North Wales Day 1 - Maybe not Bristly Ridge Then

The two forecasts I had (MET Office and MWIS) agreed at least on Saturday starting off okay-ish and getting bad in the afternoon with hill fog as low as 200m, showers and gusts of 50-60mph. So my plan was to get up at 5:30am, get up Tryfan before 11am and spend a lazy afternoon somewhere. I also had a couple of plan Bs around Bethesda for lower hills or some micro nav practice if all else failed.
Well... all else failed and I ended up with plan C. Rain and heavy winds had started during the night and not - as promised - ceased by morning. So I had a bit of a lay in and headed over to Bethesda just after 9am. Still no view of any of the surrounding hills, a very persistent rain coupled with heavy gusts. Boo.
Went for a coffee first and even the Welsh weren't too intent on giving this Saturday a go, as only a single cafe was open for business. Made good use of the regained mobile data reception texting my boyfriend and browsing the net. I was in no hurry.

Gave any kind of hillwalk a pass as I was getting soaked already. I should've re-proofed my gear before I went. ARG! Plan C was now to do the short walk to Aber Falls near Bangor and maybe have a look if any of the surrounding hills was accessible.
Aber Falls is said to be really beautiful and the walk into the valley at which end the waterfall is to be found felt more like a nice park. Reminded me of the Killarney national park. I could imagine that on a good day the gravel path would be swarming with people. I was pretty much the only one swarming today while the wind was beating rain at 60mph into my face trying to push me over in the process. Not today mate.

I pondered climbing one of the low visible hill tops nearby but then didn't give in to the urge as I was now soaked to the bone and getting a bit cold. In the brief moment the clouds allowed a short glimpse of higher ground behind the first line of hills, I actually saw snow on the slopes. Snow... in May! Phew!

The waterfall was a waterfall and I hurried back to the car. Decided to drive the short distance to Conwy and have lunch and hopefully dry in one of the pubs. Ended up in The Bell, which I had no time to go to last year and really liked it. They had half a Thatchers Heritage for me (I am a picky West Country girl when it comes to cider) and I greatly enjoyed listening to the Delta Blues streaming out of the pub's speakers while I read through the last Trail magazine. Good times, eh?

Stopped by Mountain Warehouse on the way back to the car. My jacket was still completely soaked not having dried much and fate was kind to me. They had a waterproof jacket half price. Turquoise won over pink when choosing the lesser of two evils regarding the colour and got myself a half price pair of merino socks as well. Job done.

The new jacket was a winner straight away as I now felt warm and dry, the new socks were put on back at the car and are already my favourite. Ha! How's that for a shitty day.
Stopped nearby Bangor to have a look at Penrhyn Castle, which I had missed on last year's visit to the area, but £11 was a bit much to pay for a quick look at it so I turned around and drove back.
Another quick glimpse at higher hills just after Bethesda revealed more snow and as I took the last bend into Ogwen Valley I saw a helicpoter hovering on the flank of Pen yr Ole Wen. Shit! Two Mountain Rescue trucks and a police car were parked nearby. The pilot however must be a real ace steering the copter in such difficult conditions. The heavy winds and rain hadn't ceased even a wee bit. Hope the person they got off the mountain will fully recover!
Chilled in the warm common room while the wind kept on howling outside. Forecast promised better conditions from Sunday mid day on, so I planned another lay in and some route planning for the next morning.