Nocturnal Canoeing

Up above the Conwy Valley, I followed a local 'tip-off' and discovered an amazing viewpoint today. Cader Ifan Goch is only a short walk from a small National Trust Car park, but the views are superb. Having spent many years travelling through the bottom of the valley, it was amazing to see it from a different angle. It was all laid out like a map.

It had been a busy day. After the hike, I took a group indoor climbing at the wall in Llanwrst for the afternoon, then just before dusk, joined another group to assist with a night paddle down the Menai Straits in Canoes. We put on the water just as it was getting dark at the Docs at Plas Newydd. It wasn't as beautiful as the clear skies of the last few nights, but even with the clouds, all was calm.

The tide took us quickly east, past Nelson's statue, under Britannia Bridge and soon the bright lights of Menai Bridge came into view. Without torches, we could just see enough to navigate past the islands, steering well clear of Swellie Rock.

We pulled onto the small beach outside Clare's old house, tied up the boats and hiked up the street to the fish and chip shop in Menai Bridge for a well-earned feed.

By the time we'd got ourselves some chips and returned to our boats, the tide had slackened off and was turning to assist our return. As we passed again by the swellies, I heard a strange noise behind me, a bit like a horse snorting. Looking around in the darkness, I saw a seal pop its head up just behind my boat. I stopped paddling and it's smooth, dark shape floated up alongside me! What a treat! It stayed with us for a while before diving down out of sight...
It would have been an easy return journey had it not been for the headwind that had been steadily picking up. I was canoeing solo, so had to work extra hard to keep the boat on track and heading in the right direction! It turned into a bit of a fight on the very last stretch and we were all glad of the rest when we pulled back into the little harbour.
A long day and a late night, but we all came away with some good memories.