Bethesda Blog
An occasional commentary on events in and around North Wales
The views experessed here are not necessarily those
of the Scout Association, Greater London South West, or the moderators
of the web site. Sometimes, I'm not even sure I believe in them myself.
Nevertheless, no offence is intended to anyone on any grounds, so I hope
none will be taken.
| 25th April |
| The evenings are now long enough to get out and 'do a route' in
after work (and still finish before it gets dark, and in time for
a pint). On Tuesday a group of us met at Carreg Wasted in the Llanberis
Pass. Two pairs climbed Crackstone Rib (Severe), and another pair
were on Shadow Wall (Very Severe). Here, Tim has just started on the
rib that gives the former route its name. A super pitch in a fine
(=exposed) position. |
Tim on the rib pitch of Crackstone Rib,
Carreg Wasted, Llanberis Pass (Severe)
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| 23rd April |
This evening we popped down to the mainland end of the Britannia
Bridge. The bridge was built by Robert Stephenson in 1850 to carry
the rail link between London and Holyhead (and the ferry to Dublin).
The bridge was so badly damaged by fire in 1970 that it had to
be rebuilt. The re-build was a steel arch bridge, rather than
Stephenson's original wrought iron box girder construction, and
was opened in 1974. In 1980 a road deck was added above the railway
which now carries the A55 traffic over the Menai Straits. The
Lions which guarded the original rail bridge are still in place,
and a section of the original Box Girder was preserved when the
rebuilding took place.
More information from the Wikipedia.
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| 21st April |
They're Back. The Ospreys that nested down near Tremadog last year
are back again, and are now sitting on three eggs. The visitor centre
and hide are at SH592412, and there is a live TV view of the nest.
The hide halso has a number of telescopes to provide a better view
of the nest site. The location is signposted (little RSPB signs) from
both the A498 at Prenteg and the A4085 at Garreg. The Ospreys are
reported as hunting as far south as Barmouth, and as far north as
the lakes of Snowdonia, so keep your eyes peeled while walking.
While I know that Red Kites are no longer uncommon around the London
end of the M40, they are still not so common up here, but there are
sigthing reported from the same area. |
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| 5th April |
Glyn Rhonwy Update
I mentioned the revived interest in Glyn Rhonwy on 16th March,
and have now been sent a copy of the first newsletter from the company
propsing the project. The project includes accommodation as well
aas facilities for skiin, snowboarding, surfing biking and mountain
biking. For more details - read the newsletter in English
or in Welsh.
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| 5th April |
| The traffic news on the radio let me down this morning while travelling
in to work: it failed to mention the slow moving flock of sheep and
lambs on the road coming in to Bangor. Just one of the little pleasures
of rural life. |
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| 4th April |
| Now the clocks have gone forward there is just enough light in the
evening to get a rock climb after work in the evening. This is the
view across the bus truning circle at 'Bus Stop Quarry' Tuesday evening.
It was a bright, but cold day. There was still a ground frost mid-morningat
Dolgellau, and you can see there is just a dusting of fresh snow on
the summit of Garnedd Ugain (Crib y Ddysgl). Some of the last of the
old snow is just hangining on in the line of the Snowdon Mountain
railway, although it should all have gone in time for the first trains
at Easter. |
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| 28th March |
| I did a double take when I received my change the other day, surprised
to see this coin. The bridge depicted is Telford's bridge over the
Menai Straits between Bangor onthe mainland and Porthaethwy (Menai
Bridge) on Ynys Mon (Anglesey). The bridge was built in 1826 to carry
the A5 London to Holyhead trunk road. |
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| 16th March |
Attention Mountain Bikers.
I received an email today with a notice
of a publc meeting to be held next Thursday, organized by
a company called Beicio Llanberis. They are a not for profit company
aiming to establish a Mountain Biking centre at Glyn Rhonwy, on
the edge of Llanberis. More information can be found on the Beicio
Llanberis web site.
This is not the first time that a recreational use
for the old quarry site has been proposed. On more than one occasion
there has been a proposal for a Skiing resource to be located
there - the first time, a dry slope, and then later a 'Snow dome'
with artificial snow being generated. Details of this later project
can be found on the Snowdonia
Active web site, (they also carry news of the new biking
development) and there is an aerial photograph of the quarry
on the 'Gathering
the Jewels' pages. However, given that the other projects
have faltered, I shalln't be holding my breath.
