Day 35 - Llanberis to Waunfaur
What better thing to do on a rainy morning in Llanberis but to go for a walk by the lake?
I set off to explore a section that my dad had walked in reverse. The white boxes are extracts from his journal.
The first part by the lake was indeed splendid, even in the today's dreich weather. I walked through Padarn Country Park, nestled amongst the trees on the lakeside.
Next I followed a path along the trackbed of the old Caernarvon to Llanberis branch line, a fact I’m astounded that my dad didn't mention! I can only assume he didn't realise or took the road rather than the path. It went along a raised embankment along the lakeside with water on both sides through the trees.
At the end, just before reaching Cwm-y-Glo, a dark tunnel approached, in which I took shelter from the rain and nibbled a handful of pistachios like a wet, downtrodden squirrel.
At Cwn-y-Glo I climbed up to the road and looked at the view before returning the same way back to Llanberis. On the way I passed a paddleboarding class in progress.
Back to the itinerary with still a few things left to see in Llanberis… first of all the town itself. Here it is in Dad’s words…
It was a nice enough if not particularly interesting town, though there was a shop selling a huge range of old totems which Dad would've loved!
Next stop the YHA which can be found up a mile or so up out of the town…
I am happy to say that it is still there and going strong (though fully booked when I wanted to stay). I’m especially glad this particular hostel has survived as it’s the scene of my favourite passage from Dad’s 1972 journal…
I so wished I couldn't stayed there and organised a rematch! But alas it wasn't to be, not on this trip. I did have a good giggle imagining the excitement of that drizzly Tuesday night in Llanberis a half a century ago!
On my travels go, and still more to see before the big walk…
And here is the Royal Victoria Hotel, the Snowdon Mountain Railway terminus, the woodland path and the castle. I had my 5p at the ready but didn't need it as the castle is now free to enter.
And from the top of the tower, as he promised:
Llyn Padarn and Llanberis village
Snowdon
The Glyders
Dinorwic Quarry, where I climbed yesterday.
And now for the last stop in Llanberis, and this one was spectacular after all the rain that had fallen in the last few days!
And for me it was time to leave Llanberis on my main walk of the day, following my dad’s steps firstly to the Snowdon Ranger YHA then 0nto Waunfaur where my family awaited me…
And so it began, and was quickly a complete washout. Here is looking back towards Llanberis, then me soaking wet, then climbing higher up the hill. The last pic is another view looking back from higher ground. (I have no idea what the strange structure is… I assume a military or weather station of some kind).
When the path swung South, I was hit by a ferocious wind - the shape of this small valley must funnel the wind somehow as it suddenly changed from bad to fearsome. The rain was driving straight into my face at this point, and my hood useless as it just blew off every time I pulled it up. Although it was only an hour before I reached shelter, this stretch was my worst experience of Welsh weather of the whole month, which if you've been following this blog you'll know is quite an achievement! As when Dad walked it, a few sheep were the only other signs of life.
The very top of the pass was the worst wind yet but over the hump and down the other side was protected and much calmer though still very rainy. Eventually I saw Llyn Cwellyn and the path crossed the Welsh Highland Railway at Snowdon Ranger station (closed in my dad's time but now reopened) and then joined the road.
The hostel still exists but was only taking group bookings. It looks much the same, though the landscaped garden (below) has returned to nature.
Here ended my dad's day but not mine, as I still had a few more miles to walk up the valley to Waunfaur where I was staying tonight. Dad walked this in reverse on the following day after he'd hitch-hiked back from Anglesey. Here is his route which I followed in the opposite direction.
Here is Llyn Cwellyn, crossing the WHR, then Plas-y-Nant, where I didn't see a sign for a waterfall but I did spot this little goblin.
Next Betws-y-Garmonn, which is still marked by a sign long before the village itself. Although pretty, I was sad to see that of the chapel, pub and post office, only the chapel remains. It’s a shame so many of these small villages have lost all their life blood.
After the village I left the road for a footpath that went towards Tyn-yr-Onnen farm, now a campsite and holiday cottages. It went over the fields in a deserted corner of the valley. The last photo is the steam train puffing past towards Caernarvon.
I made it to the cottage where my mum and stepdad Peter were awaiting me. We had booked this lovely little wooden cabin with views of the mountains, and were supposed to be joined by my partner Sophie and daughter Isabelle too but there were unable to come in the end so it was just the three of us for the last few days of my trip.
We drove into Caernarvon to buy some supplies, allowing me the chance to see the town that Dad had spent a few hours in one afternoon. Here what he made of it.
A warning to those visiting Caernarvon. Don't go on a Sunday. Absolutely everything is shut! Ever the supermarkets. We went to a small shop that sold baely anything we wanted, and then returned to the village of Waunfaur, a one-horse-dorp if ever I saw one. The telephone exchange is no more but there is a single pub, the strangely named Snowdonia Parc, in which we had a decent meal before going back to our cabin.
I can't believe that this is the end of my solo walk!!! Only one more challenge remains for tomorrow… I’ve skirted all around it but I still need to tackle Snowdon itself!