Rainy Rhinogs

The stunning Barmouth estuary

It’s been a strange week.

Our plan was to head up to Barmouth for the second time this month so Harri could continue his seemingly endless hike along the Cambrian Way and I could meander happily in the foothills of the Rhinogs getting hopelessly lost among the brambles and bracken.

The reality couldn’t have been different. This being Britain and the middle of the summer holidays, we were rained off again.

It could have been worse, I suppose. It could have been a replay of our trip to north Wales two weeks ago when it rained for days on end. To anyone who has never been there, Barmouth is a stunningly beautiful place. The view from the wooden viaduct across the mountain-lined Mawddach estuary is up there with the Grand Canyon in my opinion.

Unfortunately, the weather in this lush land of hills and vales was anything but Arizonian and the magnificent rocky Rhinogs were shrouded in low-lying cloud and dense rain most of the time.

Harri bravely battled the elements in an attempt to complete a one-day hike in appalling weather conditions but even the most passionate of hikers eventually has to call it a day when he’s soaked to the skin and visibility is non-existent.

A couple of thousand feet below in Barmouth it drizzled relentlessly and not even a bag of fudge could lift my plummeting spirits as I wandered aimlessly around the town's delightfully quirky shops trying to kill time.

Looking down towards the Irish Sea

So with memories of being cold, wet and miserable still fresh in our minds, we took heed of the BBC weather forecast and decided to forego our mid-week jaunt to north Wales. 

Harri has been working flat out on various freelance projects while I’ve been decorating and running (I managed a personal best of 11.8 miles this week – thanks again to walkjogrun  which I now see as my personal trainer).

Plan B is to head back to Barmouth and some half-decent hiking when the children go back to school next week – the weather will undoubtedly improve then, it always does.