Glyn Rhonwy is already home to the EuroDPC Factory,
and is easy walking distance (even easier biking) from, Pete's
Eats and with the Gallt
y Glyn Hotel (Pizza and a Pint for a fiver on Wednesday or
Thursday evening) on the main road, there are already some other
essentials available. Not to mention that it is at the foot of
Snowdon, and close to the Padarn Watersports centre.
Oh, and only a short drive from Yr Hen Neuadd.
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Reproduced from the 1994 1:50000 Landranger Series
Sheet 115 map by permission of the Ordnance Survey on behalf of
the controller of Her Majesty’s Stationary Office
Rough extent of the development area
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| 14th March |
A new road sign has appeared at the bottom of the hill where I live.
A short investigation led to the discovery that this is one of a number
of nation al cycle routes. NAtional route 85 seems to start close
to Llandegai (where it connects with route 5 - a route along the north
wales coast), and, according to the map, is still only 'proposed'
in some places. In Bethesda it connecte with Local route NR0, and
then runs up the Nant Ffrancon to Ogwen, at which point it becomes
'prposed', and extends via Capel Curig to Betws y Coed where it will
connect with the Conwy Valley Cycle Route. Clear as mud? Try starting
from the map on the sustrans
web site.
My only question now is: what will the black routes be like? |
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| 10th March |
| Friday saw a miserable start, but when the day brightened up, it
seems that the wet sleety rain that was falling on the roads was snow
on the tops, and once again the hills have taken on a wintry look.
With the possibility of more over the weekend, I'll not write winter
off as finished just yet. |
Snowdon Horseshoe from Plas y Brenin |
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| 6th March |
| The thaw seems to be set in, with temperatures barely hiting freezing
overnight in the valleys. The roads are much clearer, and there is
noticably less snow lying in the fields and on the roadside, and what
there is has turned slushy. This might be the last chance to see the
hills in the snow this winter. |
East face of Tryfan |
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| 3rd march |
| The day started clear and fine and clear, once again showing the
mountains at their best, but the clouds slowly rolled in, and the
snow started falling in Capel Curig soon after 5.00 in the afternoon.
The sun had made the snow soft on the tops, but with more snow, and
a freeze promised for tonight, there may be better conditions for
the weekend. |
The West face of Snowdon this Morning
The East face of Snowdon soon before the snow started
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| 2nd March |
I've been waiting for a chance to take a picture of the gate on
the main path from Idwal Car Park and the 'brew shack' up to Cwm Idwal
with a background that lets the design of the gate become evident.
The gate replaced the two styles, and seemed to be an oddly asymmetric.
In fact, the design is meant to represent the view across Llyn Idwal,
featuring the cleft of the Devil's kitchen, and the rock strata of
the syncline at the centre of which it lies. The bottom part is simply
the reflection in Llyn Idwal. It has been provided as a means of helping
to describe to the visually impaired the appearance of the view across
the lake. |
Idwal Gate |
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| 2nd March |
After a couple of days when the mountains only briefly showed
themselves from beneath their cloud cloak, late tis afternoon the
sun broke through. Those who were lucky enough to get the day in
the hillls reported that the morning had given blizzard conditions.
The last snow flurry passed through about 4.00 o'clock, and then
the sun came out onto (excuse the cliche) a magical winter landscape.
For those of you who are already dustin off the Ice axes, and
sharpening up the crampons, although people are getting up routes,
they are still in poor condition - little ice, and the snow has
not had a chance to consolidate yet.
Although serious avalanches are rare in Snowdonia, there have been
a number of fatalities and quite a few lucky escapes. Please remember
the cardinal rule of avalanche safety: Do not go out onto or below
avalanche prone slopes during, or within 24 hours of heavy snowfall,
or during thaw conditions.
For more information and advice see:
The SportScotland
Avalanche Information Service
BBC
Weather - Avalanches
Pen yr Ole Wen
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The West face of Tryfan.
The Nant Ffrancon and Pen yr Ole Wen |
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