Hafod was calling, we needed to go camping!

Hafod was calling, we needed to go camping!

It has been a very strange year with COVID restrictions putting a stop to all of the camping adventures that we had planned and we were getting worried that we wouldn't even get away.  We were all ready for a break and there is no other place that we would have chosen for a relaxing time away, so we booked five nights, our longest trip yet!

We arrived on a rainy Thursday night straight from finishing work and were hoping to get our favorite spot that we discovered last year, unfortunately someone had already snagged it! (We don't blame them, its one of the best)

After a quick chat we chose an area on top of the hill, another spot we have not been in before. It was a bit of hike to get everything up there however the rain held off just long enough for us to get everything set up. 

After making our first night family favourite of hot dogs we settled down for the night

Waking up the next morning, we decided to spend time around the camp as a day of rain and cooler weather had settled in. We had breakfast and opened our camp games bag, this has evolved since we first started camping with little man and he has a number games that he loves to play either on his own or with us. It is so handy having a variety and will keep him occupied for a number of hours. 

This time Daddy taught little man how to play battleships, it got serious as Daddy doesn't like to lose ("I blasted the boy's fleet into a million pieces, Rule Britannia")! 

In between the rain we did manage to get out on a short walk around on top of the hill and because little man is older now he was allowed to have a wander on his own to collect sticks for toasting our marshmallows. 

 

We brought our small tarp with us which we were grateful for as it meant we could still cook outside in the rain, although it isn't really suitable for this larger tent so we do need to look at something bigger for future trips, though Pete insists that it did its job just fine!

We accidentally brought two cookers, which turned out to be quite handy. :-)

Daddy enjoying his dinner outside under the tarp in the rain! 

Saturday we woke to drizzle but could see it would be a good day so after lunch we went for a walk down to Llyn Alwen. We decided on a short route so little man could have a play at the waterside. 

Puddles to jump over on the way 

Skimming stones with Daddy, little man managed three bounces and was made up!  Mr competitive managed 9.

Its always a nice walk around here with beautiful views great for relaxing and unwinding. As we followed the path around and through the pinewood it starts to lead away from the reservoir for a short time. 

Little man has developed a keen interest in taking pictures, we think a camera is on the Christmas list this year!

We started heading back after getting half way to the dam or as little man calls it, "Dragons Bridge" which still gave us a 6 mile walk, not bad for having not been away for a year!

Back at camp Pete got to putting a small campfire together which he found difficult as the wood was damp from the recent weather.  Using smaller pieces of wood we managed to get a fire going and out came the marshmallows, always a favorite with hot chocolate and toasted over the fire. 

Tasty!

Sunday looked great for doing our long walk so, with lunch all packed, we trekked back to Llyn Alwen, this time going the other way around with the hill to climb first. Little man had brought his 'Go Find It' cards and we all had fun looking for things to match the words. 

Starting off over the long wooden bridge and heading up the hill, little man, who has done this a number of times now, decided his legs were already hurting. I think this is from not really being able to go out properly for six months and we would have normally been on 3 or 4 trips so he just was out of practice. We find trail mix usually helps with getting him going as he loves finding the M&Ms and dried banana haha

With a promised break at the top of the hill little man pushed on and we soon reached a spot where we could admire the view back down and over the reservoir. There is a stile at the top which little man had fun climbing over and jumping off.  Refreshed and ready to carry on we headed down the path which is well signposted along the route. 

Following the trail there is always something to see or stop to look at, whether that be birds, flowers, trees, butterflies or the scenery and we always see something different each time we come here. This time there were a lot of logs piled up in various places as this is also a tree plantation. 

We have found the when we go for walks we always see a Robin that will follow us for a short time and as the saying goes, 'A loved one is near when a Robin appears'

As you follow the path around Alwen you will notice that there are a number of streams and small waterfalls were the water travells down from the hills and into the reservoir.  The waterfalls make for great pictures, especially if there has been heavy rain recently as they flow quite fast.

We decided to stop for some lunch just before "Dragons Bridge" and luckily there was a bench free overlooking the bridge and reservoir. After a nice rest and something to eat we continued on over the bridge and showed little man where the water comes down to go to the treatment plant further down stream. He was asking lots of questions about how it all worked and where the water went after the treatment plant.

Halfway around now we carried on the trail on the other side which starts to lead away from the reservoir for a short time.   As you come back down you have to be careful not to miss the turn off like we have in the past!  ("The turn off that has a huge gap with a large path and a big wooden post with a massive arrow on it, yep, we've missed it!")  Down through the pine wood and back out on to the path we decided to jump down on to the shale bank and let little man have a play throwing stones and building a rock fort with Daddy. 

After a good play on the bank we carried on along the path with just the dark creepy wood to go! Little man says a Gruffalo lives in there and we love walking through here as its so cool and I especially like all of the moss hanging from the branches and the little toadstool mushrooms. 

We were all worn out after our long ten mile walk but it was worth it as always. Next time we want to see if we can walk from Alwen over to Brenig, it looks about 4 miles extra so we should be able to fit that in now that we're completing our walks faster. 

Pete finds it relaxing when he is working with wood so he found a nice piece and carved little man his own wooden knife like Daddys, complete with sheath. 

Once carved, Pete stained the handle with tea and the blade with ash from the fire.  He taught little man about knife safety and how to use it as if it were a real knife.  The sheath was made of thin card from the bread rolls and paracord.

For our final day we chose to stay around camp which was partly down to us all still being tired from our walk the day before. The games were out again and little man wrote in his diary. As you will have seen I like to take pictures so it was nice to be able to sit and watch the birds around the birch and pine trees and how they were finding bugs and seeds. 

We wanted to enjoy the whole of our last day so started the campfire early with lots of small chopped wood. The sunset was amazing with a beautiful glow across the hills and made for some good pictures. I took little man to the end of the field as we now had the whole area to ourselves and watched the sunset then went back to our campfire where we watched the moon rise behind us which felt special and was a wonderful way to end our adventure. 

Until next time, we wish you all many cozy campfires, outdoor adventures and happy camping