ADVENTURE | North Wales

Driving the four and a half hour journey to North Wales to discover whether the Gogs really do sound more like Liverpudlians than Welshies, how cold you’d be in a hot tub in the snow and how long it would take to climb Snowdon. 

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Heron’s Lake Retreat for a Log Cabin break. The scenic route from the South West Valleys, through the Brecon Beacons, Mid Wales and all the way up to the lovely Village of Carwys was filled with laughter, sing-songs, sunshine and chocolate. This continued throughout the whole weekend, I’m pretty sure we put the TV on only once for some background noise (when we weren’t hiking, eating, or hot-tubbing).

Log Cabin

We were graced with a well sized Cabin for the four of us; two bedrooms, one with a double bed and one with two singles which we pushed together to create one mah-oo-sive kip zone.

The kitchen and living room were well-equipped with anything you could possibly need to cater for your gang for the weekend. The glowing fire in the living room was perfect to warm up in front of after running in from the outside hot tub, and the fairy lights lining the decking provided a warm glow, framing the scenic green mountains.

 

 

 

The Hot Tub

The hot tub, of course, deserves it own sub heading as we spent 90% of our time either in it, thinking about it, or talking about it. Located at the front of the cabin we were initially worried that we would be putting on a show to our neighbours, but as soon as we got in we realised the hot tub was quite concealed by the bamboo fencing and it was the perfect seclude. With Prosecco in hand, the snowy mountains in front of us, you can imagine our delight as we discovered the hot tub actually had mood lighting which changed depending upon preferred chosen settings, in addition to a built in speaker. The next time I’m required to find my ‘happy place’ in my occasional meditation, I know where I’ll be.

Snowdonia

The national park of Snowdonia is actually huge. It took us around an hour to get there from the Log Cabin, passing over beautiful mountains and my new favourite ever town (which I am already itching to properly visit) – Betws-Y-Coed – so quaint, so beautiful and so close to Snowdon itself. We stopped several times en route, meaning that the hour long car ride was slightly extended, but it was so worth it for the views. When we finally arrived we were famished, and I for one was extremely caffeine deprived. Of course when we when we stumbled upon the most perfect little Cafe literally seconds away from the Watkin Trail, we couldn’t help ourselves. We needed the energy! The coffee at Caffi Gynant was palatable, the aesthetic was gorgeous and the staff were so attentive, accommodating and helpful despite being super busy. Their home made tomato ketchup and sweet potato fries are my forever OTP.

 

 

 

 

The Watkin Trail

OK, I confess we didn’t make it right to the top, but it was getting dark by the time we had got about a mile into the 8 mile walk. It is definitely on my bucket list to finish the climb. It was so mild considering it is the beginning of Feb, and we all left with a pocket full of beautiful rocks (shh), so it was a total win regardless. If I have any words of advice to those of you planning to climb Snowdon, which is the biggest mountain in Wales, stick to the trail! Or you may end up knee deep in water climbing along a slimy wall clambering to get back on track. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car ride back was… adventurous. No phone signal, an intense fog, pitch black and four knackered, hangry hikers; an interesting cocktail.

The Feels 

If I would change anything about this weekend, it would be to go for a longer amount of time. It was extremely short-lived but just the break I needed. Good friends, good food and the most delicious scenery. I left feeling refreshed, inspired and content. I have a new found appreciation for Wales and the need to explore and learn more about this bewildering country we share.

I’d like to say thank you to Stephen, Tyler and Lloyd for providing the most amazing company, entertainment and inspiration.