A Cold Swim in Aber Falls.

A lazy morning in the sun today while we waited for Beth and Thomas to recover from last night's celebrations!!  We picked them up at 1.00 pm and drove over to Llanberis for an ice cream at the shop where Beth used to work.  Very good too.  Next it was on to The Aber Falls.  It was baking hot and the only signs of life were ringlet butterflies which were on the wing in good numbers.  Suprisingly there was still plenty of water coming over the falls despite the recent hot, dry spell.  I was even persuaded to swim in the pool right under the falls.  It was bracing to say the least, but once in, very pleasant.  We were even able to sit with our heads behind the fall looking out through a curtain of water.  Looking up we could see sparkling water cascading over the lip with vibrant green trees set against the deep cerulean blue sky.

Soon it was time to return to the van for beer, BBQ and Tour.  An excellent day.

Aber Falls

'Following still the course of the stream, I soon came within sight of the waterfall, called Rhaiadr Mawr, The Great Cateract .... at some distance two or three divisions of the upper rock were seen, but immediately at the foot little more than the lower fall is visible.  In the bed of the river, ... are scattered numerous fragments of Rock'
Bingley, Rev. W. North Wales: Delineated from excursions through all the interesting parts of that highly beautiful and romantic country.

Graduation Day.

A wonderful day.  Up early to another day of hot weather and into Bangor to meet up with Thomas and Beth at the uni.  Beth had already picked up her gown and mortar board and looked stunning in it.  For a while we mingled with the milling crowds of students and parents, chatted to her friends and took photographs.  Before long it was time to go into the hall for the ceremony.  This was not overly long as it was one of several to fit in all of the students.  It was emotional, though, watching our little girl receive her degree.  We were incredibly proud of her.  The formal part of the day over, it was time for more photographs and then a buffet lunch organised by the Modern Languages Department, after which we dropped Beth and Thomas off at her flat while we went back to the caravan for a rest and to get changed.  In the evening we met Beth's special group of friends for a meal with all of the parents in a smashing Italian seafood restaurant in Beaumaris right on the shore.  The evening light on the Menai straits was beautiful and I enjoyed watching the local sandwich terns fish for their supper.

Oops missed her feet off!!

Mum and daughter.

Our little girl.

Brother and sister.

What do you think to my gown?

The mob!!  I'm the good looking one on the left.

A proud graduate.

Tradition has to be followed.

'The Girls'

What are we supposed to do with these hoods?

Beth's favourite shot.

The Druids' Circle.

This morning again dawned warm and sunny and, after a relaxing breakfast outside, we headed up into the hills, parking at the beginning of the North Wales Path above Llanfairfechan.  This meandered upwards at an easy angle, soon reaching open hillside.  Foxgloves and welsh poppies were still in flower despite the hot weather.  As we climbed the views back over the Menai Straits to Anglesey and down to Bangor were fabulous.  Reaching the open hillside there were rounded lumps of whin covering the hillside, all on the verge of coming into flower.  White rumped wheatears flitted on boulders and rock walls (oh for my 500 lens!), house martins swooped and wheeled in the air around us and all around were the raucous cries of herring gulls and jackdaws croaking and talking to themselves. Welsh ponies pottered around the fells feeding and minding their own business.  Eventually we reached the Druids' Circle, an ancient stone circle, the tallest stones being shoulder height, perched high above Penmaenmowr and The Great Orme at Llandudno. This Bronze Age monument is said to be one of the finest examples in Wales.  The stones are encrusted with a colourful lichen flora and all around yellow tormentil flowers peep golden out of the grass.  This is a magical and atmorpheric spot and I couldn't help trying to imagine what it must have been like 3000 years ago when it was used for worship and ceremonies.

As we wandered back down the hillside, the sound of farm machinery busy with haymaking drifted up from the valley on the hot breeze.  All around were aromas of hot earth and bracken.

Soon it was time to head for Bangor Station to pick up our son Thomas who was joining us for Beth's graduation.  As we waited for him in the car park , it was fascinating to watch a buzzard being harried by the local herring gulls.

The evening concluded with a BBQ, a great Tour stage and a digestif in the last of the evening light.

To see the images large, click on a thumbnail.

Looking back to Bangor and the Menai Straights from the North Wales Path.

The Druids' Circle

The Druids' Circle with The Great Orme in the background.

The Druid's Circle.

Lichen covered standing stone.

The Boy after the BBQ.

North Wales for Beth's Graduation.

Yesterday we drove across to North Wales for our daughter, Beth's graduation.  She has just completed four years at Bangor Uni studying Spanish and Italian.
The pack up and getaway went well, especially as it was the first trip out in the caravan since last September.  We were away from Stallingborough, where we store the van, by 11.30.  The journey went well and we arrived at our site in Llanfairfechan at 5.00 with a couple of stops.  Despite Sally Satnav's protestations we drove over the Woodhead Pass in preference to the M62.  A quick trip into Bangor for shopping and we were back chilling in the hot sun with a beer while our ready meal heated in the oven.  Delighted by a fantastic weather forecast for the next few days, we fell into bed exhausted after a hectic week.

We awoke this morning to cloudless skies and high temperatures.  After a late get up, a lazy breakfast followed and we proceeded to relax on the site in the sun all morning recharging the batteries.

The plan for the afternoon was to walk up to the nearby Aber Falls, but on driving up to the car park, we found it heaving, so we opted for the sea front in Llanfairfechan instead.  We were very pleasantly surprised; a beautiful spot with rocky beach and wonderful old groynes, weathered to a lustrous silver sheen by wind and spray, and views over the Menai Straits to Anglesey and Puffin Island with Penmon light in between and up into the Carneddau mountains behind us.  I had last been up there in February in a blizzard and had seen nothing from their summits; today they were totally clear of cloud.  After an ice cream we wandered along the sea to the attractive and interesting saltmarsh nature reserve.  The afternoon was baking hot and the air was full of the scent of hot earth and saltmarsh mud.  Few birds were in evidence other than gulls, a single curlew, pied wagtails foraging on the marsh and buzzards wheeling on the thermals above the hills.  In one of the creeks, though, cut off from the sea until the next big tide, was a shoal of huge torpedo-shaped grey mullet.

We had read about stone circle - the Druids' Circle, up in the hills and with the help of a local couple, identified its location; the target for tomorrow.

After the walk it was back to the van in time for beer o'clock, tea and Le Tour.

Images below weathered groynes, Llanfairfechan.  To view large click on the thumbnail.

Puffin Island on the horizon.