Immediately after returning from the New Forest our thoughts turned to an autumn break. We've always liked a few nights away in October as we feel in a better place during the long dark nights of winter after it.
With a few places on the radar I set about getting some prices together, many of which were eye watering and some distance outside my comfort zone of what I'm prepared to pay for renting a patch of gravel for a night.
By chance I tried a site that I've always wanted to go, but always winced when seeing the pitch cost, however this time with CAMH discount and their current 3 for 2 the price came down to an acceptable level, still a little over my limit, but not enough to shut the screen down!
Saturday 14 October
Early start required today. The tow up into Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri and to our site is just a shade over 130 miles, but much of that is on twisting country roads, so will take the best part of 4 hours.
The Captain has been forewarned, and me clanking the wheel clamps together at 7.45am served as a timely reminder to move his crate out of the way. By 8.30am we're hitched up and yelling Wagons Roll to Facebookville.
The tow from south to north Wales was easy. Trude bullied the van effortlessly, and we were able to make better progress when out of Carmarthenshire and into Ceredigion, Gwynnedd and Conwy, where they appear to have a far more sensible approach to applying the new 20 mph limit.
The mirrors impressed me. No vibration at all, rock solid, and give a superb view of the road well behind the caravan. Trude is wide, but the pic below clearly demonstrates that those who say they don't need towing mirrors and that they can see the road behind are clearly lying.
No leveling was necessary, by some fluke front to back was spot on at the height lifted off the tow ball and side too side also perfect, The hard standing presented little resistance to our rock pegs and there were no water related incidents. Unusually for us, setting up was incident free, and completed in well under an hour.
3pm, and it's time to set off in the hunt for a pub. A pub that allows dogs and will be showing the Wales v Argentina 1/4 final. First option was The Stables Sports Bar. No luck there as they don't have a TV for some bizarre reason. A sports bar that doesn't show sports? Go figure!
The Gwydyr Hotel comes to the rescue, and we take front row seats near their big screen to embark on an afternoon of guzzling Guinness and wine.
The room filled up approaching KO and we invited three lads down from Yorkshire to join us at our table, though they were a bit startled at being prodded in the crutch by both Gwen and Gwawr who up until then had been lying quietly under the table!
We won't mention the game again, as it would detract from what was a very enjoyable afternoon / early evening. An inebriated Herself and I must have made for interesting viewing as we were dragged by the dogs up and over the pedestrian bridge above the railway on out way back to site.
Sunday 15 October
Solid night's sleep last night and I'm wide awake by 6.30am, so get up to sort out IT bits and bobs while Herself catches up on some zzzzz that she missed out on due to my snoring.
We breakfast on bacon muffins before heading off out for the day with no particular destination in mind, turning right through Betws y Coed we drive through some stunning mountain scenery before dropping down the Llanberis Pass into Llanberis itself.
Parking up at the foot of Yr Wyddfa at Parc Gwledig Padarn we set off on a lakeside wander for the dogs to let off some steam.
First stop was the gift shop at the Snowdon Mountain Railway Station. Price tags with decimal points in the wrong places ensured wallets remained unopened before we walk into the town itself.
It soon becomes apparent that Llanberis is takeaway central, with just a handful of other closed shops, so we grab an outside table at The Heights to enjoy a pint in the sun. I'll be kind here and suggest their pipes need cleaning.
We follow the river back towards Trude. Very pleasant it was too and the sun is quite hot now mid afternoon.
We decide to head back for some relaxation time, Now we've done the Llanberis Pass numerous times, and in all sorts of weather. I'm undecided if I prefer it like today, under blue skies, or in torrential rain with water cascading all around us?
Back on site and Herself is ravenous. Luckily we'd thrown the ingredients for a minted lamb concoction into the slow cooker before leaving, so that is thrown down our necks before we head off out for the evening.
First stop is the Gwydyr again, where we catch the 2nd half of the England 1/4 final whilst chatting to fellow caravanners and dog owners on the next table.
