Wales part I: Dolgellau

Ella & Katy are now on "half-term" (a 1-week holiday in the middle of term) and this seemed a good excuse for us all to escape from Oxford as we approach the mid-point of our sabbatical here. This trip has been through a somewhat arduous planning procedure. Initially, it was designed to take in all of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. After all, they aren't very big countries. But we then realised this was a bit over-ambitious, and at one stage the trip had shrunk down to a tour of North and Mid Wales only, but at the last minute we added Edinburgh and the Yorkshire Dales back in.

To be honest, from what we've seen so far, Wales could easily have kept us entertained for more than a week. We started from home on Saturday morning, heading for Dolgellau (pronunciation uncertain - we just call it doogleclew). The first obstacle to overcome (aside from traditional bank holiday traffic jams) was a pinched nerve in my neck (self-diagnosis) which gradually became more painful throughout a day of driving.

Our route took us past Birmingham on the motorway, then Telford (where we stopped for lunch) and Shrewsbury. All very busy, and somewhat mediocre scenery. Then, in an instant as we passed through a saddle, the scenery changed -- Nat asked whether we had just gone into Wales and it turned out that we had!

We stopped to give my neck a rest in a little town called Llanfair, or Caereinion (I couldn't quite figure out which and I still can't -- maybe it's both). This turned out to be an inspired choice. We found a little steam train to look at (the Welsh appear to have a slight obsession with narrow gauge steam trains), a river to throw rocks in, a bridge over the river, a nice walk into town and a churchyard in which to wander around.

We drove on towards Dolgellau, with the scenery becoming progressively more idyllic and the roads correspondingly slower, until we reached our accommodation. It was a cute little whitewashed B&B with wooden rafters, creaky floors and a stable door. There were sheep and horses nearby, giving Ella the ideal opportunity to further develop her sheep-photo-taking skills. We immediately regretted only staying here for a night!

Against all possible expectations, it was sunny and even slightly warm when one was in the sun. We knew this couldn't last, so we took the kids out for a little walk to the nearby "Torrent Walk". This was a small patch of outstandingly beautiful forest with a series of waterfalls running through the middle. We didn't make the full loop, as everyone was a little tired. Then, dinner in town and bed, in preparation for a trip to Snowdonia in the morning.