A Postcard from Lyn Padarn

These days we try to get out for a walk whenever the weather is kind to us. We're working our way through a little book of walks in North Wales. This time we planned to walk right around Lyn Padarn which is the lake next to Llanberis.

We started off with an early lunch at the Caban in the tiny village of Brynrefail. (The photo is from their site) This is an amazing place which is an artists centre, a cafe with a fantastic range of food and is the hub of the local community. When we were there, there was  a 'knit and natter' group meeting up. They weren't just knitting, but spinning as well.

Suitably refreshed we headed off through the woods

Lots of sheep watching Inca warily ....

The path rose steeply giving us great views of the lake and the little town of Llanberis below.... and of course the mountains in the Snowdon range.

At the end of the lake we came across this building which was the old hospital for the Llanberis Slate mine .... now it's a visitor centre.

Next door was the mortuary. Obviously, mining was a dangerous occupation.

We were glad we were going down the staircase ....

Regular readers will guess what came next ....

Yep! She was in before we even got down the staircase.

Sheer bliss. A swim in crystal clear water with a stick!

At the head of the lake is the Llanberis Slate Museum and a little train that will take you back along the lake side. It was a good place for an ice cream stop....

... and a good place to take in the views.

Now we were making our way back along the other side of the lake. A nice gentle path following the shore which was a welcome change from the steep twisting paths through the woods on the first part of the walk.

We realised that we were walking along an old railway track .... which means nice and flat for me!

We kept Inca well away from the nesting swans.

Back through the railway tunnel

to the head of the lake where we had started out from hours before.

A fabulous walk ... made pretty special by fabulous weather.
I'm aiming to walk up Snowdon before too long .... but I need a bit more training I think!