Moving on we walk the short distance to the Stables Bar at the Royal Oak. Gwen decides she's going to lie down in the middle of the walkway and there's no shifting her. I think she's worked out she gets more fuss from strangers that way.
With a belly full of Guinness inside me, and fancying something different to wash down a cheeky waffle dessert, I spot a cocktail being prepared at the bar.
I didn't catch what they were but just said to the barman "I'll have one of those!" Del Boy got bugger all on me!
We were heading back to site, honest we were, but the lights of the Gwydyr drew us in. The barman laughs as we fill his doorway once more, and has a Guinness and wine poured read by the time Herself is settled at the window table with the dogs.
We catch the end of the Ireland 1/4 final and sink a few "One's for the road" before they call time and we stagger back to site feeling no pain what so ever.
Over 16000 steps I did today mind, surely I get some sort of medal for that effort?
Monday 16 October
I won't lie to you, even after a night of unconsciousness, groggy would best describe me this morning, even after a shower, coffee and toast I'm barely with it by 11am as we're trundling over the barrier.
Beddgelert is quiet and we are able to park with ease, and we set off on a bit of a hike to do part of the Fisherman's Path, from Beddgelert to Aberglaslyn Bridge and back. Signs warn that the route is challenging in parts due to the terrain. We've done the walk a few years back so know what's coming!
The first few clicks pass without incident. We're enjoying the mountain air with the sun gently warming our chops. Herself loses a few layers and the dogs are in their element darting in and out of the river's crystal clear water.
It then starts to get tricky where we lose a path and have to clamber over some rocks before completing a section which is a ledge hanging over the torrent below with rebar handles bedded into the rock face to cling onto.
With that out of the way a proper clamber is needed over stupidly uneven and steep bare rock terrain. This is giving Herself's knackered knee a severe test, and she's afraid it will give way. Never the less, we get to our turning point at Aberglaslyn Bridge, to do it all again in reverse. By the time we've done it again even the dogs are starting to question us.
Harmony is restored when we cross over to the other side on the concrete path that carries thousands of tourists to Gelert's grave (we didn't bother as we've seen it many times before) back into the village.
Herself needs a nerve calmer, so we take an outside table at the Prince Llewellyn Hotel to enjoy a pint and baguette with a view of the surrounding mountains. Heading back to Trude we stop briefly in the outdoors shop and Information Centre where Herself decides she can't leave without a glass dragon and I am of the opinion that a bar of chocolate would finish off lunch lovely!
Retracing the journey back to Betws y Coed we stop briefly at Maes Pacrio Golygfaol Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon View Point in old money) to take in views of the mountain itself and down the valley over Cwm Dyli Hydro Electric Power Station towards Llyn Gwynant.
Well that was a mouthful, wasn't it.
Back on site the chair get pulled out to enjoy the last of today's sunshine before it drops behind Cyrau, that overlooks the site.
Scrubbed up, we head off out for the evening. Out of the gate, over the railway and through the park as usual, but we then turn right and walk up to near the top of the town to the welcoming Pont y Pair Inn.
We're the only ones in there though and he's decided he's closing the bar early - boo, so it's torches out , over the railway and passed the ever so sthpoooky graveyard on the lane to site.
Just short of 15000 steps today.
Tuesday 17 October
Bloody cold this morning, no frost, but still bloody cold. Herself does some toast and coffee before we head off out to Caernarfon. I've been here just the once since my childhood and it was pissing down that day so we didn't get out of the car. Today I wanted to visit somewhere I went when I was 11 years old, and was keen to show Herself.
We rolled in through Castle Square, did a circuit of all the small roads within the old walled town, and rolled in once more through Castle Square down into Slate Quay Car Park where we're robbed of £6 to abandon Trude for a few hours.
With the dogs clipped on we set off passed Pont yr Aber and along the footpath adjacent to the Menai Strait looking over to Ynys Mon before turning up and walking through the walled town.
As nice as it is, it's not looking too familiar, but I put it down to the intervening 45 years, and for the life of me I can't find what I'm looking for.
