We started out much later than intended due to the large number of things we were bringing with us. A week’s worth of clothing, camping equipment, and lots of food and water were too much for the boot. Camping really do require you to bring quite a lot of stuff, such as pots for cooking, some BBQ equipment, tent, sleeping bags and camping mats. With a distance of more than 200 miles to cover, we took about 4 and a half hours with some slow but fuel efficient driving. We arrived at Graig Wen at about 6pm where we are going to camp for 2 nights.
We were received by Sarah who showed us where to pitch our tents. Since it was getting late, we quickly pitched our tents but it took us much longer then expected. Well it was a long time since I had pitched one and my wife had never pitched one! In our apartment, we had unpacked the tent to get an idea on how to pitch it and had already made some adjustments to improve the pitching time. However, we did not have a garden so obviously we could not attempt it. I was hammering the pegs with the wheel wench instead of a proper peg mallet. The result was I ended up bending the pegs since they were extremely soft. Eventually, I used a large smoothed pebble and that did the trick of directing the force at the correct angle. It was quite late when we got the tent ready and the BBQ burning. The disposable BBQ was a treat to use. Just light it up and watch it burn! However it produced a fair amount of smoke at the beginning.
The reception
4-person 2-layer tent bought from Tesco. 25 pounds only!
Camping was not meant to be a luxurious experience and we couldn’t really get a good night sleep. We had originally meant to “wild camp” on Friday night but decided against it since we were not ready. Wild camping means camping in places which are not campsites. Breakfast too came with its challenges. I had planned to heat up some canned food but the portable camping stove is just not able to maintain the flame. In the process, the fluid lighter tip had melted making it unusable! Not wanting to waste any more time, we settled to eat some bread instead.
With no plans today, we decided to hit the Mawddach Trail. Graig Wen lies directly on the trail. The trail starts from Dolgellau, following the Mawddach estuary on the Southern banks and then finally ending at Barmouth. Below are some random photos taken on the trail.
It is a sheep
A tree bog. A natural toilet.
Lichens, good round shape.
This is a toll foot bridge across to Barmouth. Charges below. We walked halfway then back without paying.
May roadtrip – day 1 & 2
24th and 25th May 2010
We started out much later than intended due to the large number of things we were bringing with us. A week’s worth of clothing, camping equipment, and lots of food and water were too much for the boot. Camping really do require you to bring quite a lot of stuff, such as pots for cooking, some BBQ equipment, tent, sleeping bags and camping mats. With a distance of more than 200 miles to cover, we took about 4 and a half hours with some slow but fuel efficient driving. We arrived at Graig Wen at about 6pm where we are going to camp for 2 nights.
We were received by Sarah who showed us where to pitch our tents. Since it was getting late, we quickly pitched our tents but it took us much longer then expected. Well it was a long time since I had pitched one and my wife had never pitched one! In our apartment, we had unpacked the tent to get an idea on how to pitch it and had already made some adjustments to improve the pitching time. However, we did not have a garden so obviously we could not attempt it. I was hammering the pegs with the wheel wench instead of a proper peg mallet. The result was I ended up bending the pegs since they were extremely soft. Eventually, I used a large smoothed pebble and that did the trick of directing the force at the correct angle. It was quite late when we got the tent ready and the BBQ burning. The disposable BBQ was a treat to use. Just light it up and watch it burn! However it produced a fair amount of smoke at the beginning.
4-person 2-layer tent bought from Tesco. 25 pounds only!
With no plans today, we decided to hit the Mawddach Trail. Graig Wen lies directly on the trail. The trail starts from Dolgellau, following the Mawddach estuary on the Southern banks and then finally ending at Barmouth. Below are some random photos taken on the trail.