Bryncir Tower
I've just uploaded the photos from the tower holiday in Wales. We had a fantastic time, the building really lived up to our expectations and was pretty remote, meaning for a really relaxed week. The main activity was walking, the tower sits in the Cwm Pennant valley just south west of Snowdon and you can walk all day in the hills without seeing another soul. Everyone else is too busy climbing Snowdon it seems. We had planned to do that originally, but in the end decided we'd be much happy away from the touristy crowds.You can see the photos here. Slideshow here. Note, I couldn't be arsed to carry my camera about towards the end of the week, so switched to camera phone. Note also that the tower appears in more photos than you might realise, for example you can see it in this photo taken from the top of a hill we climbed on day one. One question I've been asked from everyone who's seen the photos: Did you have the whole tower to yourselves?? Answer: Yes!
Here's a quick review of the week, which will out some of these pictures in context:
Friday - Lunch at Artisan; they do 2 courses for an incredible £12 at lunch times, so was a great place to start the holiday. What followed was a tortuous crawl of a journey in the rain. It took us 5 hours, but was well worth it. It was really exciting driving up the track to see the tower slowly reveal itself through the heavy mist.
Saturday - Walked to the top of a hill that overlooks the tower to get a feel for the layout of the area. Then chilled out. Saw a Greater Spotted Woodpecker from the kitchen window. Not seen one of them before.
Sunday - Sunday lunch at a nearby Michelin starred restaurant for a bargain £18.
Monday - Went to Portmerion, which was really cool, better than I was expecting really. Tip: if you go, get lunch at Castell Deudraeth first, as it's a nice meal in a nice place and the meal includes entry to Portmerion. Bargain. I like a bargain, me.
Tuesday - Went on the Ffestiniog Railway to see some slate mines. The railway was fun but the mines were a bit dull and really touristy. Tip: If you ever go on the Ffestiniog Railway, don't bother going all the way to Ffestiniog, get off a couple of stops before and go for a walk.
Wednesday - Went for a long walk
Thursday - Went for a long walk. Happened across the track bed that will have carried slate from a slate quarry out towards the sea. Then found the slate mine too, all derelict. Great view of Snowdon from the top of the hill we climbed. I inexplicably forgot to take a picture.
Friday - Left for home. Windscreen wiper on car broke in the pissing rain outside Chester, so decided to stay there for the night and wait for the rain to clear.
Saturday - Finally made it home.
Labels: holiday