We stumble across Bar Bach, claiming to be the smallest bar in Wales and decide we need to go in just because, but it was not yet open, so made our way around the corner to take stock on a bench in Castle Square.
I Google what I want to see, wipe my eyes before asking Herself if I can borrow her reading glasses. She can see by my face that something is up. I go quiet, but she presses further.
"Well?"
"You know we were going to see the smallest house in Great Britain."
"Yes, but you can't find it."
"There's good reason for that."
"And?"
"Well, it's not in Caernarfon, it's in Conwy. 24 miles away!"
No words were spoken, but the look of disappointment was crushing!
Herself gets up and I dutifully follow, back through the arches and out onto the quayside near the Yatch club. Herself turns left and I follow around the corner until she takes an outside table at the Anglesey Arms. Beers are ordered and we sit sipping looking over the strait and people watch.
We've been sat a while and folks start arriving for the lunchtime service. On the chalkboard they've got mussels. I love mussels and Herself overhears customers raving about the seafood in this place. I talk Herself into lunch and in no time at all I've a plate of shells in front of me and Herself a fishcake.
With full bellies, and the day rescued, we head back to Trude and point her nose back to site. We don't stop and clip the dogs on their leads to head off out. We walk up through the village to the Pony y Pair Bridge, admiring the cascading water below.
The dogs are in need of some off lead time, so we take them along the tan-dinas-path that follows Afon Llugwy for a mile or so, playing with them in the water. Well I chucked stones and they went in.
Turning around we make tracks back to site, stopping in the Pont y Pair Inn and The Stables for a beer before picking up a Pizza at Hangin' Pizziera for our tea.
I'm going in for a cold and not feeling too good, so no off out gallivanting this evening.
Wednesday 18 October
Man down! Really rough night last night, so it's late on before we get going at all. I do a test just in case.
My phone springs me a data warning, which is strange as it should be connected to the Netgear. I check that and it tells me data is disconnected, so I spend a fruitless 1/2 hour fiddling with the settings before giving it up as a bad job.
I turn the telly on. Ziltch. No signal at all. So I try tweaking the ariel, check all the connections and try a re-tune. Nowt.
Old age has me doubting my tech ability, so sit down for a coffee telling Herself she'll have to make do with radio. It didn't go down too well, and I'm reminded we're here for another 3 nights with Storm Babet about to hit.
I get on my phone, and by some coincidence 3 have a fault in the area at the same time as there are TV Transmitter issues!
The board warns that it's strenuous, and I can confirm they're not shitting you when they say that. The first part lulled us into a false sense of security, and the going was relatively easy until we got close to Miners Bridge, where some nutters were crossing the ravine hanging onto some ropes.. My word, after that it was more of a clamber over slippery rocks before climbing steeply up the valley side.
Back at Pont y Pair we take a bench to compose ourselves before trudging back into town for a well deserved beer at The Stables.
The dogs can't get enough of the water, and are in it again outside the site gate wanting to play more!
We need some provisions, and rather than pay well over the odds in Londis, Google points us in the direction of Llandudno to the Asda sited there.
Still not feeling great, so a night in is has tonight.
Thursday 19 October
Despite me operating on 3/4 lung capacity, we fancy getting another walk in before Storm Babet hits. I Googled "easy walks Snowdonia" and details of one at Llyn Idwal that someone called Dave Roberts testifies is easy in the Glyderau mountain range.
Loaded up we set off in Trude looking for the Ogwen Cottage Visitor Centre and quite remarkably we pull in just as someone pulls out of the tiny car park. With rucksacks thrown over our backs and dogs clipped on we head for the path to the left of the centre, where steep steps take us up to a footbridge crossing a torrent.
As we climbed the scenery got better and better, and arrival at the lake is simply a wow moment. We unclip the dogs so Gwen can have some water time, while Herself braces herself for the descent, which for her and her knackered knee will be doubly as painful!
Herself did it, and I'm extremely proud of her for doing so, last time we were up here in the national park she would have struggled to hobble from the car park to the visitor's centre!
