a trip to Wales

Hello there!

So, this weekend, I went on a trip to Wales with Laura and her friends! One of her friends' grandmother owns a cottage in the South, you see, so we went to stay there - in a little town called Dolgellau.

We all decided that leaving early would be a good idea so that we'd have more time when we got there, so the night before ended like this:

"So, the train gets there at 20 past, soo Sam's picking us up at quarter to 7."
"Okay, I'll set the alarm."
"Night!"
"Nighhhhtt!"

The morning after went a little like this:

Laura woke up sleepily with her friend Hayley's head resting on her shoulder, and smiled drearily. With a yawn, she stretched one hand out beside her to stroke my back, and with the other she picked up the clock.
It read: 6:40.
"6:40, ah." She said with a calm nod, before hesitating and furrowing her brow. "6.40... 6.40!! GUYS WAKE UP! SAM'S GONNA BE HERE IN---"
The doorbell rings.

Luckily we all tumbled onto the platform in time to hop onto the first of 3 trains, a bus and a long walk to get to the cottage, after meeting the other 2 of Laura's friends. It was a 6 hour journey, but it was filled with the fun of some insane version of Charades and Italian card games - and boy oh boy was it worth the wait.

When the train reached Wales, the landscape began to curve into deeper and taller mountains and hills - the cement pathways and roads now cluttered with cobbles and surrounded by greenery everywhere you look - except to the left, where the sea rolled along a beautiful sand beach. It was incredible; in fact, I may retire out there one day, after fulfilling my foxy duties in the world.

The train eventually pulled into Bamouth station, where we hopped off and headed into the town. We had an hour or so wait for the bus, so decided to perch in a local cafe for a memorable treasure of our previous trip to Dolgellau: a Shmoo.

A Shmoo, my friends, is a wonderful thing. It is essentially a thick milkshake available in 4 flavours, and then topped with optional cream and sprinkles. Its the kind of milkshake that seems to be about 80% sugar, so it is a better wake-up drink than coffee by a long shot. And you will know you are drinking a Shmoo when your throat starts to burn. I don't know why it does that, but it is an unmistakable and lovable trait of this glorious, glorious drink.

After the Shmoos had been shmoo'd, we caught the bus to the town where we were staying. Its a quaint, pretty little place: a lot of the buildings are converted from Churches- there is perhaps the most majestically built Spar there I have ever seen. The structures are mainly built from grey stone, and are nestled in amongst steep hills and forestry, a perfect picturesque location. We soon began the long ascend to the cottage. And I mean long! We decided to go along the road way, which is less steep than the other routes (though not by too much), but it was a 45 minute journey with our luggage - a very exhausting affair.

Eventually we reached the cottage; set on the top of one hill and at the foot of another, it's side faces the forest, it's back to a slanted field of shrubbery and sheep, and it's front to a wonderful view of the landscape, with a downward slope to the forests, and, of course, sheep. The inside of the house is also quite wonderful; there is a porch leading to the kitchen, bathrooms and hallway, and the latter gives way to the lounge - with several armchairs and sofas in red and green, an open fireplace, and a large wooden table at the back that is sometimes doubled as a table tennis table. The kitchen sits a room away, and is also home to 2 arm chairs and a wooden table, and all the regular kitcheny things; but also with a window through to the porch, and a small, curved staircase leading upstairs. These stairs lead us straight into mine, Laura and Hayley's room, with a double bed and a little dressing table. Walking straight through here, we go into another room of 2 single beds, where Maria slept. Then, across the landing are 2 more bedrooms; one unused this time, and the other where the 2 other guys slept.

So, that sets the scene for you.

Now, for the adventures of our holiday to Wales!

Saturday 14th July, 2012

Most of today was pretty much spent travelling, but I can tell you how we spent our evenings. As it's just the 6 of us, alone, in the middle of the countryside, with neighbors a mile or 2 away, we decided it would be a fantastic idea to watch a horror film or 2 every night before we went to sleep. This, my friends, is not a good idea.

We all sat huddled up on the sofa in our PJs and under the duvets, the only light spilling from the crackling fire. There's no TV in the cottage, so we used Hayley's laptop, and sat with it in front of us as it played the scary footage.

It was one of those moments where the suspense is building in the film after an extra scary scene, and the hand is reaching to open the door or something, or the monster is behind the main character - it gets intense, my paws grip tightly around the blanket and...

