But there is more to Christmas Day than food. I wanted to get on landscape magic in! So on Christmas Day I put lunch into my bag and set off fairly early. I was allowed to bike some distance and walk from there, so that is what I did! I wanted to check out another one of the small hanging valleys in Nant Ffrancon, so I biked to it and parked up. On turning into that road I thought I needed to rescue a crow, as it was flapping around and banging into some street furniture; I thought it had become ensnared and couldn't get away. But when I approached, it just flew up. Then I understood; the street furniture was a mirror, and it had just been attacking its own reflection! Silly bird. But I was glad of it, especially as I realised I didn't have anything sharp on me.
Anyway; I got to my intended parking spot, and set off. I was in the little valley in no time! I suppose the road climbs a bit so the distance between it and the valleys gets smaller when you move further upstream. I sat myself on a rock to decide what to do. I could see two plausible options; there were two saddles you could climb to and then end up on the ridge. One seems to lead only to a place from which it would be difficult to move on, but the other one didn't, and it looked easy to then descend into the next valley upstream. So I went for it! There was no path or anything like it, so the going was a bit slow, but I got there. The ground was frozen and there was a dusting of snow.
 |
| the valley seen from below |
 |
| the actual valley; notice the passes left and right |
 |
| some decorative icicles I saw along the way |
Anyway; I got to my intended parking spot, and set off. I was in the little valley in no time! I suppose the road climbs a bit so the distance between it and the valleys gets smaller when you move further upstream. I sat myself on a rock to decide what to do. I could see two plausible options; there were two saddles you could climb to and then end up on the ridge. One seems to lead only to a place from which it would be difficult to move on, but the other one didn't, and it looked easy to then descend into the next valley upstream. So I went for it! There was no path or anything like it, so the going was a bit slow, but I got there. The ground was frozen and there was a dusting of snow.
It was lovely to stand on the ridge! The views were amazing. And indeed, the descent on the other side was easy. I just zigzagged down the grassy slope. The valley I ended up in was beautiful, but I could tell it was also quite swampy. Now the ground was mainly frozen so it was okay! But this may be a bad valley for autumn.
Regularly sitting down for a coffee I made my way down. I came across a herd of about 20 goats. I enjoyed that! They are a good-looking bunch. And I started receiving WhatsApp messages from my Dutch sister, who was also on a Christmas walk. That was nice! And then I was back on the road. I wasn't far from my bike and I enjoyed the walk back. It was noon when the reached the bike, so it had been a modest walk, but I had enjoyed it! And now it was time to hit the kitchen to get ready for the rest of Christmas.
 |
| Christmas selfie on the ridge |
 |
| towering over the main valley below |
 |
| view from the ridge into the next valley |
 |
| inside the next valley with Llyn Cywion |
 |
| on the way down, with Llyn Ogwen in the distance |
 |
| herd of goats |
 |
| double waterfall |
When I was done in the kitchen I video-called my Dutch sister. I figured they were having pre-dinner drinks by then and I was right! They put the phone in the circle and I felt like I was there with them. That was lovely! And then it was time to have a shower, dress smartly, and head to Anglesey for my dinner.
When I arrived at Jaco and Marjan's house and walked in I noticed how unusual that had become. And normally I get to greet them with hugs (the UK way) and/or kisses (the Dutch way), and that wasn't happening, but it was still lovely. We had a good chat and lovely food. And then we just sat in the living room and listened to some music.
The next day we would be visited by storm Bella, so I didn't want to go for a walk. I went for a long trail run in the late morning, before the wind got too strong. Then I phoned my mum for some Christmas talk. And then I vanished into the kitchen for my three course meal with my sister! And I will benefit from this for a while, as both starter and mains were big enough for four. And I just managed to do the dishes before it was time to start the video call.
The storm had passed Finland by, so my sister had actually been on a walk. A long one! So she was tired. And not yet entirely ready. But that was okay! We just chatted a bit while she finished things off, and I opened a bottle of heather beer. And then we had our parsnip soup! And we took it easy. No need to rush. The second course was onion quiche with salad! That was nice too. And then we really had to wait a while until we had space for dessert. But we had enough to discuss in the meantime. I went to the living room (I can eat dessert without dinner table) where I lit both several candles and the woodfire. With the wind howling in the chimney it was extra snug!
It was cool to have the same dinner. And our initial plan had been to do a game after dinner, but that was a bit ambitious! With the two hour time difference, the three course meal, and my sister's after-walk fatigue, that just wasn't feasible. But that is okay; we decided to just have a separate video call for that. It was lovely to have made an occasion of it!
 |
| dining table is ready! |
Then we called it a day. Christmas was over! And I think that by standards of 2020, it had been a very good one!
No comments:
Post a Comment