Day 1
Beddgelert:
We absolutely adore this place. This is where we always make our first stop every year when visiting North Wales. A beautiful small village nestled amongst the rugged mountains in the southern area of Snowdonia National Park. Steeped in history with the famous story of Gelert the dog where the village gets its name from. You can read about it here.
Aberglaslyn Pass is one of the main reasons we visit here every year, a gorge with the Glaslyn River running through it. We always head off to hike/walk or run along the gorge and head up into the mountains of Llyn Dinas & Cwm Bychan.
Caernarfon:
A quick trip here to stock up on supplies and a meal before heading up to Anglesey.
Anglesey:
Here we visited The Anglesey Sea Zoo
Then a little detour for a quick photo at the train station with the worlds longest name before heading up to our first night stop over at Aber Falls.
Day 2
Aber Falls:
WOW! Yet another hidden gem of a place for a bit of wild camping in the van.
Tucked away in the middle of nowhere, a beautiful parking area with a clean toilet block available, a river and mountains all around you. There are gates to the car park which are locked at 7pm, but when the ranger arrived to lock up, as we were the only ones there and it was mid week he asked if we wanted to stay the night, so the kind gentleman let us, left the toilets open for us, locked us in in so we felt safe in the knowing that we would not be disturbed and returned the following morning at 7am to open back up.
Such a peaceful night was had, up bright and early to have some breakfast on the picnic table, all alone with the sun shining, the birds singing and the sound of the river in the background, what more could you ask for.
After breakfast, we headed for a walk up to the falls, and such a great waterfall there is too. We can highly recommend this place a visit if you're ever exploring North Wales.
For information on Aber Falls and the village of Abergwyngregyn click here
Now it was time to leave, so headed more north for the days visit to Conwy, a walk around the castle and a quick visit to The Smallest House in Britain.
As the day was coming to an end, we decided to stay in a campsite close by for the the night to make use of their showers to freshen up and get on some EHU to give the leisure battery an overnight charge ready for the next day. We stayed at Dinarth Hall Camping & Caravan site, a great little site located on a working farm. For their website, click here.
Day 3
The Welsh Mountain Zoo:
Today's plan was to start heading south again down the eastern side of Snowdonia National Park, a visit The Welsh Mountain Zoo, the oldest and most established zoo in Wales was our first stop.
Such fun was had walking through the Lemur enclosure, and for some strange reason they had a liking to my shoes.
From here, it was a road trip down to Betws-Y-Coed and a must do stop on route...
Fairy Glen:
Fairy Glen is a gorgeous wooden dingle and considered one of the prettiest spots in the area. This area is so called the Fairy Glen for the mythical sprites which are said to live there. A stream weaves between two sides of a small rocky gorge.
This place didn't disappoint. So peaceful and somewhere we could have stayed for hours just relaxing and thinking of nothing.
Next stop, Dolgellau & the second highest mountain in Wales and a well deserved night under the stars before the big climb in the morning.
Day 4
Cadair Idris:
Another peaceful night was had, we parked up in the main car park, again there was a toilet block which is open for 24hrs which is always a bonus when you're travelling around in a small T5 Campervan and no toilet provisions on board.
Woke up early doors, breakfast, boots on and away to go for the big climb of Cadair Idris.
Why is it called Cadair Idris? Myths surrounding the mountain include it being the chair of "Idris The Giant", Idris Gawr who was a mix of a real King and legend. He gave rise to the myth that anyone spending the night on the mountain will wake up the next morning as either a poet or a madman.
We took The Minffordd Path, a more spectacular route up Cadair Idris. It’s not a straightforward slog to the summit and is continually varying along its entire length. Setting off up a wooded gorge before arriving at Llyn Cau. You’ve then got a climb to the ridge and Craig Cwm Amarch to ascend before the final pull to Penygadair.
4 hours later, we were back at the van, and with our trip finally over, we had a spot of lunch in the car park before making the 5 hour drive back home.
For anyone who has never visited North Wales, then why not? you really should! It is the most beautiful place with stunning surroundings, friendly people, and just so much to see. We will be back again next year for our 4th visit and will make it a yearly thing from now.
Until our next adventure, Happy Travels Guys.
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