Conquering Snowdon

Last weekend we took our students to northern Wales. Logistical problems regarding bus regulations caused us to rearrange the schedule at the last minute, which was somewhat upsetting. But the gorgeous, unseasonably mild weather made up for it.

We ALL made it!

Saturday morning we drove straight to the base of Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh), the highest peak in Wales or England (though Scotland has some higher). All 12 students plus Mary and I set off on the Llanberis Path, 3200 feet of climb over 4.5 miles. Amazingly, all made it to the top and back!

Who needs coats on a day like this?

We had planned for cool weather in March, so were lugging coats and extra layers of clothing. What we really needed was more water! The sky was clear and the sun warm, mid- to high 60sF.

Sore muscles at the hostel.

After spending the night in a hostel at Llandudno (thlann-DID-know), we awoke tired and sore, but nevertheless set off early for a walking tour of Conwy (konn-OOey), then to Caernarfon Castle (kyre-NAR-vonn) to explore the masterpiece of Medieval warfare built by Edward I in the 1200s.

Young Welsh boy tries his hand at splitting slate,
Welsh National Slate Museum, Llanberis.

We returned then to Llanberis (thlann-BER-riss) to visit the Welsh National Slate Museum at the site of an abandoned mine.

Students wave from a high tower at Caernarfon Castle.

In the picturesque little village of Capel Curig (KOP-pell KIR-rigg), the 700-year-old "capel" (chapel) of the name has been converted from a  bed & breakfast. Some of our students were/will be involved in a "help exchange" there over their winter and spring breaks (help exchange allows them to exchange some free labor for free lodging). So we stopped for a peek. Unfortunately, the proprietor was away, so we only got to see the outside and hike a bit nearby.

Even after climbing a mountain yesterday,
some are ready for more hiking at Capel Curig.

We stopped briefly and the tourist town of Betws-y-Coed (BET-tooss oh koid), and again briefly at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which was a bridge built in 1805 to take boats over a river (!) on the old British canal system.

A narrow boat crosses the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

It was a full weekend, and we have all week to heal up our sore climbing muscles.