Sunday, September 19, 2010

Snowdonia National Park - Day 1

(10th September, 2010)

Lledr House, near Betws-y-coed, Wales

So I went to Wales. With a walking group run by an incredibly enthusiastic Scottish man by the name of Iain Thomson, whose kindness to me was amazing. Iain runs a business called 'Walk Free, Break Free', which caters for people of all ages, genders and craziness really! It is a walking company (duh), which goes all around the British Isles, from England to Wales, to Scotland and all the little islands around the coast line. Iain takes people to hike and walk and wander through them, up the mountains and around the lakes. And it's a blast!

The drive up to Wales was spectacular once we left the cities behind. There were mossy stone walls skirting all the roads we drove along, winding in and out of forests, hillocks, over rivers and through the country side. Every so often the rain would start again, like a thin veil over the land, until it looked more like a mist than rain. Even in the rain the country side looked magical, possibly even more ethereal than when the sun was out. Wild looking sheep with long tails would appear then disappear in the rain, hidden among the stones in fields.

There were seven of us on this trip, which was possibly the nicest way for it to be. The other members of the group were all older than me, but with the laughter and chatter to go by, you'd never guess it. Young at heart and happy to boot, the group made the drive to Wales and the first moments in the hostel ~ Lledr House ~ warm and cheery. There, sitting by the television listening to news about far off places, the click-clack of Eleanor's knitting, the clatter of the men cooking in the kitchen, smelling supper cook, and drinking a glass of red wine, it will be an evening to remember.

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