Snowdonia Day 3 - Betsy Cood and Bedly Gert...

Which is exactly how not to pronounce two Welsh place names (but our late friend Cyril always called them that).

The rearranged plan for today was to visit Betws-y-Coed to go to the railway museum and have a look round the town. I was fortunate to be early enough to avoid paying for parking, finding space in the road down to the museum. As I was a bit early I went for a short wander down to the river and had a look round the 14th C church:



The museum itself is small, but reasonable for £1.50. There are a few full size artefacts and various models and dioramas. The model shop is decent and the tea room, in an old buffet carriage, is excellent - I deviated from my usual habit by having Bara Brith with my coffee instead of carrot cake (I returned later for a lunchtime baguette).

For some reason the town has become the home for several outdoor equipment companies, and in particular for their outlet stores. I ended up with a new rucksack, t-shirt and fleece for the Snowdon walk, they'll all be useful later though.

Before lunch I did have a ride on the miniature railway around the site, well I can never resist!



For the afternoon I drove up through Capel Curig and round to Beddgelert. It's a bit of a nostalgia trip round there, I even passed the campsite we first stopped at in about 1970 (a borrowed pair of ridge tents with a joining canopy, very effective). It's still much the same except the old corrugated tin toilets have been replaced by a stone facilities block - wonder if it's still Elsans inside? I did stop a couple of times for photos including this one of the Cym Dyli hydro-electric plant which is fed from Llyn Llydaw on the side of Snowdon.



I nearly got away without paying to park in Beddgelert as well since someone handed me a ticket, but then I noticed the Ranger wandering with his notebook, not sure if he'd seen but decided I'd best go and pay. I don't begrudge £2.50 to help the upkeep of the park and facilities.

I walked down to Gelert's Grave (if you don't know the story, Google it) as it's sort of compulsory:



There's a station for the Welsh Highland Railway just by the car park, as a train was due I nipped up the steep path. It turned out to be the Beyer Garratt no. 87 from yesterday. I took a few more photos anyway.

From there it was a wend back to site. I've raided the wardens' shop for some bacon so I'll fry a couple of rashers with sliced shallot and add it to cheesy pasta. I must get a few rolls tomorrow, I'll have the last Stottie for breakfast but of course I don't need much.

Snowdonia Day 2 - It Never Rains...

In Southern California, but by heck it does in North Wales!

I'd planned a walk up the Snowdon Ranger path today but a combination of a sore back and poor weather suggested a change of plan. I decided to "do" the Ffestiniog today and see how things are tomorrow.

I wanted to visit Blaenau anyway so was early for the first train. I had a wander round and took a few photos to try and show just how dominating the surrounding mountains are. The train appears to be coming out of one mountain:



I was pleased we had one of the Fairlies for the trip but you don't get the best of the sound on the downhill trip (the return was unfortunately a conventional tank engine).



It's a long time since I've been on the railway, and I'd never travelled the whole length that's now open, so it was all interesting. Going down I was in an enclosed carriage and photo opportunities were limited but at least I got a hot chocolate on the way.

Port Madoc wasn't a new experience, and was very busy. I had a wander round the small, but excellent, maritime museum, looked around the town and ended up back at the Harbour Station. This is also the terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway from Carnarvon, which was running another interesting loco, a Beyer Garrat articulated (see last year's blog for more on these):



I sat in the open sided coach for the return journey, I had the "compartment" to myself for a bit until a family joined me, I think the train was about full, annoyingly the person on the next seat forward spent the whole journey half leaning out which limited photo opportunities of the loco round the bends. I can't fault the catering on these trains, there's no connection to the open carriages so before we left one of the staff came and asked of anyone wanted a hot drink delivering at Tan y Bwlch.

I'll decide what to do tomorrow in the morning but I'm thinking of a drive to Betws-y-Coed (there's a railway museum) and possibly on to Beddgelert.

Snowdonia Day 1 - Trains, etc.

I made an early start as I wanted to visit a railway on the way, so left before 7, set the SatNav to "Avoid Motorways" and headed for the A5. There was only one very minor delay caused by a Steam Rally, plus quick stops for a breakfast sandwich and fuel, before I reached the Bala Lake Railway. I will admit to getting the yips on the road over the tops, you're climbing a steep unguarded road with a heck of a drop on your left side.

It's a pleasant tourist line, although there was a bit of a breeze coming off the lake into the open carriages. I've got quite a few photos for later publication. There's a 1 in 81 gradient back to the main terminus, the Quarry Hunslet pulling us didn't half sound good taking the load. The 1pm train, which was fully laden, was double headed which may have been even better.

It was their steam gala but there wasn't a lot more going on, I had a good wander and some lunch before making tracks round the other side of the lake to the caravan site.

For a Caravan Club site the warden seemed particularly relaxed, although I'd booked a non-awning pitch she wasn't bothered (it's quietening down after the bank holiday) and in fact recommended a quiet awning pitch and said not too worry too much about positioning.

I've had a wander round the village, taken a couple of photos, and I'm now having a couple of Doombars before deciding whether to eat in the pub or cook something. Should mention the pub is odd but friendly. It doesn't look much, more like a village hall building, and is a barn inside, but the landlord and locals have been chatty.

Awnings Away

Well it very nearly was!

A couple of weekends ago I managed to get some J-Rail fitted to the campervan. Having ordered a single length of aluminium rail (and been charged £12 carriage for it) the supplier then decided they couldn't do it mail order but it would have to be collected. It was too far away for that so I had no choice but to cancel and go elsewhere. I ended up with two pieces of black powder coated steel rail from a VW parts supplier.

