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| Image from Barmouth.org.uk |
I've not long been back from a hiking trip in mid-wales, this time in the southern region of the Snowdonia National Park. We stayed just above the town of Barmouth, with some great walks right on our doorstep. With all the glorious weather we've had this summer and early autumn, we hoped we'd be in for a treat, but unfortunately the weather had other ideas, with not just one, but three different storm systems heading our way. To say it was wet and windy would be an understatement, but we got out there and it was great fun, if you like that sort of thing. As far as hiking goes, I'm fond of the phrase, 'there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing,' and we were well prepared. The weather even cooperated a few times, enabling me to bring a few images back with me that I like, and wanted to share.
For those interested in photography, I've just switched from my Canon full-frame gear to the Fujifilm mirrorless X-System, which uses a crop sensor and is much lighter for hiking with, yet still offers great image quality. I hope you enjoy the photos with captions. Click on any image to enlarge them.
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| Looking into the Mawddach estuary from Barmouth Bridge. William Wordsworth called it the sublime estuary, and JRR Tolkien was so taken with the town of Barmouth that it became his model for the fictitious town of Hobbiton in The Lord of the Rings. |
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| Barmouth Bridge - a Grade II listed wooden railway viaduct with pedestrian foot bridge. High winds were a challenge as we crossed the bridge during the full force of Storm Ali. |
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| Looking towards the Mawddach estuary with Cadair Idris mountain range in the background. |
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| Some interesting light amidst the storm clouds one morning, looking towards Cadair Idris from the balcony outside our accomodation. |
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| More interesting sunlight through the storm clouds. |
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| Heading back to our accommodation on the Panorama Walk above Barmouth. |
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| Taken during a hike from Barmouth to Tal-y-bont on the Ardudwy Way. |
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| A seascape taken from Fairborne, which is on the other side of Barmouth Bridge. |