"RRRIIIIIINNNNGGGGGGGG, RRIIIINNNNGGGG!"

I think we must have jumped about a foot off the sofa with the ringing of the phone - which ended after two rings, and was from a withheld number... We resorted to hysterical laughter to resolve the tension in the situation, and binged on Disney films to dissolve our worries so we could sleep easy. However, when it came to leaving the lounge to turn the lights off downstairs, all 6 of us piled out as a unit; darting around the house as if a big furry critter was galloping after us - but that imaginary creature just kept the adventure alive. The sparkly, musical-coated fairy-tales enchanted our minds into a peaceful slumber… and so began the tradition of the Horror film nights.

Sunday 15th July, 2012

Today, Today was sunny. Well, relatively sunny.  So, we went to the Blue Lake. This magical place is situated in Fairbourne, which is a half hour or so away from the cottage, so we tumbled down the many hills into town and caught a bus to the little seaside village.

After loading up on food for a picnic by the lake, we decided to walk along the beach towards the mountain where the lake is situated. The grey skies were painted blue and the sun shone for us as we approached the sandy floors, and that was all the encouragement I needed. Like some kind of animal, I flopped onto all fours and made a bee-line for the sea, the sand tickling my toes as my paws brushed against it. That hysterical laughter bubbled up in my throat once again as I neared the waters edge, then, with the lapping sea-water in my sights, I lept into the air with a call of: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

I plunged into the shallows, squealing at the cold water rushing around my ankles. The others ran up, playing with the in and out-coming waves, skittering away from each rolling wave and jumping them as if they were hoovers. (I really don't like hoovers.) I raised my eyebrows, trotting over in front of them and grinned.

"Don't even think about it," Laura smiled, eyeing me suspiciously.
"What happens in Wales, stays in Wales..." I said, calmly.
I turned, leaving them frolicking unsuspectingly, then swooped my tail down into the next, rather large approaching wave and sent the majority of it over the heads of Laura and her friends.

*        *        *

We trotted along the beach, dripping wet, until we reached the road, and began the long and steep ascent up the mountain. It was easier than the first time, I'll admit, but still fairly strenuous. But the higher we got, the vaster and more beautiful the views became. Last year, on our travels up here, we saw a lizard in the road. We got so excited at this exotic creature, that we all bent over it with our cameras and were amazed at how tame it was as the tourist paparazzi snapped away... It was only until we were walking back, and saw it sat in the exact same position, that we realised why it had been so quiet and friendly. Sam scooped it up in a leaf and set it to the side of the road, and we looked at our cameras in shame, and sang a rather impressive improvised song about Lenny the Lizard in tribute.

We clambered up rocks, huge piles of slate and through mossy streams until at last the ground evened out, and opened into a small patch of green. Slate piled to the right and trees dotted the left; directly in front was a sheer drop, but which overlooked nearly the entire of Fairbourne, and to the back rose another large hill that enclosed the Blue Lake. There was a steep path along to the top where you can see a birds eye view, but we headed along to the base of the hill, where a small cave led through to the lake; the top lined with slate that Laura hit her head on, and the bottom of it filled with ankle-deep water dancing around stones that you could hop across until, eventually, you reach the long-awaited Blue Lake.

The water is surrounded by mossy, tall cliff edges disguised by piles and piles of slate. The lake was everything we hoped to find - it was blue, and it was a lake. And I mean really blue. Really, really blue. I didn't realise just how blue the Blue Lake would be. It's naturally that colour from the copper within it... and the water is so clear that you can see the edges of grassy rock falling into the deep, which is said to be bottomless. It really is b-e-a-utiful.

We plopped down on the rocks and dipped in our paws and feet - looking forward to the refreshing coolness after a sticky climb. Our feet immediately shot out;
"It's freeeezing!" squealed Hayley, as we tried edging our tootsies back in.
"You'd think," Sam pondered, "If it's actually bottomless, the core of the Earth would heat it up a little."

I laid on my belly and shuffled a little closer, pawing at the water and edging my nose closer to the surface, snuffling at it. When, all of a sudden, a little fish darted beneath the surface - and another, and another... and, yep, another! I tensed my body and froze; gently, slowly, lifting one paw out of the water. I waited until the fish wriggled up inquisitively to the other, dangling paw and...

