Where: Snowdonia National Park, Wales
When: March 17, 2013
With: Nic
Nestled in the middle of Wales is one of the UK's most well-known national parks, Snowdonia. Home to the highest peak on the island, Mount Snowden, it offers gorgeous, dramatic scenery filled with snow-topped peaks that would make you think you were in Switzerland rather than the western UK.
To enjoy this park, Nic and I got in late Saturday night after our adventure on the Llŷn Peninsula to make sure we got the most of our day on Sunday. My favorite part about driving to places like this in the dark is the ominous feeling of not having any idea what surrounds you. Would it be giant mountains or open meadows? We'd just have to wait until morning. As we drove to our B&B, we knew at least that we were definitely in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on all sides of the single lane road by a tunnel of trees. Pulling up in the lot, we heard what sounded like a raging rapid of a river very close by, but how close, we couldn't tell. Ah nature.
All became clear in the morning. Our raging river was little more than a babbling stream and the tunnel of trees was barely noticeable in the daylight. And our little stone B&B was adorable, nestled in among it all.
Eventually the road gave way to small hiking path that followed the stream and weaved through what looked to be an enchanted forest. It was so beautiful and peaceful.
Walking along, it was just us and the river, and it was so stunning and surreal. It also allowed Nic and I some nerdy camera play, trying out some slow shutter speeds to capture the movement of the water.
The town itself looked like it was centuries old, settled on a river with an old stone bridge connecting the two halves.
And just before we left, we finally got a clear shot (and confirmed identification of) Mount Snowden after pointing at nearly every single other mountain we saw and guessing "that must be it!".
When: March 17, 2013
With: Nic
Nestled in the middle of Wales is one of the UK's most well-known national parks, Snowdonia. Home to the highest peak on the island, Mount Snowden, it offers gorgeous, dramatic scenery filled with snow-topped peaks that would make you think you were in Switzerland rather than the western UK.
To enjoy this park, Nic and I got in late Saturday night after our adventure on the Llŷn Peninsula to make sure we got the most of our day on Sunday. My favorite part about driving to places like this in the dark is the ominous feeling of not having any idea what surrounds you. Would it be giant mountains or open meadows? We'd just have to wait until morning. As we drove to our B&B, we knew at least that we were definitely in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on all sides of the single lane road by a tunnel of trees. Pulling up in the lot, we heard what sounded like a raging rapid of a river very close by, but how close, we couldn't tell. Ah nature.
All became clear in the morning. Our raging river was little more than a babbling stream and the tunnel of trees was barely noticeable in the daylight. And our little stone B&B was adorable, nestled in among it all.
After breakfast, we walked to a clearing, and as expected, we were shocked to see the epic scenery that had unknowingly surrounded us the night before.
It seemed only right to focus our day on lots of hiking with all this beautiful scenery around us. With a trail right next to the B&B, we figured there was no better place to start. We followed the small road along the river, and were greeted by more stunning views and quaint country lanes.
Eventually the road gave way to small hiking path that followed the stream and weaved through what looked to be an enchanted forest. It was so beautiful and peaceful.
Walking along, it was just us and the river, and it was so stunning and surreal. It also allowed Nic and I some nerdy camera play, trying out some slow shutter speeds to capture the movement of the water.
After our hike, we hopped in the car and started our journey through the park. Occasionally, we wrenched the car over when a turnoff was offered to attempt to snap shots of snow-capped mountains in the distance. But as these opportunities were scarce, we more often than not just enjoyed the views from the car.
We headed for a town settled in the middle of the park, Beddgelert. Literally nestled in the foothills of the mountains, this was a perfect place to park and hike.
The town itself looked like it was centuries old, settled on a river with an old stone bridge connecting the two halves.
One trail we hiked down gave us the history of the town and how it got the name Beddgelert (in more confusing Welsh pronunciation, this is said like "Beth-gelert"). In the 13th century, the prince of England lived here. One day, he went out hunting and was unable to find his loyal hound Gelert, who normally accompanied him. Upon returning home, he found the dog barking wildly, covered in blood. When he ran into his home to see what had happened, he found his son's crib empty. In a fit of rage, he plunged his hunting knife into the dog's side. As the dog uttered its last howl, the prince heard his son cry. He followed the cries to find his child, unharmed, lying next to a bloody and slain wolf. He was so upset for killing his loyal Gelert that he built a grave in his honor ("bedd" in Welsh means "grave"), and the town has since been referred to as Beddgelert. The grave still sits in the countryside, along with a creepy statue of the dog. The weird part about this all was the tiny dachsund at the site that wouldn't stop howling when he reached this spot.
After a lovely Sunday lunch in Beddgelert, it was time to start making our way out of the park back towards Llandudno for our train. By complete chance, we chose the scenic route out of the park, complete with convenient pull overs, so we could get some final shots of the mountains.
And just before we left, we finally got a clear shot (and confirmed identification of) Mount Snowden after pointing at nearly every single other mountain we saw and guessing "that must be it!".
It was weird to leave this and be back in London a few short hours later. If I lived in London full-time, this would definitely be on my shortlist for weekend getaways.
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