Thursday 16 June 2011

A few days of being intent

As part of our family week, we decided to break out the tents and spend a few days in Wales; specifically, at Llanberis, a large village overshadowed by the bulk of Snowdon (the highest mountain in Wales).



Of course, the trouble with mountains is that they attract cloud and rain...




...but after a couple of damp days, the sun broke through.


The campsite was very basic; a working farm with field space for tents and one small toilet/shower block. The worst factor was that all of the fields sloped. We found the flattest available space we could, but it was still interesting keeping stuff on the table and I woke up a few times each night to shuffle back up to the top side of the airbed!

But with views like this from the front door of the tent, can I really complain?



The lake is Llyn Padarn. More about that later :)

The other joy of staying on a working farm was the animals. With about 11 million sheep in Wales, it was not surprising to find them wandering around just outside the tent door. We were also visited by hens, sheep dogs and the odd farm cat.



The one animal which really made its presence felt was the cockerel; to the extent that someone had graffiti ed the inside of the toilet door with the words "Someone shoot that bloody cockerel!". Awwwww. Only at 4.30am!!

7 comments:

  1. Not my cup of tea, but I can see that the view would be worth the damp and the early wake-up call!

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  2. Camping is my worst nightmare but I can see the joys of that wonderful view. Love the cockerel story - luckily we sleep at the front of the farmhouse and the hen house is way down the yard at the back, so we don't hear him. Glad the weather improved a bit.

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  3. I do love camping! Unfortunately my husband does not. LOVE your story about the graffiti!

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  4. How beautifully lush and green it all looks...that's because it rains so much ;) Such gorgeous scenery and I love those ultra woolly sheep. So glad to know you made the best of your holiday, H (even if you had to crawl into bed a few times a night after tumbling downhill!) Priceless memories, irreplaceable moments in time :) Great on you for making time to make it all happen!

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  5. Wow! What a different view from the plains of Colorado. This is why I am aching to travel, to see things like you picture here. Only, uh, in North America, of course. I'm pretty sure I can't drive the bus across the Atlantic. ;)

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  6. We now "camp" in a 32 foot Travel Trailer but our first experience back in the '70's was in a tent and eating off the tailgate of our station wagon...somehow it was more enjoyable and the food tasted so good cooked over a campfire.

    You sure picked a breathtaking area to set up your tent...

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  7. What a fabulous place to spend family time. Our family used to tent too, but it never was my favoured way to travel. Adorable sheep... and since there are plenty of roosters crowing at all hours of the day around our house (and no, I live in an urban center, not on a working farm), I can sure relate to the graffiti writer!

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