Heyy people.Today was our first day here! we started off on a half hour minibus ride. then We climbed a 400m mountain. it was really hard because the mountain was so steep. Elliot suggested tomorrow we tackle Mount Snowdon. WE were just like noo because today’s mountain is 400m & Mount Snowdon is just like 3 times the size. Today’s was hard enough. The walk was worse than the climbing though. the way up was really hard. we had to walk through rocks & stuff & i fell over like 500million times. there was a stream running down beside the paths at some point. the scenery was sooo pretty:). it wasn’t raining so we could see the scenery better. there was loads of mountains & little streams it was just amazing. we saw loads of sheep & prudence did her weird sheep noise & creeped everyone out. the walk was really steep and wet. i kept slipping on wet rocks & stuff. we kept having breaks & at one point we were just eating & exchanging penguin jokes. after that there was a less steep walk and then we had to scramble for a bit. Abigail kept managing to get her hands caught on the prickly bushes. the scrambling was the most fun bit of the whole day. it was very challenging though. everyone helped each other we had good co-operation thankfully. after that we were at the summit. the feeling was really rewarding by the time we got to the top. everyone was soo glad and we spent ages taking pictures & checking wind speed & stuff. the best scenery was the most pretty on the summit. we could see the little village Beddgelert in a tiny valley down the mountain.

the whole thing was amazing.

Of course, what goes up, must go down. The journey down the mountain was harder than going up. This was because at the part where we had to scramble, we didn’t have as many handholds.After this though, everyone was pleased to finally be going downhill! we had gone quite far from the mountain when we came across a rocky river path. This was one of the hardest parts of the day, but I thought it was the most fun part, because the rapids were beautiful and viscous. Some of the rock pathways were really thin and small, but the people who looked after this part of Wales kindly provided handholds. After we emerged from the ‘Rapid Path’, we had a clear pathway the the village of Beddgelert.

With a cry of “CIVILIZATION!!!” from Abigail, we set off. On the way to the village, we came across a small memorial ruin and a grave. This was Beddgelert. Not the village. Beddgelert is the welsh for The Grave of Gelert.

The tale of Gelert…

In the thirteenth century, in wales, there was a man named Llellwyn. He was the prince of wales, and was known as the greatest huntsman for miles around. His best friend was his hunting dog, Gelert. The pair were inseparable, the most fearsome hunting team in the kingdom. One day, Llellwyn could not find Gelert anywhere. He was very worried, but went off hunting without Gelert, assuming he was at home guarding Llellwyn’s baby son. Llellwyn returned home after a hard day’s hunt, and at once knew something was wrong. The house was deathly quiet. Llellwyn entered the house, and saw his son’s cot, overturned, the sheets torn and blooded. Suddenly, Gelert walked into the room, tail wagging and blood dripping from his mouth and paws. Llellwyn was overcome with a surge of anger, he thought Gelert has ripped his son to pieces. Llellwyn drew his sword, and struck the dog dead in one mighty blow. The dog screamed and died. Almost like an echo, Llellwyn heard the familiar cry of his baby son. He looked under the overturned cot, saw his son, and the corpse of a massive wolf. Gelert had defended the baby from the wolf, and Llellwyn had killed Gelert, his lifetime companion and best friend. Llellwyn was said never to smile again.

Quotes of the day

Matthew- no matter what injuries i have, no matter what the weather, as long as i have food i will be OK
Elliot- its the best day ever
Martin- this mountain water tastes funny
Miss Hodgett- you’ve already fallen over 500 times holly, are you trying to break the 1000 mark?
Abigail- CIVILIZATION!!! we are saved

by holly & martin 🙂 xxxx