Snowdonia

This weekend we headed on our next weekend trip to Snowdonia! We took two minibuses, very kindly driven by Peter and Chris, to Bryn Brethynau Barn in Capel Curig at the heart of the national park. This bunkhouse has been a regular feature on the Wayfarers calendar for many years, and despite the many changes in the world recently, it is reassuring to read the visitor book and find that the wayfarers has always been a chaotic bunch of fools. We arrived late, after Peter and Harry bought all of the potatoes in Oswestry, and Matthew nearly got in a fight with a local over a doner kebab.

On Saturday morning, we rose bright and early after what was generally a terrible nights sleep thanks to all of George's rustling about and Alex's colossal snoring. After a breakfast of delicious porridge prepared by yours truly, we set off bright and early ready to tackle Moel Siabod. It was a tough climb that passed some beautiful lakes and cliffs, and as we climbed higher the view became more impressive. The scrambling required some creative route-finding, but thankfully everyone stayed safe and before too long we hit the summit. The panoramic views of the Snowdon massif and the Glyders were an amazing reward for what had been a difficult climb.

After descending down a slightly easier route that didn't involve scrambling, we had a slightly chaotic excursion up to Llandudno, where some of us enjoyed ice cream and pint on the pier, and got to catch an amazing sunset over the Irish Sea.

As it got dark, big cook little cook took on the mighty task of feeding the herd, and after a slight delay due to cooking far too many potatoes, everyone sat down for their deconstructed sausage casserole. It was a great evening of Harry's entertainment, Teller's roaring fire, and a few (too many) bottles of moscato and Cote du Rhone.

In the morning there was a mighty clean up effort, and an even mightier 'Poo Queue' for the only 2 bogs in the building, but we eventually got on the 'fun' roads round to the small village of Croesor. From here we marched and scrambled up the slightly smaller, but no less challenging peak of Cnicht and were rewarded by even more cracking views of Snowdonia, Porthmadog, and Alex's calves. After a trudge through the bog, we found ourselves at the beautiful abandoned quarry where socks were rung out, blister plasters were applied and midget gems were sampled. After a steady descent in the late afternoon sun, we eventually arrived back at the minibuses tired and content, ready for a drive back to Birmingham, and more importantly, Dilshads.

Another successful weekend with the Wayfarers, so a massive thank you to Peter and Chris for driving, as well as all of the committee for helping to organise the trip. Thank you also to the Welsh weather for not being cloudy for once.