Our last piece of paradise. Snowdonia, Part 3.

Before we knew it our final day in North Wales was upon us and we were begrudgingly thinking about heading back up to London and reality. However, with one full day still ahead of us we wiped away any thoughts of tubes, bosses and the rat race and packed up the car ready to set off to the beach.

Amy and Will didn't tell us much about where we were going other than it was on Anglesey and always seemed to have it's own micro climate. They weren't wrong! The weather through the Snowdon mountains was dreary, grey with great splodges of rain, however, on arriving in Anglesey the weather was warm and the sky mostly blue.

Dogs on their leads, we headed off in search of our last piece of paradise.

We passed all the crowds of beach goers and climbed through the sand dunes, along the first beach and then the second, until finally we had reached our destination. One beach, entirely to ourselves - and the doggies of course.

Setting down on the soft sand, we delved in to our picnics before the boys decided to brace the water!

Amy set to making Daisy dog a nice shelter from the sun as there didn't seem to be any shade anywhere close by.

P dusted off the cover and Will collected some sticks....

And voila.....Amy's shelter for Daisy! Not only an incredible designer of Plas Curig Hostel but a dog sun shelter creator extraordinaire too!

P played fetch with the dogs on the beach after a quick dip. Unfortunately during his "paddle" he managed to get stung by a jelly fish. Being the "oh so macho" man he is though he didn't complain. . . too much!

There were lots of Jelly Fish dotted along the coastline and with morbid curiosity and out of respect for my poor, stung fiancé I had to take a closer look (a large prod).

Exhausted from chasing the dogs back and forth and some beach gymnastics we all fell asleep in the sun. We woke up just as the sun was starting to waver and set so we quickly packed up, took some much needed group shots and set back all along the coast line back to the car park.

Finally our magical time in Snowdonia was over and we were heading home with the most incredible memories with two of our dearest friends.

Snowdonia is such a special place and it was amazing to think that in three days we had been wild swimming in a lake, a river and then the sea- all in total tranquillity from any other visitor. If you would like to have a similar experience then I cant recommend Plas Curig Hostel enough, an unforgettable experience.

Plunging in to Paradise....Snowdonia Part 2.

Waking up in Amy's beautiful home as opposed to the previous morning waking up in Telford was amazing. Two much clearer heads, still reminiscing of the day before' s fun we headed on down to breakfast. We couldn't believe our ears when Amy told us that Will had gone for a 3 hr walk after we'd gone up to bed (circa 10:30pm ish- early, I know!). . .  Clearly a few too many marshmallows and on a little sugar hi, Will and Rob (Rob helps to run the hostel with his lovely gf Rebecca) set off with the dogs, Dilly and Daisy and one head torch between them up and in to the mountains. Something that is maybe slightly more "normal" in Snowdonia, you most certainly wouldn’t find people hiking around London for 3 hrs in the dead of night- unless (and more likely) highly intoxicated and on a "kebab" mission. Anyhow, the boys had apparently got back at about 1:30 am! So, sitting at another delicious breakfast of watermelon and berry fruit salad and delicious wholemeal cranberry bread it was amazing to see Will so awake and in such hi spirits- ready and raring to take us to one of their next favourite spots!

This time we headed to Aberglaslyn and parked the car. One tip when travelling around Snowdonia and very far from any cash points- remember change- luckily between us we managed to scrape together the £4 parking fee but it looked a little tight for a moment!

Heading straight on up the hills and in to stunning woodland glen Daisy kept us amused with her energy by bringing sticks back and forth to us, urging just one more throw, and another, and another..... Seems P got the short straw!

About 30 minutes up we could hear the water! As we dropped down we were greeted by the waterfalls. Plunging hydrotherapy pools, fast rapids and deep calm glowing pools urging you to take a dip. Boys, Amy and Dilly dog straight in, I acted as official photographer before taking a paddle myself. The water was icy cool but easy to adapt to and crystal clear. One would pay a fortune to have hydrotherapy treatment in London, let alone anywhere else, however, here it was just one of nature's free creations with the freshest water AND most spectacular scenery.

                           

Drying off in the warm sun, we set back on the track to our next stop. The walkway became a little higher and more jagged and the waterfalls a little more dramatic, but there was no need to fear here as there were beautiful cast iron handles set in to the rock to help guide and steady you on your way.

As the landscape steadied off we were on a flat walking path with fields and hills on both sides, eventually hearing the cackles of children's laughter- and then finally seeing them all.

Children and families all along the banks of the river Beddgelert watching the brave few (mostly children) plunge their fearless bodies off the bridge and in to the water below. Spurring each other on and cheering each time the next one hit the water it was such a beautiful scene to watch. Welcome to Beddgelert.

Probably one of the most picturesque villages I have ever been to, Beddgelert was brimming with families and dogs galore.

We wondered through to Amy's favourite ice-cream shop and what seemed to be the crux of the village, with a long queue of hungry customers and a menu to literally die for- it was a very hard decision choosing which flavour to go for. In the end, I went for two - Mint choc chip (my childhood favourite) and strawberry cheesecake. After all the walking and swimming it didn’t seem like such a sinful treat! . . . and at this stage, little did we know what we were about to climb.

Ice creams polished off, Amy and Will gave us two options: to walk back the way we came, or, to climb Bryn Du hill and then walk back down through an ancient forest. Excited by the second choice we settled on that and set on our way. Walking through meadows and up over stiles we eventually began our ascent- and it was a pretty steep one.

At the foot of the hill was the story of Beddgelert and Gelert's Grave. The story, as written on the tombstone reads: "In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, "The Faithful Hound", who was unaccountably absent.On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood. The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry. Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but near by lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here".

Climbing higher and higher and higher still, I kept having to tell myself that this wasn’t a mountain, but a hill- only a hill!

Eventually reaching the top the views were spectacular and there was a definite sense of achievement from P and myself- the city dwellers, more used to a Virgin Active running machine than a giant hump of a hill.

As we dropped down through the forests the weather - as well known in Snowdonia (the 6th wettest place in the country!) turned and the sky's turned thundery. We headed back to the car and set back home for hot showers and a quick change of clothes ready for dinner.

Next to Plas Curig hostel is a lovely Inn called Bryn Tyrch. Amy and I and the boys put on our glad rags and walked the very short distance to dinner.

I wore my favourite Monsoon quilted jacket with a white Zara dress and Dune wedges.

The menu was brilliant- if not a bit too hard to choose from as there was just so much. I settled on a starter of Moroccan lamb, feta and olive salad with a tzatziki dressing. Huge portions and such intense flavours, a big tick in my book. For main course I opted for the Tandori tuna loin, tempura kind prawn and alo globi. Again, this was a huge dish and was tender and tantalised every taste bud I had. The relaxed atmosphere and intimate seating added to the whole ambiance.  I have shared a selection of our meals below.

We didn't have pudding- amazing I know, given my sweet tooth. But we had great reason not to as we were heading back home for the remainder of Amy's incredible brownie- not to be beaten by any restaurant.

Another amazing day finished- and still another to go, we all retired to bed- no midnight walks, just a house full of zzz's ready for the next day's activities.

Part three to come....