Winter walk with the undergroundies

When I visited Phil after my house hunting activities he mentioned he wanted to go for a walk with Chris to have a look at some plane wrecks in Cwm Eigiau. That sounded lovely! And I like that valley. Had only been there twice; the first time during marathon training and the second time on a swamp hike. And I don't have strong feelings about plane wrecks but I don't mind them either. And a walk in good company is better than a walk alone! And the weather forecast for Sunday was lovely.

Phil had mailed me we'd meet at the Pedol pub in Tal-y-Bont at 9, and from there drive to the parking lot in the valley. I would drive up with Edwyn but early in the morning he mailed he was ill. Oh dear! I drove to the Pedol on my own. Nobody there! But Phil had said he might be a bit late.

When he still wasn't there at 9.25 I started phoning and texting. After a while I managed to get through to Mick. They had gone to the parking lot already! Bastards! I had been sitting there for 25 minutes wasting my time. Nothing winds me up like wasting time. I drove up and got there. I got out and told every one of the three men there I hated them. But then we started walking. No use dwelling on it!

It was a beautiful day! We started walking up to the dam, and its breach. (It wasn't built very well and gave in the twenties, killing lots of people.) That just stays impressive. Then we went on. We had a look at the first quarry. It had a rock cannon! I had never heard of that; it seems to be a typically North Welsh thing. And from the name you wouldn't guess it's more a musical instrument than a weapon. (The Wikipedia page doesn't mention it seems they drilled the pattern in such a way the various bangs played a crude tune).

The breach  

The rock cannon; pic by Chris

Looking at a collapsed passage under an incline. Pic by Chris

Past the second quarry (at some distance) we proceeded to the head of the valley. Along the way we had coffee on a rock. Around the corner, the Carneddau were looking beautiful in white! Especially in the sun! We soon found the first airplane engine. And then the second! There were supposed to be more bits on the slope above. We found two. The we walked on; Phil was ahead (surprise) and where he stopped would be lunch.

 The engine!

After lunch we walked on. The views on the wintery higher valley were getting better and better! But the men were a bit distracted; in the stream there were lots of bits of yet another plane. Soon after admiring these we walked around the corner, into the shadow. It got cold! We walked into the wind too. We got up to Llyn Llyffant, to admire the last plane bits. and then started our way back. Chris wanted to walk a different way back, along the isolines on the western side of the valley, so we could pick up the path that came from Dulyn Reservoir. That started fine but we did encounter some unpleasantly swampy bits. Oh well! I was wearing my rather swamp-proof boots.

 The landscape gets wintery

More airplane bits

Cold!

At the lake. Here Phil is lecturing me about jet engines. Pic by Chris

We were back a bit after four. The sky was already pink! There was some faffing (changing, eating, drinking, defrosting windscreens) and then we were off, down the sometimes very steep road back to Tal-y-Bont. And it was scary! There was ice on the road. I was behind Phil, and at some point I was sliding quite out of control in his direction. He was on equally slippery ground though, so he moved at a similar speed away from me, and nothing unpleasant happened. But I was scared! We went really carefully further down. No further incidents followed. Luckily!

When I got home I was tired. But it had been a very beautiful day!

Continued house hunting

After the initial burst, it was time to hunt some more! I had been pondering things for days. Is it good to have a small house? It would force me to declutter! And I've been trying to master that art for years. This could be what I need. And the Llanberis house is so cute! But what about the parking? And what would happen to the chapel? Although I think you wouldn't get planning permission to do something drastic in such a touristic and historic location. And what about commuting? Is it better to bike to work and then have no time for other exercise? Or better to drive to work and then exercise in a more varied way? But if driving to work, what if parking gets even harder? And even if I fit in, buying a small house is the cue for all attractive single men to come out of the woodwork, and fitting two people in would be nigh impossible. But one should not adjust one's life to what might happen but what is. If something happens one can deal with it then! Etcetera etcetera.

I decided I should also have a look at houses that are reachable via the old railway, which is now a cycling route. On Friday I went to see a house in Rachub. I finally biked the route to Bethesda. I hadn't before! I only know the start of the path due to the Bangor 10k. And that bit looks nice! I have run the stretch after Bethesda, to Ogwen Cottage. That's nice too!

I took 1.5 hours to get there. Even so, I didn't stop for pictures. I figured that if that route would become my commute, I would have opportunity for that anyway! But nice it surely is.

I got to the junction where I would head up the hill to Rachub rather than continue the bicycle path into Bethesda in about an hour from the office. Not bad! But not something you want to do every day either. And now I still had to bike up the hill. That's only a few minutes but they may matter after a working day.

I got to the address but I didn't see the entrance. It didn't look like I hoped it would! I had mistaken the garden side of the house (on the pictures) for the street side. I was wrong! And I couldn't check on Streetview as the Google car hadn't done that street. A neighbour came out of his house and said there was an alleyway to the entrance. I had a look! Everything looked like it went into other people's private gardens. Oh well, the estate agent would know.

