Camping Adventures: Our Semi-Wild Adventure

Our Semi-Wild Adventure!

Day 1 - Our Adventure Begins!

Dropped off to Hafod Hall, we were immediately given a warm welcome by Sue who gave us some great advice on the perfect spot to pitch up that was close to the toilet block for our little one and also said that if we needed anything, to just ring the bell and ask. When I say bell, I mean an actual bell and not a electronic door bell! This place became more awesome by the second and the above picture is the view that greeted us every single time we opened the tent or sat down for dinner. A wide open landscape that perhaps is best demonstrated in the following image (the blue circle is where we stayed).

We unloaded our packs and got ourselves set up whilst little man ran straight over to meet the resident rescue owl named Boots.

A few minutes passed and we were pitched up and gear packed away into our tent, all set to enjoy our time here. The Mrs and I just looked at each other smiling away and noting how peaceful and beautiful the landscape is, we just sat looking out over it all...perfect! So peaceful that it took us three hours to count 4 cars passing down the country road that's a kilometre away!

After finishing dinner and relaxing for a bit, we decided to go for a short walk around the area we'd pitched just to stretch our legs and were pleasantly surprised when an abandoned cat (we were informed had found and adopted the place) also decided to join us for our little stroll!

Returning from our little wander we sat to enjoy a gorgeous sunset and settled ourselves down for the night

Day 2 - A Look Around the Grounds

We started the day with chocolate brioche and a nice brew. The weather looked reasonable so we headed for a little wander around the grounds of Hafod Hall, coats with us just encase. We strolled down the short drive and on to the private road that leads up to the site.

Our little one was loving the freedom to be able to walk without having to hold hands, the only things you have to watch out for here is the occasional farm vehicle and sheep!

Crossing over a cattle bridge, a novel occurrence for our little boy as he has never come across one before. He exclaimed "I can do this myself, you just have to stand on the pipes to cross"!

Carrying on down the road, it bends around to the right and you can start to see even more of the amazing scenery surrounding the area.

As we were admiring the view, one of the workers, Sam, drove down in a Landrover from the site to take the rubbish to the top of the road. He stopped to ask if we were okay and where we were off to. Explaining we were only going to the top of the road, he said he would keep an eye on the weather and should it rain he would come back to pick us up, a kind gesture you don't often see nowadays.

We continued on, crossing another cattle bridge we could see a farmer in the distance on a quad bike with his sheepdogs, they were herding the flock into the next field, amazing to watch how quickly and effectively they work and how fast the sheep are moved.

We reached the top of the road, a mile from the main camp site. After admiring the view but noticing a turn in the weather, we decided to turn back before the rain set in. With a little more march in our step we could see we were not going to make it back, not to worry our hero would be back with the Landrover!

This was now our view ahead....

The rain started, a fine drizzle at first, then steadily became heavier, our little one kept insisting that the man would be back. Over the second cattle grid now and we had very wet trousers, our coats keeping the rest of us dry! Upon reaching the site, Sam was coming out of the house, he stated that he was just coming to get us but alas the rain had reached us before it had reached him!! We all found it pretty funny! Sue had come out to check that we were okay, inviting us in to get dry if needed. We found everyone there so friendly and helpful.

Back in the tent we got changed and wrapped our little one up in his sleeping bag to warm up, the rain had now fully set in and we spent the rest of the day warm and dry, relaxing, playing card games and enjoying the sound of the rain pattering against the tent and the wind rustling through the trees.

As the rain eased to a drizzle, Claire quickly shot outside and got the dinner going, hotdogs in the rain! We also had some visitors coming through the site on their evening stroll.

After dinner we decided to try and get a camp fire going, it was £7.50 for a large box of wood with some tinder to get you started, we decided to use the fire basket as it was our little ones first time.

Pete was enjoying being able to put into practice what he had been learning about in his bushcraft books. (With a little help from the cat!)

Our little boy wanted to help Daddy with the chopping of the wood, he gave it a good go...

Happy with his fire it was time to start toasting some marshmallows, a campfire favorite, Pete had carved a nice pointy stick for the gooey marshmallow.

We settled for the night around the fire, enjoying the tranquility, only the quiet crackle from the wood and occasional baa from the sheep. Day two had ended as it had begun, looking out over the beautiful landscape.

Day Three - A Short Walk!!

For our last full day we decided to go down to the reservoir which we had heard was a nice walk around it. We packed a lunch, water and our trial mix, following the easy directions from Sue, off we went for our adventure!

Once on the main path there are signs pointing you in the right direction, this was most helpful as at some points on the route there are multiple paths to choose from. Further down, the path opens out on to the reservoir, beyond it a hill to climb.

We crossed a long bridge, one that is evidently used by the sheep too! Our little one loved going over and being able to see the water underneath. Once on the other side we started our climb up the hill, this was now looking larger than it did earlier! Little man was wanting his lunch, which we promised would be at the top.

The path twisted up the hill, allowing us to take in the changing views as we got higher. Along the way we spotted a nice little stream, a great spot to try 'Pooh Sticks' :-)

Over the top we found a nice spot for lunch, sitting on a sty and a rock we tucked in to our lunch. We saw a man jogging, being helpful we opened the gate to allow him to continue on without stopping, he thanked us on his way past.