SPLASH!

I swatted my paw down through the water, unfortunately missing the fish, and also unfortunately so enthusiastically I lost my balance and...

SPLASH!

In I went, into the blueness and lakeyness of the Blue Lake. I shot up to the surface and paddled, treading water - my fur soaking wet and hanging downwards as if I had a huge beard from my chin.
Laura and her friends looked at me blankly.
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Their faces twitch.
Wait for it...
You know you want to...
One of them shudders, breaking into a grin...
Here it comes...
They all burst out laughing.
I grinned and swam eagerly towards them, coiled my tail around Laura's ankle and tugged at it.
"Eeeep, no! No! No!" She laughed, grabbing Hayley's arm and pulling her in as they went...

SPLASH!

Laura looked at me, grinned, and then swam for me. I laughed heartily, bounding towards her and jumping on her head. The sun continued shining for us and we had a wonderous afternoon gallivanting and picnicking by the wonderous Blue Lake, before making tracks for home.

Monday 16th July, 2012

Today we went down into the caves of Corris, to King Arthur's Labyrinth. We got kitted out with hard-hats and were led into some very cold caves to meet the 'Boats-man'; a man dressed in grey and black robes, with a hood covering half of his face, and a rope tied to his waist; we clambered into the boat ready to start our medievil voyage, and looked to the scary, Boats-man, expecting a deep, bellowing voice repeating some Olde English lines from the past... And instead, a young boy said: "Hey guys! Watch your feet, its slippy in here!"

We were taken on a tour around the caves, which were filled with waxworks that told some stories of the past, and of King Arthur himself. And, on the way out, the water was dimly lit by torches, and a dragon loomed from a cove - smoke twirling from it's nostrils, and the silhouette of Excalibur gleaming in the background. Very cool stuff.

After discarding our hard-hats, we decided it would be a fabulous idea to purchase our very own plastic Excalibur for just £2.50... a bargain if you ask me; and after a refreshing break for lunch and shmoos, had a glorious sword fight by the bus stop in the pouring rain - the scene just short of some dramatic, inspiration-building music to make it into a masterful short-film.

                                             Tuesday 17th July, 2012

Today was a very relaxing day. We decided to spent it exploring the town of Dolgellau, and wandered down and through various shops; stopping in an old book shop, and another full of odds and ends, where I purchased some old postcards from the area that were nearly 100 years old. The shop keeper even remembered us from last year! So did the taxi driver, come to think of it. We must have made a memorable first impression. I guess it's not everyday you get a fox standing on 2 legs with an umbrella and wellingtons, pondering over the china teapot.

As the evening drew near, we made our way back to the cottage. Laura's friend made a delightful curry dinner, and we sat around the table in candle light, with romantic music playing in the background - very suave. Then, after we cleared the table, we sat back down and were chatting away, when Sam picked up his glass to take a drink and noticed something small on the table. The glass must have knocked it a little so that it rolled across a few inches, which shocked him into thinking it was a bug... So he yelled, pointing at it, and we all just instinctively screamed, staring at this one little thing on the table, yelling in fear for several minutes as if it was going to leap up and eat our noses... Before somebody said, "Oh, hang on, it's a grain of rice."

The weather had started to cheer up from the afternoon's downpour, so we gathered together sticks for a bonfire by the side of the house. Try as we might, the fire would light, but fail to spread to the rest of the twigs. So as one of Laura's friends persisted with the flames, we decided to wander along through the hills to watch the sunset.

We perched on top of a hill overlooking more hills, and forestry, and sheep... and the sun began to sink beneath them. It was perhaps one of the most majestic things I have seen yet. The clouds blanketing a blue sky were both harsh greys and gentle whites, contrasting each other and the sun itself beautifully... The perfect end to a wonderful holiday.

When we decided to head back, the bonfire remained unlit - still damp from the rain. So we plodded inside and started the fire in the lounge, and gathered around with milk, tea, chocolates. We poked marshmallows onto sticks and sat in front of the flames, watching the fluffy sweets turn golden and crispy, with melty goodness on the inside. I smiled and settled myself on the rug, curling my tail around me and enjoying the warm of the fire, and the sound of laughter before scaring ourselves with the latest Horror film.

The wonderful fireplace

A really, rather wonderous holiday, actually.

So long, Dolgellau, see you next year!

All my love,
Fox