Camping with Kate and Bryn

I hadn't seen Kate in a while. We both wanted to do something about that, and she suggested we might make that an overnight thing. That sounded like a great idea! My tent hadn't been out enough yet this year. So far only with Henco and Maaike. But then the country entered a heat wave, and we had to seriously consider how we would make that happen. Bryn is not made for hot weather.

The day before we decided that we would leave on Saturday late in the afternoon, when the day would have cooled down a bit. We could camp near where she lives; she had a beautiful location in mind. We had been before. And the next day there was rain forecast so there was a little risk of the dog overheating.

I drove up after lunch. We first had a cup of tea. That was fine with me! I still felt a bit tired. And the weather was all over the place. Hot sunshine one minute, rain the next. At some point we decided to go to the local shop so we could festoon our cup of tea with something nice. It also meant we could try out the weather. It was definitely still too hot for black labradors!

By 5 pm we decided we could change it. We drove up to Cwm Penmachno, and from there we walked. It was still a bit warm, but doable. As soon as the path came close to the river, Kate had the dog play around in the water for a bit, to cool him down. And then he was fine. And quite soon we got to our destination.

Cooling Bryn down along the way 

It is quite a magical place! It is a remote area of the Rhiwbach quarry, with some flooded mine workings in the woods, and with spoil heaps and some ruined buildings on the other side. We look forward to getting into the water ourselves, but we were barely there or a cloud came over the hills. And it was not stopping! Soon we were in fog. We hadn't expected that! At least none of us would get overheated now.

Notice or tents in the distance

We walked around the area a bit to spot the best camping places and then pitched our tents. Then I wanted to get into the water Kate wasn't sure. And right by where our tents were, the water was very shallow, so safe. (flooded mind workings can be very dangerous because they are often very deep, so very cold, with very steep sides. On the side, that wasn't the case.) So I got in and realised just how shallow it was. It was nice though! That inspired Kate to go as well, so she headed for the water while I started cooking. I had put on most of my clothes. I was glad I had brought them.

Dinner duties

When Kate got back she did the same. And we had a little sip of whiskey. We put Bryn on a lead as we were afraid he would knock over the food, set himself on fire, and eat something that would be unhealthy for him. It would be entirely in character. But with him at a distance, dinner was soon ready.

After dinner we had a cup of tea and a little walk, and then called it a night. We are both early sleepers! And the dog was up for it. It was his first camping trip since reaching adulthood and he was probably tired. So much excitement.

Leaving traces

I didn't sleep well, but I don't know why. My tent was comfortable! And my sleeping bag was good for the temperature. But sometimes one just doesn't sleep well. At some point during the night I went out for a wee. There is something about beautiful places at night. That was just enough moonlight coming through the clouds to show the surroundings! 

In the morning I could hear a lot of rain falling on the dent. Oh well, we had expected that. And when I opened the tent I saw the full girl still there as well. But I got out and made breakfast. We didn't really linger! We knew we were close to Kate's house, and we could get another coffee in comfort there. So after some porridge and two marks of coffee I packed up. When we set off again. It was foggy, but not raining, when we walked back. It was all right! And when we got staircase she offered to make pains au chocolate. She had barely eaten breakfast, because she had counted on doing that at home. She had only brought some porridge oats, but not even powdered milk, let alone raisins or sugar girl or whatever, so it wasn't very tasty and the dog ate most of it.

Damp breakfast 

Going home 

The pains were lovely! And so was the additional coffee. Bryn was too tired to make any valiant attempt to steal any of the food. But after a few coffees I decided to go home. More things to do!

It had been a nice little adventure! I had never camped with a dog, I think. And I like these mini adventures when you're away for less than 24 hours. In cooler weather we would definitely have set off earlier, and in dry weather we probably would have lingered longer. But as it was, we had been completely away from normal domestic life, and had slept in a stunning environment. A big success as far as I am concerned! And we also had enough time to catch up on everything that had happened since the last time we met. Totally not a weekend as I had expected it, but a good one!

English Stonecrop in bloom