Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : July 2020

Wednesday, 29 July 2020

Thursday, 16 July 2020

A day out in Llanberis

Monday 13 July 2020

Today it was time to leave Fairbourne Point where I'd spent such an enjoyable weekend.

Today Lauren is coming over to North Wales with Sue for the day and we're meeting at Llanberis.

Unfortunately the weather has turned a little wet today with light drizzle, typical Wales weather I suppose.

We'd arranged to meet at a free carpark at Llanberis Lagoons overlooking the lake.

After meeting up have having a cuppa and a catchup, Lauren and I set off for a walk to a place she'd seen on the internet.It's an old slate quarry that during World War ll was used as munitions storage. Unfortunatly soon after it was commissioned the roof fell in and buried all the bombs !

They didn`t explode as luck would have it and were dug out over the following years but I think it was only in the '70's that the site was completely cleared and made safe.

It seems it was then taken over for some kind of enlargement of the hydro electricity generation plant. They built all the roads and infrastructure on the site but then abandoned it.

The roads remain and are complete with all markings and it has quite an eerie atmosphere to it, certainly a feeling of eyes watching.

There are no buildings and Buddleia is slowly taking over.

The only structure we could see was the former munitions storage where the roof fell in and it's still in that condition. Apparently there are some tunnels and passages but we couldn't get down to see those.

We later took a wander around Llanberis and along the lake shore.

After tea I headed off to Nant Gwynant Campsite.

By now it had dried up and the sunshne made a welcome return as I arrived at the campsite.

It is a lovely site with direct access to the lake and spectacular views.

Old abandoned site which was a munitions dump in WWll. The roads were put in for a hydro power station apparently but never used

A road to nowhere

This is the site where the munitions blew up

Sunday, 12 July 2020

Fairbourne Point

Sunday 12th July 2020

Today has been a great day, glorious sunshine from about 6am. It was extremely windy overnight though, but that had subsided by the time I got up and got outside about 0900.

Apart from the wind it was a very peaceful nights sleep.

After breakfast I had a cycle down to the paper shop in Fairbourne, then did a bit of a detour on the way back and found another parking area overlooking the sea, but it doesn't look as nice as where I am with the mountains as a backdrop.

After lunch I got the kayak out and had a paddle up the river. Parked next to me is a friendly guy from Wakefield and he has a kayak also, so we ended up paddling together for a bit.

I managed to get the incoming tide going up the estuary, then hung around a bit and got the out going tide to take me down the river, so that was a bit of good planning.It was quite hard work though on the way back against the wind, even with the current.

Then it was time for a sleep in the sun whilst the kayak dried off.

Louis enjoyed himself, mostly slept all the way, rocked gently by the waves.

Tea was "en van" pork chop, sausage, tinned veg and potatoes I harvested from the garden on Friday and I must say they were delicious. All drowned in gravey of course.

Laurens coming over to Wales tomorrow so it'll be nice to meet up with her and have a walk around Llanberis.

Mawwdach Estuary Wales

Saturday 11 July 2020

Some weeks ago, during lockdown, I booked a stay at Nant Gwynnant Campsite in Snowdonia in the hope that they would be open and that we could travel.

Both were uncertain for a long time, but thankfully an email arrived confirming they would open and have the necessary Covid secure measures on site.

I've not been to Nant Gwynnant before but it looks fabulous nestling in the shadow of Snowdon. Plus it also has direct access to the lake so I intend to get the kayak out.

I'm booked in from Monday to Friday but with the weather looking so good for the weekend I decided upon a couple of nights wild camping as a warm up.

So, I've come to Fairbourne Point on the Mawddach Estuary. Its not the first time I've been here but its always great to come back to such a lovely place.

It sits just south of Barmouth on the other side of the estuary with great views up the river and the mountains beyond.

On the way here I called in at Penmaenpool, just a few miles up the river by the little timber toll bridge.

From there I cycled into Dolgallu whilst Louis set the pace trotting in front.

There isn't a great deal I can say about the town, it was very quiet and sleepy for a Saturday with most shops seemingly shut, but I suppose the virus is to blame for that.

Never the less it was a pleasant cycle ride along the Mawwdach Trail.

Moving on, I managed to get a parking spot looking directly over the estuary at Fairbourne Point so fabulous views for the evening.

I just checked the tide times and if the weather is fine I might go for a kayak paddle.