wait for No Man VS (4c)

Van Travels in Mid-Wales

We've been away in the van on a mini climbing road trip for the last few days around Southern Snowdonia and Mid-Wales. It didn't take long to throw our climbing bags and a bit of food into the back, and we were all set. After stopping off briefly in Betws to pick up a new climbing guide, we found ourselves making our first stop in the Moelwyns.

There was a lot of low cloud in the air and the ever-present threat of rain, but we decided to try and get some climbing done anyway. We chose a suitable route and set off up. The rock was just about staying dry. Every now and then a little wave of drizzle would pass by, but never amounted to anything. The rock has all positive holds, but the gear was a little fiddley to find and place.

Having made it to the top of the cliff, we located the descent route - which involved walking down through an old mining incline tunnel! Pitch black to start!

Once we got through the tunnel, we carried on down the steep incline to the road and eventually the van, where we made a brew and kicked back on the sofa with some cupcakes.

It was dark by the time we reached Dolgellau, but enjoyed a great evening in the warmth of The Royal Ship Hotel, in the centre of town, before finding somewhere to camp nearby.

Thursdays plans changed by the hour and having got rained off an ascent of 'one ofMid-Wales' Finest Climbs' (Will 'O The Wisp), we turned our attention over to Cader Idris. It was nice when we arrived at the car park, but the mountain was covered in mist and it started raining soon after!

Unperturbed, we drove west along the estuary to Barmouth. The climbs in the quarry were dry, but a very strong cold wind was blowing through the ravine, making it too cold for the climbing to be enjoyable!

Barmouth is a nice little town though and after strolling the streets, we went for a coffee down by the waters edge, before carrying on with the tour. Harlech was next, followed by Criccieth.

Here we were able to enjoy a blustery walk along the coast, before going for dinner at Dylans restaurant with is brilliantly positioned right on the waters edge.

Finished the night by meeting up with some friends in Llanberis after a walk along the promenade...

Moelwyns - Craig Yr Wrysgan:

- Y Gelynen, V.Diff**

Urban Explorations in London

Left my map and compass at home for this mini-expedition into the heart of the urban jungle, that is London. As much of the journeying would be on foot, we travelled refreshingly light, with just the bare essentials; a toothbrush, spare t-shirt and a cashcard. Supplies were easily and readily attained en-route and with a bewilderingly abundant choice. Caffeine, alcohol and pizza, seem to be most favored by the natives we encounters and we were very happy to try everything on offer - most of which seemed very exotic coming from North Wales! Navigation underground is also fascinating process, with some of the cleverest maps around; we were happy to have Andy leading the way though...

The journey began in earnest at Euston Station where Andy met us...

And swiftly transported us to Notting Hill. There was no carnival, but the market on the Portobello Road was in full swing and packed with interesting stalls - I was especially excited to find an antique map shop too, but was several hundred pounds short of being able to make any purchases. Ended up in Brixton for the evening for dinner.

Sunday started off with a very agreeable lazy wake-up and a classic London brunch at a suitably trendy cafe. A full on hipster fry up and a mug of coffee set us up for another great day of sightseeing. 

The cityscape around Canary Wharf is as neck craning as some of the mountain skylines that I've seen and in some ways, just as beautiful to look at.

Down by the river Thames, we went to have a look at the ship called the Cutty Sark. I'd never seen it before (only the model that Great Uncle Ken made from matchsticks). It's pretty impressive and must have taken some serious skills to sail.

We took a walk through the Navel College at Greenwich which is home to yet more splendid buildings.

Then up to the Observatory where the views get hard to beat.

We spent at while next to Greenwich Mean Time having a rest and checking out the view, before leaving Andy and setting off to find Tracey and Chris.

After being met with a champagne reception last night, today we've been on baby sitting duties. We still managed to get out and about, when we a took James and Daniel out for walk in the park. I got a bit of exercise too as there are some surprisingly steep hills in London.

Clare even managed to squeeze in a bit of business work too with some 'help' from her new office assistants!

Before leaving, I managed to pop into the British Library, where Captain Scott's Blog (known as a diary back then) was on display! Amazing to think that it was written from his sleeping bag in a tent somewhere in Antartica over one hundred years ago!

And so ended a fantastic mini-break with some wonderful hosts, lots of laughs, some fabulous foods and probably a bit too much coffee. And so much more tiring than exploring in the mountains! I'm shattered!

Orienteering at Glynllifon

There are some great autumnal colours on the trees at the moment. It's darker later in the mornings and the air feels little cooler too. Perfect conditions for some orienteering though - you have to move fast to keep warm!

I've been over in Glynllifon Country Park, with some students doing an introduction to navigation and orienteering. It's a brilliant place to teach as the gardens are extensive and there's all sort of amazing plants and trees, as well as a good orienteering course there. The big mansion house was looking a bit sorry for itself, all surrounded in scaffolding and the gardens don't look like they've seen their usual level of love and attention, but to be honest, it gave it more of an exciting 'exploratory' feel. In particular, the bamboo is running wild! Not a normal sight in North Wales!

On a micro level, there is also much to see if you take the time to look - these little fungi are only the size of a fingernail!

Yet, these leaves were well over a metre wide! They were enormous! They had a spikey stem and were sheltering the foot bridge! They must have been imported from Jurassic Park a hundred years ago.. 

I was pleased to see that the Giant Redwoods from California were still going strong...

In amongst marvelling at all the trees and plants, we also managed to get most of the orienteering course completed and learnt a thing or two along the way, so all in all, a successful day!