It’s been a rather damp week here in North Wales, with our rain gauge collecting almost 100mm in 24hrs on Saturday! I changed my planned mountain walk to take shelter in the forests, where there are all sort of mushrooms and fungi popping up.

And plenty of interesting things to see along the way…

Views had been a bit dampened by the clouds as well….

The River Ogwen, below The Cottage has been over the banks on several mornings this week, and my rock climbing groups were happy to head to the indoor wall, but finally on Sunday the clouds parted and the waters have begun to drain into the sea. I was running the logistics for a ‘Raft Race’ on Sunday and the water in the lake was so high that the ‘beach’ areas had gone and there was only just enough room to paddle under the bridge at the far side of the lagoons!

In the evening, Clare and I took a walk from The Cottage and although no rain fell on us, there were some wonderful rainbows in the evening light…

Temperatures have also dropped to single figures, so we’ve been cosying up at The Cottage and trying out a new cook book. Cookies made from Chick Peas and peanut butter are the current favourite coffee accompaniment.

And while the rivers are ‘up’, it seemed remiss not to take advantage of the conditions and keep my kayaking skills sharpened. We took a trip down the Seiont River to the sea at Caernafon, past some nice play waves and rapids. It was good to be back in a boat – even if we did part company briefly at the bottom of one rapid! Opps!

After all the rain, the air clarity is superb and the views from below Elidir Fawr were lovely yesterday. Clare and I took a hike to check out the views and stretch the legs – they’ve not had much ‘up hill’ training since the bike tour in the flat lands of Holland and Belgium!

View into the slate quarry….

Snowdon Summit in the distance…

Heading home…