Carrying on after lunch we saw a map and decided to see how far little man would walk before he wanted to turn back.

The path then took us down into the woodland and in the distance we could see another bridge, this was where our little boy wanted to get to! On we went, enjoying the coolness of being in the trees, little man loving being able to run free, us taking in the changing scenery walking along forest roads and the well sign posted route.

After the longest stretch we opened our trail mix, something we were excited to try and contained little bites to pick us up including M&Ms!

Whilst walking down the forest roads we noticed some large puddles at the side, little man nearly stomping in one before I shouted to him to stop and look whats in the puddle! In these small areas of water, there were many tadpoles swimming about and little man made it his mission to stop at each and every one in order to investigate them all!

Continuing along the trail we noticed a man was jogging towards us in the distance and as he got closer we realised that he was the same jogger that had passed us earlier, he said hello to us again and quickly explained he was on his last lap!! Last lap! We hadn't even completed one yet!

Now we could see the bridge in the distance, it looked like "Dragon Bridge" from the game Skyrim, this brought great joy to our little one as he loves this game, and now our walk turned into a Skyrim adventure, we must keep a look out for the guards, giants, mammoths and dragons!

This was a half way point, we were amazed at how well little man was doing, he hadn't asked for a piggy back at all and was just enjoying being able to run around carefree.

Proud to have made it to the "Dragon Bridge"!

Once across the bridge we continued on for the second half of our adventure. Most of this side of the reservoir was through the woodland and forestry area.

There was a long swoop around an inlet and along here there had been a lot of trees cut down which had been laid in large piles ready to be collected. We explained to little man about the rings on the tree and how you can tell the age of a tree from them, he was amazed by all of the huge stacks of logs. The fragrant smell of the pine was quite uplifting.

Further along we were lapped yet again by the jogging man who laughed a quick farewell as he was finishing his last lap. We later found out how long the trail around the reservoir really was and we were impressed by what he had achieved.

Now over half way back we entered more pine woodland, all neatly lined in rows. Having read about it, Pete had gathered some silver birch bark from a fallen log that he could use to start our campfire that night.

Leaving the woodland, the path opened out once again with stunning views back over the reservoir. Set back from the path stood the remains of an old dwelling, still full of character so we decided to stop and take a few photos.

Further along the trail, the path once again led away from the reservoir and back into woodland. This time a long, 'spooky' and dark path led through moss clad trees and dotted with the occasional break in the canopy above, allowing rays of sunlight to shine through. It was damp, cool and a little bit mystical which also gave a nice contrast to the hot, sunny day we were having.

As the path led out through one final gate, we walked back down towards the reservoir to complete the round trip, little man was extremely proud when he realised he had completed the walk.

After a brief rest we started back to the camp site and half way there we heard the rumble of thunder behind us. Turning round, we were greeted by the sight of a large storm cloud, looming on the horizon and steadily making its way towards us! We quickened our pace as we did not want to be caught outdoors in a storm, especially as were still surrounded by trees and quite high up.

Arriving back to the site, we checked the distance. We had walked 10 miles!!! Not exactly the short walk we thought it would be and amazed that little man had walked the whole way without being carried once! Well done little man!

Making a hasty brew as the storm continued to roll in, then ducking into our tent as the inevitable rain began to fall. All snug inside, we relaxed and looked back on the tranquil, picturesque and invigorating walk we had just been on. Something none of us had experienced previously and one we would definitely recommend.

The thunder was getting louder and the rain heavier, lasting for about three hours until 7.45pm. Now it was time for dinner, a nice tuna pasta to fill us up after the superb walk!

The storm subsided and the night stayed dry so we were able to start another little camp fire using the salvaged birch bark from earlier in the day and sat down to enjoy our last night. Little man took himself off to bed and was asleep in moments, we don't blame him. We enjoyed the evening, the night drawing in with the mist coming up the valley, our fire burning brightly. Pete took time to start whittling a small wooden sword for little man under the night sky whilst we sat talking about the amazing adventure we'd experienced.

Our Final Morning - Taking down our camp

On our final morning I was greeted by chickens who invited themselves for breakfast...

We set about taking down our tent, allowing it to dry off enough before packing it away. With our bags packed we had time to sit and enjoy the last couple of hours in our surroundings before returning to the city. Little man was having an adventure around the rocks, chopping his wood and getting annoyed when it wouldn't stand up. One piece did get thrown and many were told off!!

We had a brilliant time at Hafod Hall, a truly unforgettable experience were we made many memories in the short time we were here. This is one place we'd love to come back to, and we don't think we will ever tire of the views and relaxing surroundings. Little man had the time of his life and is very much an outdoors child, getting him to come into the tent at night was a mission!

We would recommend Hafod to those wanting to get back to basics and enjoy nature, they have a great ethos here that is focused around freedom. Nothing was too much trouble and they were always happy to help.

Until next time, happy camping adventures from Tents and Pegs!