THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Our map skills were tested to the limit when we set off for Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales’s highest waterfall.
It doesn’t look far on the map, but the roads are hair-raisingly narrow and there are tremendous inclines on the way.
The countryside in the Berwyn Mountains is stunning, and Pistyll Rhaeadr can be seen at the top of the valley, its white water cascading down to the rocks below.
We took the steep path up to the top of the falls (there’s a choice of two, neither for the faint-hearted) where we ate a picnic looking out over sprawling green fields, slate mountains looming in the distance.
North Wales is renowned for the quality of its slate and, during the 19th century, the country’s mines exported the majority of the world’s supplies.
Get a slate tile from abroad, our guide at the Slate Mountain Adventure informed us, and it will last about six years. A Welsh slate tile will last 300 years.
Guide Russell drove us to the top of the mountain in his 16-seater Quarry Explorer vehicle. He wasn’t joking when he said we’d feel every bump. We passed piles of slate, granite and quartz, learning about the history of the landscape. We looked down over the tiny town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, home to many miners in the industry’s heyday.
A journey down the Deep Mine revealed just how hard life was for those employed there. Hologram characters set the scene as we explored dimly lit paths. Shifts would start at 6am, with men and boys working 11 hours, blasting slate from the seams using basic tools, gunpowder and homemade fuses. Candles were expensive, so the miners worked in the pitch black, six days a week.
One thin, white ghostly miner told us how the darkness and dust were overwhelming him. We knew he was a hologram, but it felt like an echo of something real.
Mining was work, and families had to eat. I resolved never to complain about my commute again.
Back above ground, we travelled by steam train from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog on the Ffestiniog Railway. Originally built to transport slate from the mines to the ports, a ride in one of the open-sided Victorian carriages is the perfect way to take in the beautiful Welsh scenery, especially if you have small children. Having enjoyed a night listening to the rain on the roof of our cosy tent, while playing cards and eating pancakes, we headed to Glasfryn Parc for some fast-paced action.
We had heard good things about the centre’s new Wake Parc and waded in for some wakeboarding.
My boys – skaters but otherwise beginners – slapped on wetsuits and strapped on boards for a lesson on the water.
Thanks to a lot of determination and a very encouraging tutor, they both managed to stand and skim the surface.
When the weather changed, we headed to Greenwood Family Park, an outdoor attraction but one that doesn’t close in wet weather.
All the eco-friendly rides – the Green Dragon Rollercoaster, Solar Splash, Great Green Run slide and many more – remain open even in heavy rain, which is ironic, as 80% of the park’s electricity comes from solar power.
The park’s wet weather policy was definitely being tested on the day we visited but friendly staff welcomed us on each ride and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Bags of fun and no queues.
There are plenty of places to shelter from the rain, such as soft play barns, undercover activity areas and even a theatre among the trees (dads beware, a clown might ask you to compete in a giant pair of underpants).
We whiled away the evening at Voltaire, a gem of a vegan restaurant a stone’s throw from the pier in Bangor. Try the Jamaican Buffalo Cauli Wings.
Yes I know cauliflowers don’t have wings, but over the last few days we’d seen the ghosts of miners, ridden rollercoasters in the rain and slept soundly under a fluffy duvet in a tent. In North Wales, anything is possible.
Wakeboarding at Glasfryn Parc