Fitting was time consuming, if relatively pain free. The instructions with the rail suggested just bonding it to the roof but I wasn't convinced so I decided to rivet it on.

It was undrilled so I set to, cut it to length and then marked and drilled the holes (3.5mm initially for 3.2mm rivets at 150mm intervals). It's useful, but far from essential, having a pillar drill for this. I then positioned the two lengths on the side of the 'van, drilled pilot holes at the ends and secured it with self-tappers do I could use the rail as a jig for drilling the rest of the holes. Again these were 3.5mm as I intended to paint the bare metal and wanted the clearance. To give me a little bit of extra clearance I then opened out the holes in the rail to 4mm so I wouldn't have any problems when rivetting it.

I then painted over all the cut ends and holes in both the rail and 'van with black Hammerite, the latter wouldn't be seen anyway. Once that dried I located the rail temporarily and masked where the top edge would be with tape (should have done it while it was screwed on). A good thick bead of Sikaflex on the back of the first length, and especially round the holes and it was ready for assembly. I was using closed end rivets for the job as they won't let water in, with the generous amount of sealant i don't anticipate any problems. A few minutes with the rivet gun and repeat for the second length. The masking tape made it easier to remove the excess Sikaflex, along with some wiping where it had escaped around the rivets (a good thing it shows it was well sealed). 

Today I took the opportunity of moderately calm weather to actually put the awning up. No pictures yet as it was really still a bit breezy and I had to be quick but it was OK. It's not a great piece of kit, but a third of the price and half the size and weight of the Vango that I'd prefer. It works and it will do as somewhere to store things if I'm going to be on a site for several days or, the main purpose, as an occasional bedroom for guests.

We are Sailing...

And Kayaking. A friend organises a day of watery activities each year for the TOGs (Terry's Old Geezers and Gals) at the Water Sports Centre she's involved with. As they have the space I took Dai and stopped over for the night. It was a pleasant cross-country drive down through Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire to the centre near Waltham Abbey.

After a day of playing in sailing dinghies, kayaks and on rafts we sat out eating fish and chips and generally put the world to rights. Unfortunately the insects were definitely in a biting mood so we retired relatively early. Unusually I hadn't really set things up so it was a while before I actually headed to bed (it only really takes 5 or 10 minutes but I was definitely stiffening up and took my time). Can't say it was a good night's sleep but never mind. That wasn't helped by a dog fox starting barking just as I was about to settle.

As always I awoke early but the great advantage of having my own facilities is that I could make my bacon rolls and coffee without disturbing anyone else. I did have to apologise to a friend for not making her a drink, I only carry one mug! Nice to be able to sit looking out over the water in the relative peace and quiet though. Having spent the morning just chilling I again went cross country to home via Venture Caravans at Hitchin. There was no particular reason for visiting, just a look round. The trouble is that as usual I saw a large motorhome for a price I could afford but nothing small enough for what I need (except a couple of overpriced VW conversions).

I'm not out again until the end of August when I head for Snowdonia, but I have ordered the awning mentioned in the previous post. I still need to work out how to attach it to the 'van. I'll probably have to take it all up to parents' drive as I haven't got room here.

The Kit List Grows!

I'm well into my third season with Dai now, and I've been debating whether to replace or not next spring. As of this weekend I've decided I'll give it at least one more year (God and MOT inspectors willing).

One of the advantages of the campervan is the ability to change sites easily, which I've found means I'm tending to only travel short distances each day, often 10-15 miles. The downside of course is that it does take a few minutes to pack away completely each time. As a result I've bought an electric bike. It folds small enough (just) to fit inside the camper, although a bike rack may well be added anyway, and should give me a comfortable 40-60 mile range with a reasonable amount of pedalling whilst not going too slowly up hills.

I've also decided it's time to add an awning. It's something I've been debating for the last 3 years but managed without. I'm away for a weekend at a rally in September and it would be useful to accommodate a couple of guests, so that's the primary excuse. It would also give me a bit more flexibility on sites, currently I really need facilities as the toilet provision is only adequate for a couple of nights - with an awning I can take the large Porta Potti. Then I can also consider sorting out the Cadac barbecue and various other things that can be carried then stowed under cover. So now it's a case of finding the right one. The Vango Airbeam that I'd really like is too big and too expensive so it's back to searching and hoping I get a bargain.

Go West - The End

As I'm now ensconced in a hotel for a few days this will be the last Dai post of the trip. The day didn't start very well. A bad night's sleep meant I was a bit later than planned, I snapped a shoelace and the water ran out. Nothing major!

As a result I decided to spend a couple of hours in Totnes instead of going for a walk on Dartmoor (which wouldn't have happened anyway due to thick mist). It's a nice, if somewhat hilly, town. Having procured a couple of pairs of laces I visited the town museum. As usual with such places the people were very friendly and enthusiastic.

A bonus for me was a room dedicated to Charles Babbage who came from the town. The display is probably overdue for an update but no less informative for that.

After that I still headed up onto the Moor but couldn't see much! I will admit that the Devon lanes have become a bit wearing after a few days, especially when you're stuck behind a tractor for several miles.

Overall it's been a good few days away. There's only been one, very minor, fault with the campervan (the waste pipe fitting has broken but the pipe stays on on). Slightly better planning would have seen me stop at Steamer Quay in Totnes, it would have saved me two day's driving and some parking fees.

There was a car/campervan dealer up the road from the site who had a couple of Mercedes Vito conversions in stock. They were R reg and showing their age a bit but if I'd seen them a could of years ago before I bought Dai I might have been tempted.