Snowdon

On the last full day of my recent trip to Wales, I made an early start and took a trip up Snowdon via the PYG track.  I reached the top in good time but, as is so often the case, could see nothing but mist.  Deciding to make a day of it, I crossed to the otherside of the horseshoe to tackle Y Lliwedd.  As I neared the top, the mist started to clear from Snowdon behind me.  At first just enough for this shot.
 

Eventually, it cleared sufficiently to allow me to make the 10 shot panorama below.  A few minutes after that the mist closed in again and Snowdon was gone.  Sometimes it's just a matter of timing and luck.

This was my final hill training exercise before I tackle considerably bigger hills.  This weekend I am off to Tanzania to climb first Mount Meru and then Mount Kilimanjaro.  I am taking more camera gear than is strictly good for me and hope to have some decent shots to post here in a couple of weeks time.

Portmeirion

It is appropriate that this is blog post no. 6 for the month, since it details my visit last weekend to Portmeirion.  I was in North Wales for a few days to celebrate my birthday, and was keen to spend a day there for some architectural and landscape shots.  Portmeirion is a beautiful little village, designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975.  Although largely in an Italian style, Williams-Ellis incorporated fragments of many demolished buildings in its construction and a number of other styles are evident up close.  Over all it has the feel of a giant folly.  It is, of course, probably most famous as the setting of 'The Village' in 60's cult TV series 'The Prisoner'.  A piece of trivia that isn't flogged as much as I'd feared, apart from the inevitable prisoner gift shop (I did like the replica jackets) and a 'Village' map near the entrance.

I was there on a lovely sunny day (best of my trip).  Whilst bright sun makes photography difficult, it was worth it to see this delightful setting at its best.  Naturally it is a popular tourist draw and was quite busy.  But what I discovered was that, once the ice cream shops shut at 5pm, most people go home.  Meaning that for the last couple of hours, before it closes to day visitors at 7pm, you can virtually get the place to yourself.  The light was a little kinder as well.

Be seeing you.

Welsh Water

I am playing catch-up on some unprocessed images. These were taken on a Scrambling trip to Snowdonia, that saw some very mixed weather. There was rain when we were on the hills and sun as soon as we had finished. The only images I managed to get were of a waterfall a short walk from Ogwen Cottage, concentrating on details of the water on rock.

Abandoned Slate Quarry

A few more photos from my recent trip to Snowdonia. The first day we did a circuit taking in Cnicht (the "Welsh Matterhorn"). Sadly the top of the hill was firmly in the cloud, so the supposedly excellent views were denied to us. However, in the dip between Moelwyn Mawr and Cnicht there lies the remains of the Rhosydd quarry. This was an excellent place to stop for a bite of lunch and a few photos.