The weather forecast for yesterday was absolutely awful but we decided to go to Llanystumdwy and have a walk along the River Dwyfor to see the Snowdrops that are out at this time of the year. By the time we got to Blaenau Ffestiniog we were not sure if we had made the right choice as the rain was torrential but we had arranged to pick up old Uncle Albert at Porthmadog so we decided to carry on. It was still raining when we picked him up and also when we parked in the village of Llanystumdwy close to the grave of David Lloyd George.
Surprisingly, it stopped raining after we had put on our waterproofs and didn't rain throughout the walk.
The River Dwyfor was in full flow after the heavy rain and the sound of it was deafening. The path is normally easy to follow but the river was in full flood and we had to improvise a lot on our route. Because of the location of the river and the exposed tree roots you have to be very careful anyway walking along the slippy ground and rocks so when we heard a yell and a thud, we looked around and Tellytubby was the first casualty. He was flat on his back on the muddy ground, thankfully his only injury was his pride and his brand new waterproof jacket now caked in a layer of mud. Just before the wooden bridge that crosses the river we saw the first of the masses of Snowdrops that are in that area. They looked really good but I think that we were a week or two early to see them at their best.
We had our refreshments on the other side of the river and then crossed back over to complete the rest of this woodland walk. Just when everything was going well Uncle Albert putt his foot on a large rock and had a bad fall back onto the rock. Luckily nothing serious happened to him apart from the shock and some bruising so we carried on until we exited the woodland through the arched gateway and turned right and took the tarmac lane back to the car. It was an enjoyable walk despite the conditions but the river was fascinating to see and hear, the power of the water was incredible.
At Porthmadog old Uncle Albert's wife that laid on some home made scones and bara brith for us so it was a lovely way of ending our day out before setting off on the journey back home