Created by 3GoExploring.
When not on a cruise visiting far flung locations, 3goexploring love spending time embracing the spectacular locations in our very own Country. We are keen walkers as seen in previous blogs so what better location to lace up our walking boots than the Eryri National Park. We absolutely love Wales, the changes in scenery from calm coastal locations to dramatic mountains is breath-taking and to fully submerse ourselves we chose to stay near Porthmadog.
We had a week to explore this stunning location and of course a summit of Eryri (Snowdon) was top of the list. As always we take time to pre-plan our visit, hoping the weather will always be in our favour, something unfortunately you can never guarantee! Our week was going to be busy with plenty of walking and the occasional trip on a steam train.
With the weather looking good we made the decision to summit Eryri on our first day. We woke early to ensure a car parking space would be available as this location can get extremely busy. Our route up and down was the Rangers Path, a fairly easy route compared to some. We reached the summit fairly quickly, unfortunately at first cloud cover prevented us from taking in the views. We stopped for a quick coffee from our flask and a jam sandwich hoping the promise of clouds moving away soon. The temperature at the summit coupled with the wind soon had us moving, we were lucky to take in the spectacular views during breaks in cloud cover. The descent again was fairly easy with the odd stumble or two and we were soon back at the car. We would definitely recommend the Ranger Path, parking was easy with immediate access to the path.
To rest our legs we decided to take a trip on the Ffestiniog Railway, the oldest
independent railway company in the world established in 1832. Nothing beats the smell and noise of a steam train, it just releases the inner child.
The journey from Porthmadog to Tan-y-Bwlch Station and back was aboard the1960s style Woodland Wanderer service. You get up to an hour break to stretch your legs at the Station, we took a walk along the woodland trail towards Llyn Mair with views of the valley and lake. A tearoom at the station also offers freshly made refreshments and ice creams.
With legs rested our next adventure was Beddgelert, a beautiful location with stunning walks, the two rivers Glaslyn and Colwyn that meet at a picturesque bridge in the centre of the village. You are not spoilt for choice when it comes to walks in this area, we decided to take a circular walk taking in the river and copper mine ruins and the grave of Gelert, an epic Welsh legend with a sad ending. For those with allergies and wanting a refreshing ice cream we highly recommend Glaslyn Artisan Ice Cream, their allergy knowledge and protocols ensured we could all enjoy a refreshing ice cream on a very hot day.
Not far from Porthmadog is the Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife (BGGW) centre, a pair of ospreys have been breeding in the Glaslyn Valley since 2004. To see these majestic birds of prey was a privilege, at the time of our visit the female was on the nest, however, the large male could be seen in flight returning from its hunting grounds. This centre run by volunteers is well worth a visit, there are spotting scopes set up as well as live webcams of the nests.
Coming to the end of our week we decided on an evening stroll into Porthmadog for a fish and chip supper, taking in part of the Wales Coast Path and the Black Rock Sands the views of the National Park in the distance were breath-taking.
The weather was kind and the evening sun provided a warmth and glow to everything around, this was an evening to remember and a fitting end to a fantastic week in Wales.
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