A Weekend of Adventure in Wales
/Wales is famously known for its rolling hills, beautiful beaches, adventure holidays… rain and sheep! Growing up, we had numerous family summer holidays in the Brecon Beacons, Barmouth, Tywyn and Snowdonia. Which are some of the most beautiful places in the UK. Most people will say that it only ever rains in Wales… 270 days of the year to be precise, but after spending two weeks on a beach and climbing hills one August, I came home with one of the best suntans I’ve ever had!
Snowdonia has become quite the hotspot for adventure seekers and weekend getaways, come rain or shine. I was working away in Japan for my 24th birthday, however that year I knew that I wanted to celebrate by having a weekend away in the UK once I was back.
My mum planned the whole trip, for me, my dad and sister. We drove just under 5 hours from Lincolnshire to the Snowdonia National Park, where we were greeted with that incredible Welsh scenery. Surrounded by mountains, sheep and we could see the Snowdon peak in the distance.
We checked into the YHA Snowdon Pen-y-Pass in Caernarfon - a fully-equipped youth hostel, situated right in the middle of nowhere! You can see it right in the distance here. The A4086 runs right along the YHA with many walking routes just outside too.
After dropping off our bags and settling into our room, we headed out for a sunset walk. We joined a public footpath just across the road from the YHA and straight away we were greeted with the most unbelievable scenery. We followed the path for an hour or so before heading back to the hostel for nachos and board games.
Zip World
The next day we drove 35 minutes through the Snowdonia National Park to our first adventure spot. Located at Zip World Slate Caverns, Blaenau Ffestiniog and founded by Zip World in 2014, Bounce Below is an underground slate cavern, filled with trampolines, slides and tunnels. Before entering we were given hair nets, a hard hat each and a quick debriefing of Bounce Below.
It’s the perfect place to unleash your inner child! My sister and I had the best hour, jumping and sliding between the different levels. We felt exhausted after 5 minutes, but it was such a great experience. So much fun!
Look at us three numpties ha! We had to wear hard hats throughout as there are some small parts to climb through. Also, I definitely recommend wearing comfortable shoes and full-length clothing. For the hour it cost us £25 each. Children aged 7-17 pay a discounted rate of £20.
After a quick lunch at the Slate Caverns, we travelled another 45 minutes to Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda where our next adventure awaited us. Zip World’s first creation, Velocity. Which is the fastest zipline in the world and the longest in Europe.
This was what I looking forward to the most! Travelling head first at nearly 125 miles per hour down the side of a mountain eeek! The whole set up was professional and efficient. I was kitted up in a boiler suit, harness, goggles and helmet. And of course I had to add my GoPro!
After watching many little red rockets fly through the air, the nerves started to kick in and the realisation that I would be doing this next was overwhelming! We were in a group of 10 and headed to the Little Zipper which is the smaller and tamer zipline, but still an exhilarating ride of up to 40 miles per hour. It was over in a flash and I just remember screaming the whole way down… whoops!
After the whole group had completed the Little Zipper, we were picked up in a truck and taken up the side of the quarry to the main event - Big Zipper! It was a bumpy ride to the top however the views got even more incredible the higher we went and luckily even the sun came out for a while.
Standing here at 432m ready to travel 1560m in 30 seconds. The base camp and all the spectators (including my parents and sister) looked tiny from up there!
I watched two couples go down together, then it was my turn! I was guided onto the platform and told to lay down on the bigger harness which attached to the harness I was already wearing. This was also being held up by the wire. I was strapped in and told to keep my hands by my side. I was told that in order to slow down near the end, I will be signaled to open up my arms.
Cameras were on and the countdown started… 3, 2, 1 let’s go! Wowwwww we picked up speed so quickly, we were suddenly zooming down the side of the mountain. The wind was hitting my face so hard but I didn’t care, as the view was incredible! See my shadow here - courtesy of my GoPro! The whole experience definitely felt longer than 30 seconds and I certainly screamed the whole way down.
I was signalled to open my arms to slow down and before I knew it, CRASH we came to a stop. AMAZING! There were guys waiting at the end to help us dismantle from the frame. I just remember saying omg omg omg! I walked back down to the base camp to be reunited with my parents and sister. The firsts words they said were ‘we heard you before we saw you!’
We drove back to the YHA and then headed straight back out to the hills. We made the most of the warm sunny Welsh weather and walked for over 2 hours. This was just the warm-up for what we had planned for the next day…
Climbing Mount Snowdon
The next day we woke up early and filled ourselves up with a good old English breakfast. We were needing all the energy we could get as we were climbing Snowdon! This was my first time on the mountain however my parents had climbed before. We started in Llanberis which was only a 10-minute drive from the youth hostel.
The official peak name of Snowdon is Yr Wyddfa. It takes an average of 6 hours from the start of the Llanberis Path to the summit and back. Totalling 9 miles/14.5 kilometres and a 3199 feet/975 metres ascent. You can see the tiny peak in the distance here!
The path is a steady and relatively easy climb all the way to the top, with some trickier parts that require precaution in wet/icy conditions. Saying that the non-experienced walker can easily achieve the summit. If you don’t fancy the hike, you can also jump on the Snowdon Mountain Railway which only takes an hour to get to the top! The path pretty much runs alongside the railway all the way up.
We were soooo lucky with the weather. Even though it was mid-August, we could have easily had the typical wet and windy Welsh weather. At one point we were all sweating and couldn’t believe why we decided to wear so many layers!
If you look to the right here, you can see the summit! This point right here was my favourite view of the whole day. The sun came through just before we reached the top and it was nothing short of spectacular!
The real view from the top of the summit… I think we queued for over 20 minutes to get to the highest point. Totally worth it though! It had taken us just over 4 hours to get here.
Look at the viewwwww! It was one of the moments I was like wow. I will remember this forever. My family all together, happy and healthy, and we’d achieved something incredible together.
After a lunch stop at the café at the top, yep that’s right! Hafod Eryri is just what needed to refuel and rest our legs before heading back down. The weather suddenly changed and we started to feel cold and pretty tired.
I love this picture. If you look closely my parents are being all cute watching the train go past.
It took us around 2 hours to get back down to Llanberis and we were greeted with the beautiful weather once again. After walking 32,000 steps and over 20km, we were ready for a hot drink and a relaxing evening before heading back home the following morning. What an amazing 3 days!!!
