The rain, the rain

This year, Eryri drenched us. After heatwaves in 2022, this year we were met with footpaths that were thigh-deep with fast-running rainwater run-off from the mountain-tops. 

We went bog-hopping. It was, as always, fun and beautiful. However, this year, one of us had a broken arm and another got sick so we didn’t do a lot of wild exploring, and spent more time than usual in the lowlands.

This year, more than ever, we noticed tourist litter, dogs chasing sheep, and visitors chasing animals for photos. Some people go to the mountains for achievements, others for photos, or beer, or laughs, and maybe the landscape is just a playground… It’s OK for everyone to have their own reasons and experiences, but I go up there to feel at home. I feel a deep connection to the land, so the scattered plastic litter, and the animals’ fear, are painful for me.

We did look at volunteering opportunities to try to help, but the dates didn’t fit with our short stay, so we made do with scooping up some litter from Glaslyn and carrying it back to the bins at Pen y Pass. 

For posts on past adventures, our Eryri adventures have now all been moved to a different site: Sea Lake Mountain Moor (just to separate them from the fiction) — new adventures will be posted over there (if I get my IT mojo together, there may also be links in widgets).  

Diolch, Eryri.