Close ..... but no coconut.

The forecast hadn't been good for today but with no word from the airfield we were up with the sun so that we could make an early start for our drive to Anglesey. Through the kitchen window the village houses were silhouetted against a fiery red sky which very quickly faded to orange and shortly after the rest of the sky turned a lovely shade of pink. I sat out on the terrace listening to the waves shushing against the shore while one set of garden chimes tinged gently in the breeze. Down in the garden a small dunnock whose puffed up plumage made him/her? look like a pom-pom foraged on the paving under the overhanging grasses. It was working its way along the cracks between the paving slabs either eating grass seeds which had been trapped there or the ants which live below the paving. A red kite drifted across my view as it patrolled the cliff-top but the dunnock took no notice of that fearsome predator.

Peter spoke to someone at the airfield at 8.30 and it was all systems go ..... until five minutes before we were due to leave there came the message that the winds were increasing and the pilot said it wouldn't be safe. So yet another postponement. 

Rather than simply stay at home we decided to at least do something. After rejecting a visit to the osprey centre I found somewhere in Snowdonia, not too far away where there were a couple of short circular walks and the possibility of a longer uphill walk. This was the start of the Minffordd Path which leads up to Cadair Idris. We did not intend walking the whole way which although only 5 miles there and back is very steep and the time given is 5 hours. (And that is for fit young people.)

Driving there we passed Corris, which is the furthest I'd managed to get into Snowdonia and before long impressive peaks soared above us. (I was going to insert the dash cam video but it 'exceeds the limit' so a screenshot will have to do.)

We began our walk with a gentle stroll around some parkland. This was on a tidy asphalt path that was strangely humped along the centre. We couldn't work out if this was deliberate to allow water to run off, if somebody had been over enthusiastic when putting down the asphalt or if it was due to be rolled flat. It meant that unless you walked in the very centre your ankles were being twisted sideways and for anyone with wheels like a wheelchair or a child's buggy it would also be precarious.

We followed the Parkland Trail which took us through a wooded area that included ornamental trees and bushes such as redwoods and acers alongside the native plants. Beside us ran a pretty stream tumbling over rocks. I get to see many such streams on my Sunday walks but this was new for Peter.

Having come to a gate leading to the start of the main trail up to Cadair we thought we'd give it a try and see how Peter's ankles stood up to the very steep climb. We kept the pace steady and turned back when he felt he had done enough. It would have been better if we had brought our hiking sticks with us especially on the descent as the steps were very variable and often quite high.

Some of the steps had wooden risers but many more were built from rocks. It must have been a major undertaking to construct such sturdy and stable steps from the rounded river rocks which carried on far up the hillside. 

The rounded shape of the rocks with mosses and ferns growing over them gave the whole area a fairy tale like atmosphere and we shall certainly be coming back to explore here again. Hopefully to at least get above the tree line.

To one side of the path was a gorge with the stream tumbling over the rocks and forming numerous waterfalls making it seem even more magical.

Afterwards we drove down the valley and stopped in a lay-by beside Llyn Myngul, a glacial ribbon lake formed by a glacial landslip. Apologies for the random person who was followed by his companion and then proceeded to take selfies and make videos right in the middle of my best view. The weather had already begun to change at this point, a cold easterly wind was blowing and there were spits of rain in the air. Like sensible older folk we sat in the car drinking coffee and eating biscuits. 

From there we carried on to Tywyn on a route almost parallel to our initial route to Mach but on the far side of the first mountains.

Tywyn is the seaside town we see far across the bay so of course we had to stop at the beach and take a photo of Borth. (Our house is just above the Tywyn beach witches' hat but about 10 miles away across the sea.) From Tywyn we followed the coast road that runs on the far side of the estuary back up to Mach and then home. The whole outing took us three and a half hours and maybe we'll take more in the future. Or I can go on my own.

By the time we reached home the rough weather had set in with heavy rain. Although the waves were trying to get to shore the strong wind was flattening them out and pushing the sea sideways across the bay which was strange to watch.