The weather in the morning was good and we set off early to climb Cader Idris. Going up the pony track was fairly quick and easy – like climbing steps – and Tim was always a long way ahead of us. Just before we got to the top the weather started to close in and it became cold and windy. Later we climbed up and walked along a ridge which is supposed to have beautiful views on each side. By this time it had become so foggy that we could hardly see each other. The route down into the waterlogged valley was incredibly steep and slippery and it was only with gritted teeth and soaked to the skin that we finally made it back to civilization (yes we had waterproof clothes but it doesn’t help when you slide down a wet hillside). In considerable pain after the steep descent, Jon once again allowed us to travel a few stops on a steam train.
the Guernan Lake Hotel, where we stayed the night
Mum not yet half way up Cader Idris (they were miles behind me then)
Mum and me at the top of Cader Idris. The Mawddach Estuary behind us.
Looking to Barmouth from Cader Idris. You can just see the bridge at Barmouth in the distance.
looking north-east from the peak. (Mum's sneaking away in the bottom-right corner of the photo)
looking north to where Snowdon was the only mountain in the cloud
looking south
"Looking north-north-west." "Really?" "No. Not really."
looking west towards the sea
looking south past Cwm Cau, one of Cader Idris' three surrounding lakes
looking east. a very nice shot of Cwm Cau, just before it started raining
Mum and me, in the (Dysynni) valley now. It was raining like anything. (that tree-covered hill nearby is the site of the ruins of Castell y Bere, one of Llewelyn's ruined castles, and funny sticking out bit of the ridge on the right side of it is "Bird Rock", one of the main nesting rocks for Cormorants.
Mum and me in Mary Jones' Chapel's Graveyard. (wonder how you'd say "Mary Jones' Chapel's Graveyard" in Welsh)
that's Mary Jones' Chapel
Mum and me again, with Castell y Bere to the left behind us. (Dad had fallen into a stream not long before, so he wasn't to happy! (to say the least!))
Castell y Bere on that hilltop. The castle was built by Llywelyn the Great in the 1220's, and guarded what was once a major route though the mountains. In 1283... go to http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk for more information about the castle. It's a great site with loads of information and photos about probably every castle and ruined castle in Britain.
reaching the end of that days walking. Almost at the Talyllyn railway station, ready to go to the hotel
the train arrives (finally! It was really cold!). Once again a steamtrain saves us from having to walk another huge stretch.
thank goodness the hotel at Dolgoch Falls had it's own station (and it had it's own water falls!)
Mum and I had already got into the train (if you can call it "into", it was an observation coach that's actually outside, but at least had a roof), when Dad took this photo.