With that done we point Trude's nose towards Conwy. As we're snaking our way through it the streets look very interesting. I'm told that Conwy's a lovely little town, but in our physical state after the walk we'd not have done it justice.
We park up in Lower Gate Street and I get on Google Maps to see where the Smallest House in Great Britain is located. Luckily it's only 100 yards further down the quayside. The property stands at just 122 inches tall and 72 inches wide with just the 1.5m of usable floor area.
We adjourn to the nearby Liverpool Arms for refreshments before returning to site.
We've sat in for two nights now, so scrub up to walk up to the Pont y Pair for an evening meal and a few drinkies. Another great meal too, and a good few quid cheaper that the tourist traps in the centre of the village.
Friday 20 October
We'd avoided much of the bad weather the rest of the country has had so far, but it started to rain last night when walking back from the pub, hammering down by the time we went to bed, and was still bouncing when it got light this morning.
We now have an outdoor paddling pool in the canopy.
We've been saving today's mission for a rainy day, and with our @DerekTheWeather declaring a weather warning for us until 6am tomorrow, I think that qualifies.
With wipers working overtime we snake out of the National Park and onto the North Wales Expressway to just over the border and to the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet. We need to do some Christmas shopping for Beastie, Bwmps and Goldilocks (who is new on the scene to us).
It was a painful experience, and we struggled to get anything in their sizes. Frustrated, we call it a day and head back to Trude and the dogs. They need a stretch, so we pull into Stanney Woods in Ellesmere Port.
I'm a little uneasy leaving Trude unattended due to our proximity to Scouseville, and remind Herself that we won't stray too far. Did she listen though? Off we went, meandering under the protection of the canopy above, and before you know it, after many twists and turns, we're lost. Proper lost too. We didn't bring walkng boots, and my best Timberlands are now in a state! Herself is in trouble, and we still can't find the car. She's been unattended now for over an hour, and it was with some relief that her white bonnet came into view and with all her windows intact.
We join the back of a massive line of tail lights pulling out onto the A5117, and it stayed that way onto the A494 and over the border back into Wales and onto the North Wales Expressway. It's very frustrating and we're well past St Asaph before traffic starts to flow a little.
By the time we get back to site the rain is easing a little, and after feeding the dogs we cross the railway into town for one last time.
I've been looking forward to this evening for a good few weeks now, ever since I found out the Bavarian Stompers were playing as part of a Bavarian evening in The Stables. I've seen them before in my student days and am looking forward to an evening of beer swilling, clinking of glasses and singing along to the oompah band.
We walk in and find a table with remarkable ease, but I'm a little disappointing that none of the serving staff are in dirndl or lederhosen, nor are they serving beer in steins! Never mind, I get into the spirit by having a spicy bratwurst as my meal while waiting for the fun st start at 8pm.
It's 7.45 and still no sign of a band setting up, with it feeling distinctly non Bavarian inside The Stables. I check their Facebook page and am dismayed to find out that the event has been cancelled due to a bit of bloody rain!!
Still, we're out now, and Herself has just discovered we can order drinks to our table using the QR code, and they're quicker with the table service than they are serving at the bar. How convenient. It got messy, very messy.
Saturday 21 October
I won't lie to you, but after last night's shenanigans, lifting my head off the pillow at 8am was a painful experience, let alone dropping a soaking wet canopy and packing away. It was a slow and steady process, and it was 10am before we're surrendering the barrier card and toilet key in return for having our Caravan Club membership card returned that they'd been keeping hostage.
The tow home was torture, with the going extremely slow. We were stuck in a snake of traffic behind a livestock wagon all the way from Aberystwyth to Llandysul. 33 miles at 30mph max. Not once did he think to pull over to let faster moving traffic pass.
We had a great week up in the mountains. Did a couple of superb walks, and spent far too much time (and money) in the pubs of Betws y Coed. That's 54 nights away so far in 2023, which is 20 more than last year and just a few short of 2019 when we bought our current van.
