Snowdonia on Business *continued*

Sunday, Walk No.2 - Bontddu to Barmouth
Hadn't slept well at all and was still pretty knackered when we got up. A quiet chilled day in Dolgellau would've been nice, but we had walk number 2 to do. So after breakfast we drove the 15 minutes or so to Coed Cadw car park, which was much better than leaving the car in a layby in Bontddu as originally planned.

Looking at a poster we found the 14k Cwm Mynach trail starting from the same car park, but we would only do the first bit of it, still I put it on my list of walks to check out.

Sunday's walk from right to left

We headed uphill through the wood on a road first, then hopped onto a path next to it to head further uphill. Despite being overcast, it was really really warm today and soon we were in shorts with a proper sweat on.

I was battling a bit with fatigue and a faint headache, Rich was quite tired today as well, but the beautiful wild woodland made us forget that we were just not feeling it today. Some confusion as we reached a beautiful cottage and wondered where the path was. Heading steeply up on a grassy field only found us at a dead end. Coming back down a young lad had come out the front door of the cottage along with a handful of other kids. He told us to just open the gate and walk through the courtyard, so we did and indeed we found the path continuing just after the cottage.

Getting a sweat on

Love those gnarly trees

Some more uphill walking on a broad grassy path, through another gate and a quick break to catch our breath. With nice views all around we walked easily up and down until the broad path vanished into high grass and watery bog underneath. The joy of British hillwalking! Would be boring otherwise. We splashed around for a bit and eventually found a way through and our path wonderously reappeared once through the worst bit.

Downhill and around a few farms with more nice views, then uphill along a wood and down again through more farmland. Had a wee break, lost the path again and rerouted to walk along a minor road for a bit. Back on track again we enjoyed walking on a bridleway for a bit with the first proper views of Fairborne and the mouth of the estuary.
Lunchbreak with freshly brewed tea and more great views. We could've stayed there for hours, just chilling on our picnic blanket enjoying a fantastiv day.

Eventually, we got back up, walked some more tarmac and headed back onto a grassy path again soon after. Passed the signal post which is a popular destination for walkers coming up from Barmouth. Down over more grass all the way into Barmouth for us, with views getting more and more dramatic!

Looking towards Fairbourne

Barmouth

Mawddach Estuary and Cadair Idris

Arrived in Barmouth 3:30pm. It was bustling and busy, every space in the huge car park taken. Had a well earned and needed coffee and some gorgeous ice cream after. Just finished before we got onto the T3 bus service, which is free on weekends thanks to Welsh government. Sweeeet!

Hopped off in Bontddu and walked the 15 minutes or so back to the car. We were both knackered but happy after a great walk. I was especially happy to have found such a varied walk without any tricky bits other then the short bit of bog which I now know to navigate across. This walk definitely made it onto the list for my group.

Back in Dolgellau we had a well needed shower and then dinner at the hotel. I had roast chicken and Rich Steak & Kidney pie. Both were okay, but rather average compared to what we were used to. Bit of a disappointment, but after two mediorce breakfasts not really a surprise. Based on that we skipped pudding and Rich got some beers from the Spar around the corner. We chilled in our hotel room, watching expensive cars crashing and downhill mountain bike videos on YouTube.


Monday, Walk No.3 - Rhoslefain circular
Last day in Snowdonia today. In terms of walks suited for groups I had a 50:50 success rate so far, but today's walk was the one that counted. The original walk was no longer possible due to path closure and I was here to find an alternative.

Breakfast, packing, checkout, 10am we loaded the car and drove off towards Rhoslefain near Tywyn. Overcast again with slight rain forecast for mid day, we didn't hang around. Parked up in a layby, slipped into walking boots and off we went.

The walk was only a half day one at roughly 7k. This was the one that had to work out, with nice scenery and no too tricky bits. It's always a bit of a surprise when plotting a route, what you're actually getting on the ground in the end.

Recce for part 2 of a walk with my group

We started off walking over some grassy farm land with very very boggy patches around each field's gates. Nothing that couldn't be done. Walked through a small wood, crossed the A road and walked slightly uphill over more farm land. Despite a fair bit of haze, views back towards the sea and over towards Bird Rock were awesome!
Crossed a small stream, headed over a church yard and walked some more along the same stream before crossing it again via a small bridge. Loved it so far. Very varied, lots of wild flowers and the feeling of walking on a somewhat secret path that only we knew existed.

A wilder walk then anticipated

Hazy view towards Bird Rock

Crops and wild flowers

A ruin marked the turn off for the highest point of our walk: Pant-gwyn. Freelanced uphill over more grass and sat down on the remnants of a wall on the top munching an apple, enjoying the fab views all the way to Llyn.

Llyn on the horizon

On the Wales Coast Path

We took a sharp left turn once off the top of Pant-gwyn onto a gravel road turning back onto ourselves. Walked on tarmac for a bit soon after and finally turned onto the very boggy Wales Coast Path. Crossed the A road again staying on the Wales Coast Path heading over a couple of fields before we were back at the road we started on and only needed to walk down to the layby we had parked the car at.
The sun had come out from behind grey clouds and the promised rain was more than unlikely. Fine by us.

Loved the walk and was relieved and glad it turned out to be a keeper. Not too difficult for the group and a lot of different scnenery. I'm now all prepared for my second week of guiding mid September. Yay.

Had a pleasant drive all the way home, stopping in Builth Wells for coffee and cake. Overall, a great weekend with three very nice walks, two of those will make it onto the list for my walking groups, which is a nice turnout.
Whilst towns and villages tend to be busy in the area, the mountain/hill walks are a solitary affair. We met only a few people here and there, but had the scenery to ourselves most of the time. It might not be as spectacular as the Northern part of Snowdonia, but it certainly makes for very fine walking!