The street in which I viewed a house; notice my bike leaning against it in the mid distance

I was a bit early and I went up the hill to look at another property I had seen advertised. It didn't quite float my boat! If it's not better than the Llanberis house there's little point in having a look. And this one was more expensive, and much too big for me. So that one was off.

I walked back and met the estate agent. He showed me around; we went through what had looked like someone else's territory. And the house was nice, and it even had an ancient bike shed, but it was in the middle of a (narrow and not very pretty) street and didn't quite have the same magic feel as the Llanberis place. The house mainly looked at pebble-dashed houses, and the garden looked towards Anglesey. And would I really bike to work a lot? Quite often I'm knackered at the end of the day. Better maybe live somewhere further, and drive, and get your outdoor kicks from a coffee in the garden on days you have no time to get it otherwise!

I biked back along a more direct route. This one was also pretty! And in this direction also quite fast. It looked a bit of an effort in the other direction. But in half an hour I was in Bangor, and in 45 minutes I was back at the office. So logistically this could work on nice days!

Although I didn't like this place I was glad I had explored the route. I should do the same with Llanberis, although it's less urgent. I wouldn't bike from there very often.And I've phones the estate agent with some questions. I'm getting serious!

Blasting in the dig again

We hadn't blasted in the dig for a hundred years! Well, actually a month or so. But it felt long! But this time we would go in with a smaller drill and try to drill some hard-to-get-to rocks. And we did! Miles first wanted to properly install the horizontal bar he had put in ages ago; it had been just wedged there for a long time. I went up higher to start there. Last time Miles had brought down a rock, or rather, almost down; it was stuck somewhere and he thought it couldn't come down all the way. I wanted to check if that was true. It was! But at least I got it so far down it was in good position to be drilled. And by then Miles appeared. We could drill shotholes! And we did. Three in total. Miles did the third; it was a bit awkward as the rock to drill was a bit hard to get to. He managed anyway! But while drilling he suddenly stopped and said 'well, that's a first'. I had no idea what he talked about. Until I saw him remove the drill, and most of the drill bit still sticking out of the rock. He had broken it! Blimey. 

He pulled the broken bit out and I charged the holes. And had another fight with the resin gun. As usual. Somehow we don't get along! But I did manage in the end. I connected everything up to the speaker wire I had brought, as the relentless throwing down of rocks had done quite some damage to the previous blast wire (decluttering has its advantages), and went down. With the resin gun. Was it me or the gun? If Miles would have trouble with it too it would be the gun. 

We had a drink while waiting for the resin to dry, and then we blasted. It worked! And then I had a look. All three rocks were in bits! We had some clearing out to do. And then the perilous task of pulling out the next batch of rocks in there. One is loose; I was tempted to pull it out on the spot but I knew Miles had to go a bit early so I left it. And the rest; we'll have to see about those later!

House hunting starts for real

New year, new chances! After some preparations in December I got to actually view properties on the first working day of 2018. It was quite exciting! I would first see the Llanberis property. I got there a few minutes early, and walked around in the direction of Dolbadarn Castle. I'd driven past it many times, and never actually voisited it! And I still didn't as time was running out. But if I buy this property I will get all the opportunity in the world.

I met the estate agent, and with some difficulty he opened the door. I stepped in; it was very cute! It had a lovely fireplace, unfortunately only with a non-functional log burner in it. But one could do something about that. It's clearly old, with thick walls and low doors. And exposed bedrock slate in the corner! How cool is that! And the place is very small; it would be interesting to put everything that I want to put in. And that doesn't have to be all I have now! My current house strikes me as a bit too big. I'm sure I can weed some stuff out and make things fit. Especially if you know where you'll be for the coming years you can get rid of things you otherwise might keep because they may come in handy elsewhere.

 

The front of the house

 

Dolbadarn Castle just behind

The house from the back; you can't see it but it must be to the right of the chapel

We also had a look at the garden.That wasn't easy! It is higher than the house, and enclosed in an uninterrupted wall. Strange! And it was entirely overgrown by brambles. I climbed over the wall and started wrestling my way through. Suddenly the pictures started making sense! It was a small patch behind the house, then a narrow path to the rear, where it widened out a bit. It was soggy! But clearly something can be done with this. And you see the castle from there.

We had another look inside and then we went each our way. I decided to go cross the road to check the public footpath there; it may be a good running route. And it looked nice! But then I had to go to Bethesda. Along the way I drove past another house for sale on purpose. That one I didn't like! I drove on.

I got to the house at Tan-y-Foel and found a parking space no problem. I met the other estate agent and we went up to the house. It was bigger than I'd thought, and less cosy; it had been done up all spaceous and classy. I like it a bit more unpolished! But it was nice. You couldn't get into the garden other than through the house; I find that a clear disadvantage. You would lug your bike through the house all the time! And your dirty caving stuff. And whatnot. And the location might inspire the use of a moped; on bike it's a bit too time-consuming a commute. But lugging that through the house would really be a pain.

After leaving the house I walked further up the hill; it was beautiful! The landscape immediately opens up. It's a lot of lovely nothing up there. And mines! I'd been nearby before on a walk.

