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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2894 |
11th June 2018 Hiking - Walking: Circuit Llyn Crafnant Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: Sunny and hot :) Max Speed: Distance Covered: 5.70 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Sunday 10th June – Relax and travel – sunny and hot then cloud over late with light rain. What a top night in our little spot overlooking the River Dee just outside Corwen, woke to a sunny warm day:) Being a Sunday we were happy to make the most of the peace and quiet with just the odd steam train arriving at Corwen but sadly we couldn’t see them! Mag read while I did my exercises and it was now very hot. Again, a late breakfast. After facebook messaging an ex-Felixstowe windsurfing friend who now lives down the road at Llanfairfechan to arrange a walk for Tuesday, a meal with them in the evening and possibly some windsurfing on perhaps Wed/Thurs:) We followed this up with a chat on the phone and he seems keen to take us on a mega walk in the hills and maybe a windsurf at Wales premier windsurf spot Rhosneigr! With the phone still in my hand I rang my Dad to let him know where we were! I then did the diary from yesterday with Mag still outside in the sun, she had fed the birds on the nearby fence posts and we were visited by sparrows, tits, magpies and Jackdaws:) with noisy sheep and cows in the field below. I added to my tan until it just got too hot so we packed up and moved off at 2ish. We quickly found the A5, the main road in these parts and it was very busy mainly with traffic coming the other way including loads of nutters on noisy motorbikes weaving in and out of the traffic! At Betws-y-Coed - a bit of a hiking Disneyland full of hiking shops and Sunday crowds - we filled up with diesel and drove through as quickly as possible. We were looking for a small white road which leads up into the National Park and a lake called Llyn Geirionydd but drove past it at first because it looked dodgy very steep and narrow. We turned around and headed back and braved the narrow road with passing places. It was very steep in places and tight for our van but luckily there was not too many cars coming the other way! I only had to reverse up once on the helter skelter ride to the first lake and were massively disappointed as everyone and their uncle were up at that lake having picnics, paddle boarding and canoeing. We continued on for several miles on equally challenging roads and after passing Trefriw we headed up into the forest past a large carpark which said no overnight parking until we came across the stunningly beautiful Lake Llyn Crafnant. Several cars had driven to the lake so we drove up the dead-end road past the café but turned around and after trying a couple of spots got the best place, right by the water’s edge with magnificent views up the lake with high mountains all around, very French looking:) I am sure we are not supposed to park here overnight but will take a chance so fingers crossed! So, we had a nice late afternoon me reading and Mag doing puzzles and knitting, watching the amazing reflections in the lake with fish jumping. Perhaps tomorrow if we haven’t been moved on we will walk around the lake! Monday 11th June – Walk ***** Circuit Llyn Crafnant – sunny and hot. What a top night in our fantastic spot right by the side of Llyn Crafnant, so quiet and no sign of the warden! Woke early and drew curtains to look like we didn’t stay the night and then both did exercises with one of our best views ever. It was a bit chilly as although the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky we were on the shaded side of the lake. We had had breakfast, packed a picnic and left for our walk around the lake by 9.40! must be a record for us! We follow the marked yellow path along the side of the lake. It starts off as a wide farm track but then narrows past the end of the lake and we walked through a wood past a few cottages. Then we turn right away from the yellow route heading up to a bowl of steep hills as good as anything in the Alps:) We pass a large cottage with several rope swings used as the centre for some sort of outdoor activity with several ruins in the garden and horses with a foal. It is a well-trodden footpath at this point as we head up stopping to take some pics of the lake below. We enter a small gulley which leads to the top to get views down to and out over the vast remote Snowdonia National park. The RAF are putting on a show for us with jets and even a large transport plane flying really low! The path seems to go three ways, right, left and straight ahead so we turn left and see a walker who had come up from Capel Curig campsite near where we turned around yesterday, the other side of Betws-y-Coed, I couldn’t believe we were only three miles from there. After having a chat with the Brummy hiker we followed a good path up but rounding the corner the path just disappeared! We then spent the next hour walking around in circles, up and down through gorse, heather and bog in search of a path. We spotted the tip of the lake far below and started to scramble down, we crossed over a fence to keep what few sheep there were out of the steep gorge and into a forest. It was a tight squeeze in places and we ended up on our bottoms a few times as we made our way through this wilderness. Then our luck changed as we spotted the slate roofs of some cottages and actually came out behind a house. A lady was doing her garden and what an amazing place this is. We apologised profusely for trespassing in her garden but she was fine and very friendly explaining that it was a family holiday home but she lives here fulltime now and it was originally the offices for an old slate quarry! It was easy now as we walked down her steep drive to the road and re-joined the yellow route. We pass the café and then turn down and have our picnic down by the waters edge. It was then a short distance back to the van for a well-deserved cuppa and enjoy the hot sunshine. We had been out for 4 hours 20 minutes covering 5.70 miles. As we had organised to meet up with an old Felixstowe windsurfer now moved to Wales for a hike tomorrow we had to leave the lovely lake. The warden waved as he drove past so we didn’t want to push our luck here! We negotiated the narrow road safely and were soon on the Vale of Conwy road heading to the coast. Then we had a surprise as we came across Surf Snowdonia a large manmade pool with a wave machine, a bit surreal actually as it is miles from anywhere and weird to see surfing this far from the sea! We walked in and watched with a variety of surfers from experts to complete beginners all having great fun but I think it is very expensive. One surfer waiting for his hour to arrive told us it was £45 an hour! Continuing our journey, the estuary widened as Conwy, with its impressive castle, came into view. Stopping to take some pics we thought it would be a nice area to explore some more. It was an odd road system that took us away from the way we wanted to go but all became clear as we joined the A55 a busy dual carriageway with a tunnel under the river and another through the rocks just before our destination of Llanfairfechan. We soon reached the seafront with Anglesey so close you could almost touch it. The tide was out and the beach was lovely with amazing hilly views. We soon found the perfect spot to stop, a seafront carpark, if it were not for the many no overnight parking signs! I think parking is a bit limited here and I thought we were going to have a problem but we turned left along the seafront and soon found a nice spot by an entrance to the beach with no houses behind - just a small park, ideal we hope if the local Gary boys keep away! We had a quick walk on the beach before another cuppa. Paella for tea and then we were treated to a lovely sunset as the sun disappeared behind Anglesey:) Photo Gallery Here |
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