Weekend in Snowdonia

The last time we went to Snowdonia was back in 2016. Because it was a family trip with kiddies, Snowdon wasn't part of the plan - but I was determined to do it at some point. I even included it in my Life Bucket List.

So when one of my besties posted on Instagram that she was organising a trip to climb it with her bf, I invited myself and Mr MM along. Before we knew it, we'd booked a big farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, with 8 of us piling in for a weekend of walking and wine!

Easter weekend was a scorcher, so we had no reason to believe that we wouldn't be able to complete our ascent. But as the following week progressed, and Saturday loomed closer and closer, the weather forecast got worse and worse...

After a long drive up from the Cotswolds - and having got a bit lost down some dark tracks in the Welsh countryside - we arrived at the farmhouse on the Friday evening with a sense of trepidation. How was the weather looking? To put it simply; bad. Rain, hail, poor visibility, potentially snow, and very strong winds giving a 'feels-like' temperature of -13° didn't fill us with confidence.

When we woke up on the Saturday morning with the rain still lashing down, we umm-ed and aah-ed about commencing our trek up the mountain, and our doubts were confirmed when our friend's dad {a keen and experienced hiker} sent a message to say he recommended opting for wine and board games instead.

Keen to inhale some fresh Welsh air having come all this way, we decided to make a compromise and do a long walk instead. We chose a 6.5 mile route recommended by my beloved National Trust, and set off with our picnics and waterproofs.

To put it simply, we got drenched!

But the rolling hills, combination of warm colours and proximity to nature at its finest made it all worthwhile.

We kept up a good pace, stopping only for a Tunnocks bar whilst sheltering from the hail...

It gave us the opportunity to catch up - only occasionally having to ask someone to repeat what they'd said due to the howling wind muffling their voice!

I gave Mr MM a good laugh when a particularly strong gust literally lifted me off my feet, causing me to bodyslam him. He said he'd just noticed out of the corner of his eye his wife flying through the air towards him...

Having battled all the elements, we made it back to the cars, stripped off our waterproof trousers, and enjoyed our sandwiches and apples in the warmth of the car.

Luckily the farmhouse was equipped with lots of bathrooms, so we all had luxuriously long showers to wash off the mud and grit. We then retreated to the welcoming living room, with a tray full of tea, biscuits, a wood burner, and Christopher Robin {another film crossed off my Films to Watch list!}

The Saturday evening was simple but wonderful; we tucked into pizza and red wine before playing a rather bolshy game of Articulate, which only nearly ended in Mr MM and I divorcing. Unfortunately he and my university bezzie won, which I was particularly bitter about.

^ Spot the vat of crumble

It was such a lovely time all together, and even though it was tiring {only partly due to staying up late both nights} it was wonderful therapy for us all.

Our adventure on the Sunday was great - so great in fact, that I'm going to dedicate a separate blog post to it. Coming soon...