North Wales

It has been six months since my last post. After a great start to the year, circumstances impacted my running from the summer onwards. As usual the heat meant that any big runs were out. I continued to keep up my mileage, but it wasn't until September that I was able to enjoy some proper trail running with a weekend in Wales. During that time some personal issues affected me and my mental health suffered. As a result I didn't write anything about the trip and the year tailed off with illness and injury.

So here is a short summary of that Welsh adventure just for the record.

Following a busy and exciting first six months of running including visits to Dorset, the Peak and Lake Districts, Cairngorm mountains in Scotland, and Bannau Brychainiog I stayed close to home over the summer. I struggle with the heat and, apart from some forays into the North Downs, stuck to London. I did have a trip in the diary for September though. A North Wales adventure with running pal Matt Shimwell.

When the time came for us to head off I was facing some tough personal challenges and I wasn't feeling strong. We had planned for two long days in the Snowdon range including the eponymous mountain itself, but decided to just head off and enjoy ourselves and see what we could manage.

We drove from London to the Berwyn range in North-East Wales. Here we parked up and headed into the hills. It was an overcast day with grey skies as we walked up a hill from the car park before jogging down the other side with beautiful views across north Wales. A steep climb took us onto the trails as the drizzle began to arrive. A rainbow appeared over to our right as an occasional shaft of sunlight broke through. 

The ground was completely sodden, as were our feet. Wide crevices crossed our path revealing black peat beneath. It was almost impossible to run and we struggled to stay upright. Eventually we made it to the summit of the range and were enveloped in cloud. 

Our route took us along the hill tops in a horseshoe taking in 16 summits before heading back down to the car. As we began to descend the rain arrived accompanied by a terrifically strong wind that threatened to blow us off our feet. Raincoats on, and hoods up, we were battered by the storm with no shelter in sight. Eventually we made it down to the car where we dried off and then headed into Snowdonia. 14 miles completed.

That night we stayed in a campsite, but thankfully not in a tent. The weather was dreadful. Instead we had a wooden hut. It was basic, with just a light, a radiator and a floor to lay our sleeping bags. There were no luxuries, but we were relieved to have solid walls as we watched others packing away their tents in the rain the next morning.

This time we drove to Llyn (Lake) Ogwen just outside Pont Pen-y-Benglog. The Carnedd range is situated north of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and looks across to the Glyders. The lake was still and reflected the mountains on its surface. It remained overcast, but was dry and the wind had died down.

A long, steep ascent took us to another small lake and then it was hands on knees as we climbed a steep rocky path to the top. We had climbed 2500 feet covering just 3 miles. 

It was time for a snack before we headed further north. We took an out and back route with 8 summits in total. Our descent brought us back to the lake as we dropped 2300 feet in under 1 mile. We were scrambling down the rock face, but it did present us with stunning views of the Glyders. 17 miles completed. 

I could have provided a more descriptive account had I written this closer to the event. INstead here are some photos to tell the story for me.