The Watkin Path

According to the weather reports, today was going to be a nice day.  Dry, mild and even a bit sunny.  So Mum and Dad decided that it would be a great day to get out and about.  Mum wanted to get some proper exercise, so, whilst Bodnant Gardens is very nice and was most certainly an option, The Family decided to go with Mum's idea of The Watkin Path in Snowdonia.  It's somewhere she had been before, but Dad and The Boy hadn't and Mum likes showing them new places.

The Watkin Path is the most challenging official path up Snowdon, but the summit was not their objective today.  Instead, The Family planned to make it to at least a nice waterfall along the path.  Dad made sandwiches, The Boy was roused, breakfast was enjoyed and layers were put on.  The Boy did not grumble at having to go out for a walk.  Mum thought this might have something to do with the pair of walking boots that Grandad D had given him.  Thanks Grandad D!

They arrived at Bethania car park and, with rucksacks donned, set off for the start of the ascent.

From the car park, they crossed a nice bridge towards the main road...

...where the obligatory game of Pooh Sticks was played.  Dad won.

Just over the road, the Watkin Path began, marked by a stone.

The path soon took them through some very old feeling woodland.  The trees were gnarly, the boulders were mossy and it felt damp and cool.  The Boy said it felt quite dead and barren, but Mum and Dad told him that the woods were just waiting patiently for the right moment, then it would be very much alive.

The Boy, being surrounded by sticks, chose a good one.  He even lugged it along the trail a fair way.

Mum loved the rounded forms of the mossy boulders.

The view down the valley towards Llyn Dinas.

The walk through the woodland was very pleasant indeed.  Not too taxing for The Family and a good way to warm up for the inclines ahead.  The path took them over another bridge where Dad won another game of Poohsticks and then over another one where Dad and The Boy joked around playing more Poohsticks over a dried up riverbed.  Dad probably won that game too.

Dad and The Boy watching their Poohsticks not moving very much.  Silly boys.

The views suddenly opened up to The Family, marking the end of the woodland part of their walk.  The sun broke through in patches and Mum, Dad and The Boy started to remove layers. The proper uphill walking was just about to start and they were already feeling rather warm.

Byebye gnarly trees and hello open countryside.

The path climbed steadily upwards but not so steeply as to be hard work.  They were all soon rewarded with a lovely view of the waterfalls of Afon Cwn Llan and the snowy mountains beyond.

The Watkin Path is said the be the prettiest route up to Snowdon.  It wasn't hard to see why.

The water of the Afon Cwm Llan never fell from a great height, but rather in stages into a series of pools.  This part looked like a giant waterslide.

Looking back down the path, The Family saw that they had already climbed quite a way up.

They stopped to explore this little cottage with no roof, windows or doors.  It was quite hard to imagine it in a habitable state but looking out of the window every morning must have been wonderful.

Behind the cottage was a path that took them to the top of one of the waterfalls.  It was a fantastic place to stop and rest before clambering and exploring.

Looking down from the top of one of the waterfalls.

The Boy took a well-earned rest but not for very long as there were things to see, water to muck about with and rocks to climb.

Dad splashed his hot face with cold water from the river,  He looked very happy to be in such a nice place.

Who wouldn't be happy here?  The waterfall pools were crystal clear and beautifully blue.

The bridge across the river was narrow and a bit scary, but Mum, Dad and The Boy all took turns to cross it.

Dad's turn on the bridge, complete with troll.

The Boy then turned his mind to clambering.  It turns out that he's rather good at getting up things.  Mum and Dad's hearts were in their mouths but they know that The Boy is getting older and deserves to explore, conquer and use his freedom to take a few little risks.  *gulp*

Mum and Dad's RockMonkey.

Having fun in the warm sunshine.

The waterfall was a wonderful place, but the rushing water made quite a noise and it wasn't quite the right place to sit and eat lunch.  The Family headed back to the Watkin Path to climb further up to find a more peaceful spot where they could chat whilst they ate.  The trail got a bit steeper but was easy underfoot and finally they all found themselves in a wide, flat valley called Cwm Llan.

Mum doesn't remember this small hydroelectric dam being here back in 2012.  Still, it doesn't interfere too badly with the view.

The Family were surprised to see lots of clumps of frogspawn in the pools of the valley.  They thought it might have been too cold for frogs but it obviously wasn't.

The valley was flat and the path was very easy.  It took them away from the sound of the rushing waterfall but in its place was a deep, growling noise that was hard to ignore.  Was it the Welsh dragon, come to protect the mountains from walking boots?  Errrr, no.  It was Dad's belly announcing that food was most definitely required.

A sheltered but sunny place amongst the rocks was quickly sought out and Dad's rucksack was emptied of its delights.

Mmmm.  Pastrami, cheese, lettuce, tomato and special sauce on a wholemeal thin.  Eating in the fresh mountain air was extremely enjoyable.

Having been fed and watered, The Boy headed off to explore a little more.

At this point, all six legs were feeling a bit weary and, whilst the valley had more to offer, The Family thought they had best head back down the path to the car with thoughts of returning another day after an earlier start.

The way down was easy and the sun shone even brighter.  Mum and The Boy rabbited on about various things and then, after a brief period of deep thought, The Boy stated that he'd really enjoyed the walk and that he felt lucky to have Mum and Dad for parents.  Mum and Dad were touched.

Nobody was in the mood for rushing, there really wasn't any need.  So it took longer than The Family realised to reach the main road across from the car park.  As they crossed back over the bridge from the start of their journey, they looked out towards the hills where they had had such a lovely time and were pleased to see Snowdon looking back at them.

Goodbye mountains, see you again soon.

They drove to Tesco in Bangor to try to find something nice for dinner.  Dad's legs were weary and he didn't feel like cooking all that much.  As he and Mum were looking for inspiration on the shelves, Mum suddenly had an idea.  Why don't they all just have a meal out, surely they had earned it?  Dad thought this was a marvellous idea, so they headed back to the A55 with a Catnapping Boy.  They chose to go to The Talardy as it's close to Dad's house and has some meal options that aren't too expensive.

Yay, the good ole Talardy.

Oh look, there's Mum!  She was looking forward to her rotisserie chicken.

The meal was nice if not huge.  Healthy Family!  Mum finally finished her drink and then it was time for home.  They ended the evening with tingly, sun-kissed faces and a fun game of Descent 2 in which Leoric of the Book (Dad) and Grisbane the Thirsty (The Boy) teamed up as heroes to claim victory over the now twice-defeated Overlord (Mum).

What an absolutely smashing family day it was!

The sun sets after a fun-filled day for The Family.  They will all sleep well tonight.