Sea Cliff Climbing

While the mountains began to cloud over, we nipped over to the island for some sunny rock climbing by the sea. 

With calm seas and a low tide, it was the perfect conditions to traverse around to the base of a climb that we'd not done before at Rhoscolyn.

It was a fun little traverse around the headland to begin...

Then a scramble to the base of the cliff.

The climbing was great and the conditions idyllic!

At the top of the cliff, the coastal path is covered in wild flowers.

With it being so warm and calm, an afternoon swim was called for!

It all looked rather inviting, but proved to be not quite as warm as Turkey!

Rhoscolyn Climb:

- Truant, VS (5a)**

Sunshine and Slate

Beautiful weather for a day climbing on the slate. 

Took an abseil rope with us to get down to a level we'd not been to in a long time.

After climbing grippy, well bolted routes in Turkey, it was a change of scene to climb trad protected slippery slates!

Energy levels still on a low ebb after the adventure weekend with the little nuggets, so after balancing our way back up to the bags, we got comfy in the sunshine instead of climbing anything else!

Llanberis Slate - Rainbow Area:

- German Schoolgirl, E2 (5c)*** (top-rope)

Multi-Activity Mini-Adventures

The Cottage has been hosting a weekend of adventures for some of our little guests. It's been an action packed weekend for the Fressingfield Team, that has included some river based explorations...

Lakes and mountain views...

Some excellent rock climbing...

Seeing the sights....

Scaling cliffs...

Learning the ropes....

Sorting the gear....

Kayaking!

Slate quarrying!

Nice views...

Hikes in the woods...

Mountain top scrambling...

And plenty of fresh air...

The travellers have returned east and quiet has descended. A fabulous time was had in wonderful Wales. I for one, am exhausted! Ha ha!

Tyfan Bach Climbing

Back on home turf again and lovely to find some blue skies too. Caught the last of the light after a productive day re-claiming The Cottage as home with a quick trip up the slabs of Tryfan Bach. Well worn, polished rock - perfect for tired hands and soft rock boots! 

Homeward Bound

We forked out for a private taxi to pick us up at 4am and get us to the airport. Four pounds well spent! Having been greeted at the glass sliding doors of 'Departures' by the slightly alarming sight of a team of twelve uniformed, masked and machine gun carrying security guards, we made it through to the baggage check-in hall, which had a distinct 'off-season' feel to it!

Happily, this meant that there was no queuing and we walked leisurely through passport control to the equally unfrequented café area to wait for the plane - where we spent our last Turkish Lira on a final Turkish Tea!

The sun was just coming up as we taxied down the run way...

The flight had some new views too as we crossed Greece, Bulgaria and then the Julian Alps of Slovenia.

I've been up some of these peaks!

Finding the car, back at Manchester was very cool. The bags were already waiting for us at the carosel, then outside, we presented a bar code to a machine - this lit up and opened a little box, which magically had our car key inside and directions as to where it was parked! A 50m walk was all it took. Very smooth... The drive west to Wales was straight forward and somewhat dull without the different types of old cars to spot and all the road workers in hi-viz, pretected by cones and safety barriers! Smooth tarmac the whole way too! Ha ha! Back at The Cottage, we went in through the door, straight upstairs and fell instantly asleep! The rest of the afternoon was spent 'coming down' and readjusting to Cottage Life in a delightfully sunny and relaxed way...

There are blue bells in flower now and my 'blumen-picken' area was ready to harvest!

We managed a late afternoon walk along the track to stretch our legs, but otherwise enjoyed the relaxed Cottage vibe as we de-briefed an incredible two weeks, which has felt like a few months away!

Views from the road and some Lycian Tombs, Dalyan

We had to check out of our apartment today, so once we'd got all packed up we went over to nearby Kargi Beach for brunch and a final swim. Turkish tea and omelette by the waters edge was served for a ridiculously reasonable price.

After a little digesting time, we went for a snorkel off the beach. Since the storm, the water wasn't as clear as before, but we saw a few fish and enjoyed the final dip.

By midday, we were changed and ready to hit the road...

The journey had plenty to keep our eyes on. Imagine in the UK, rounding a corner to find a steam roller coming at you! Shortly after this photo, the tarmac began again and a tortoise was walking along the edge of the fresh surface!

Passed by plenty of mosques...

And seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a café inside an airliner by the side of the road!?!

Arriving in Dalyan was a completely different experience to what we'd seen of Turkey so far. With a famous beach and river cruise, the place is completely set up for tacky tourist stuff. Not really our scene at all, but just across the river, there are some incredible tombs from the Lycian Era, carved into the cliffs.

Amazingly, no one seems to be making much of a fuss about this!! I thought that they were utterly incredible - especially as they seem to date back from 350BC!!

English breakfasts, cheap beer and fake designer goods seemed to be the main attraction that the few other tourists were there for though.

Luckily, it's still 'off-season' so the place was quiet - judging by the hundreds of boats and bars, it must get busy at some point...

We happily walked along the river to get the best views of this unknown wonder of history.

Google maps had suggested there was a nice park to relax in, but it was currently undergoing major renovations so not quite as tranquil as billed!

The final leg of the journey took us to Dalaman past plenty of more excitement on the roads. Loved passing this family with wife and small child riding side-saddle at speed!

We arrived unscathed at this glamorous hotel. Well, hotel with a glamorous lobby, I should say!

We'd arranged to meet our car hire guy here. It was the best car hire hand over ever. Usually, it's a bit stressful finding the right airport parking area and then the car is scrutinized and all scratches questioned, photographed and fuel levels looked at. Here, we checked into the hotel, got a beer and waited on a comfy bar stool for the guy to turn up. When he did, he just asked for the key and gave me a thumbs up and a big smile!

Easy! All we had left to do was watch the planes come in and wait for dinner to be served.

We got our final Turkish views from the balcony of the hotel room before tucking into a huge buffet of all kinds of delicious food. All you can eat for £3.50! 

The bill for  he all you can eat buffet was £3.50 - washed down with some black Turkish tea and a game of pool before bed. Fantastic value!