Snowdonia National Forest, Wales

One of the places we were determined to go to before leaving the UK was Wales. And we finally made it there--thanks to some tips from our friends. We stayed in Snowdonia National Forest at a Royal Navy Charity cottage. The Royal military has a few such charities that we know of. They are cottages or old barracks that they now use for their military and their families to use for R&R. Fortunately for us, they are generous enough to let their allies use it too. This trip was also extra fun because we were able to go with our great friends, the Butikofer's.

Wales is literally breath-taking. On the drive, we came around a bend in the road and suddenly we were in mountains. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit, the beauty of it actually brought tears to my eyes. I'm not sure what it is, but, for Geoff and I both, something in this country speaks to us on a deep level. The drive was gorgeous, if a little alarming. Tiny roads with no shoulder is one thing when you are driving around daily in a flat farming community, but it's another thing entirely when you are driving on winding mountain roads with sheer drop-offs a few feet away. The landscape is simply majestic. The mountains are lush and green, dappled with purple heather and dotted with rocks and sheep. Picturesque is not a sufficient word.

Here is the view from the cottage:

See what I mean?

So, of course, as soon as we had arrived, unloaded the cars and had a bite to eat, we raced out the door to climb the mountain behind the cottage. It was a bit of a challenge. The kids took right to it and were little mountain lions, which lead to my heart trying to burst out of my chest. Seriously. I just had to shut my eyes. Watching their every step was too terrifying. I keep seeing them dropping right off the mountain. And, Geoff's achilles obviously protested the climb, but he didn't let that stop him. Also Jere-Miah was very apprehensive, but he persevered and we are so proud of the giant steps he took that day. We climbed most of the way up all together, then Jere-Miah and I stopped and took a seat and enjoyed the view, while Geoff and the other kids adventured the rest of the way up. We headed back to the cottage, had homemade pizza, hot showers and enjoyed the lounge with hot chocolate and a fire before bunking down for the night. A great first day there. :)

Our kids with the Butikofer kids waiting for the adults to catch up so they could climb!

Geoff and Jere-Miah starting up the path.

Looking up. We're climbing up there?

The view from the top... well, almost the top. That's our cottage down there. Jere-Miah was such a stud. He worked so hard to get up that mountain and though it was very difficult, he never gave up... Geoff wouldn't let him anyways, even if he had wanted to :)

Day 2 in Wales we decided to just do more exploring. There are plenty of castles and manor houses and gardens to visit everywhere in the UK, but we wanted to see Wales as God created it. We went to Fairy Glen, a magical rock-climbing, hiking experience. It's part of the Conwy river and has a few literary associations. One such is in Geoff's favorite book series by Terry Brooks, the Shannara series. Legend says that the fairy come from the crevice in the rocks where the river comes through. And in the world of Shannara, the first Knight of the Word is called and endowed with power by the Lady of the Word as she descends from the mists of the falls at Fairy Glen. You can see why we had to go! And it was everything we'd dreamed it would be. You can definitely see why people associate it with magic.

Emeryss and M. Butikofer taking turns sitting on 'the throne'

at the beginning of the Fairy Glen path. It is, as you can probably tell, actually the old chimney of house that once stood there. It did make a pretty great seat though :)

Brody in heaven, completely enjoying the serenity of the river.

Geoff and J. Butikofer rock climbing to get a better view of the river...

and their mini-me's, Brody and M. Butikofer, following after.

Geoff. Finally catching his first glimpse of the Fairy Glen.

Geoff, Emeryss, Mac and Daeglan exploring the rocks and giving me a heart attack.

Brody, Master of the Universe, triumphant at Fairy Glen.

Yes, that there is the Fairy Glen. *sigh* I really want to go back!

After working up our appetites at Fairy Glen we went to the nearby village of Betws-y-Coed and had lunch. It's a bit of a touristy village, but it was fun to walk through and look in all the shops. There was also a great old church there, that I can't for the life of me remember the name of... anyway, the kids and I had a look around inside. It had beautiful stained glass windows, but unfortunately, I was low on memory space on my camera, so I didn't get pictures. They also had candles out to light--for 20p each--and a sign that posted why they lighted candles. It was actually really cool, though, again, I can't remember exactly what it said. Jere-Miah really liked it though, so I gave him 20p and he lite a candle and said a prayer. Very memorable moment.

We then headed to Swallow Falls, named so because their appearance resembles the tails of swallows. They don't quite compare to my favorite place, Mesa Falls in Idaho, but they were worth seeing, and a real treat for the kids, who have no memory of ever seeing a real waterfall before and Jere-Miah, who actually hadn't ever seen a waterfall.

Daeglan contemplating life on the stairs down to Swallow Falls.

The Marrott's--Geoff, Miranda, Jere-Miah, Emeryss, Mac, Brody and Daeglan--at the Falls.

Swallow Falls.

As you can imagine, when Day 3 came we were sad to say goodbye to Wales. And can you blame us when we were waking up to this every morning?

But, alas, it was time to start the trek home, but we decided, since we were so close we had to make a pit stop on the coast and get a glimpse of the Irish Sea first. Our stop was brief, especially since it started hailing just 2 minutes after we parked the cars and got out, but it was well spent and memorable. Just as we were heading back to the cars, a little family that had been crabbing on the pier was letting their crabs loose and we got to stop and enjoy their spoils. There were crabs everywhere! The kids loved it. Then it started to rain hard again and we sprinted to the cars and made our way home. We love you, Wales. Someday, we'll be back!

The Irish Sea.... or rather a bay area of the Irish Sea.

Jere-Miah in crabby heaven.

Mac and Daeglan (holding the crab) trying to hold them without getting pinched.

Picture of the day: Geoff's lunch!