The house from the front (white with green, a bit to the right)

 

The garden

 

A few minutes up the hill

Then I turned back. On the way back I would pop by Phil, in his new house. He had a lot of work on his hands too! We chatted about houses and doing them up and such things; meanwhile we drank coffee, ate cheese and were generally swamped with love from the dog.

I then had to go back to the office. I had work to do! And a lot to think about. I liked both houses! Clearly the one in Llanberis was cuter. But also smaller. And in a more versatile environment; you have the valley that holds Llanberis Path on one side, Llyn Padarn on another, Llyn Peris in the other, Nant Peris close by, and Dinorwic a stone's throw away. The other house only has Bethesda on one side and nothing on the other. But the Llanberis house is in the middle of a tourist spot and parking would be awful. Then again, perfect houses don't exist!

I had noticed the next door neighbour (not the chapel) was a B&B. On the way back I thought maybe I shoudl one day bike there, spend the night in the B&B, check out possible running routes, and then bike back. I won't commute by bike a lot if I live that far away, but it would be nice to sometimes do it in summer, and then it's good to know how it's done and how it feels. But once home I realised you can't find that B&B on internet. I decided to drive back and inquire in person! And so I did.

I introduced myself to Carol, who runs the place, and she gave me a cup of tea and told me all she knew about the place. Hers had been a temperance society meeting house, and the for sale one had been the stable. It was damp she said, and not easy to ventilate. And it had Japanese knotweed in the garden. And the chimney had been blocked. And the reason the garden was so inaccessible, she said, was that the people of the chapel had blocked it. It used to have a staircase! It needs one again. She said these chapel people were not very nice. But there were only few people coming to the services, and they were all old, so how long would it be a chapel? It was good to know all these inside bits of information!

Very tired I went home. On the way back I felt like I hadn't been home for a long, long time! It had been some 12 hours only. I had been home extremely much the recent days due to my cold. How strange!

I will keep looking for a while but my thoughts keep going back to the Llanberis house! I think I'll phone the estate agent for more information...

Music problems solved?

Music used to be tapes (in my world). Then it became CDs. I don't have my tapes, or the ways of playing them, anymore. I still do have my CDs. I do intend to upload them all onto iTunes and do away with them. They don't need to take physical space! And I figured I should play my music in my house in digital format. Some two years ago I had bought a big iPod so I could put all my music on that. It worked for a while! But then the iPod packed in.

I also have an iPhone. Why not use that? Gazillions of people use their phone as their stereo. But I don't want to do that. I want to plug the carrier of music into my stereo, and leave it there. I can then use my phone for phone stuff. I suppose modern people have wireless speakers and then they can do both at the same time, but I don't. Maybe some day. Not now!

Having an iPhone also means people assume you want a new model every five minutes. When my contract was such I was entitled to a new model I didn't want one. My old one still worked! Then I got a phone call: I could get a new phone, or get a cheaper subscription. Well, why would I refuse a cheaper subscription? And they said that with the cheaper subscription came a Samsung phone. Eh, OK. Why not? It gathered dust for a few weeks until I had a brainwave. A Samsung phone is a carrier of music as well! And it's not Apple so it doesn't carry iTunes, but I'm sure I can sort something. I took the easy route and went for a trial Google Play Music subscription.

It worked! Soon Tori Amos was singing through my living room. I will have to download some music for if I don't trust internet to work, and I should make some playlists and such, but that's something you can do in a lost five minutes somewhere. I think I'll be fine! I haven't played much music in my house for a fair while, and sometimes I do want to. I'm back on track!

Getting ready for more fieldwork

There are rumours going around the school that we want to offer more fieldwork. And more rumours suggest I will have something to do with that. It sounds lovely! And the good thing is: even if it isn't true (which happens with rumours from time to time), I will benefit from preparing for it anyway, as knowing more about the regional geology will increase my enjoyment of it. And I know I will be taking over the Earth, Climate and Evolution module, in which I now only teach (timescale-wise) on the Quaternary, but from next year on I get the entire lifetime of the Earth. And the climbing club has mentioned it would like some geological background with the rocks we climb! So if I read up on what's going on here everyone is happy.

I found a useful book on eBay, and a nice geological map of Anglesey, so I can start finding out more about how these landscapes came to be, and where you can find interesting evidence of it! And if you're feeling quite under the weather, the first thing you can do again is reading a book on the couch!

Christmas clear-out

I had started this a long time ago! I have too much stuff and I need to do something about it. And it is a process that starts and stops, but with house moving approaching again it was time for a start in this cycle of  (very modern) decluttering.

One category of stuff that should go were my boots I had used with insoles! I don't use insoles anymore so these boots are now too big. And replaced. And they are still in fine shape to be used and enjoyed by someone else.

Now that I know I'll be staying in Wales I also decided to get rid of a winter coat I had bought in Norway. It's not usually cold enough for it in Britain! And I also got some stuff ready for the charity shop. The less I have to move the better it is!

I also intend to cheat a bit: I still have quite some work-related books at home but I should bring them to the office. I won't have to move that very often anymore! Emptyish house here I come!