I realised last week that it had been ages since I’d seen the summits of Snowdonia on a nice, clear, cloud-free day. We had a couple of days up at the caravan last week but avoided any major mountain climbing as it was just too darn hot.  On Saturday we had a nice stroll around Cwm Bychan and down through the invasive rhododendron patch above Sygun copper mine.

On Sunday we visited the RSPB Glaslyn Osprey Project.  After looking at a blurry tree through a scope for several minutes and politely telling the RSPB man that yes, I could definitely see the Ospreys’ heads, I had better luck inside, where there’s a massive TV relaying a live image from a camera perched above the nest. It’s definitely worth a visit, but don’t expect to be there for hours. After that, we did the traditional wander down the river at Beddgelert, and stopped for lunch towards the top of Aberglaslyn. As we sat there scoffing sandwiches, I spotted a juvenile otter on the opposite bank. That might not sound terribly exciting, but I think otters are pretty cool. I’ve seen them in the wild before on Mull, but that was on the sea shore, so it was nice to see one in a more traditional environment.

On Sunday afternoon I went for a run along the Nantlle Ridge from Y Garn and then over Moel Lefn and Moel yr Ogof. Just one week after LAMM I expected to be feeling some kind of payback, but it was actually very pleasant. The first climb up Y Garn is always a bit dull, but after that the distance flew by. Moel yr Ogof is always much bigger than I expect it to be, but didn’t pose any major problems. I considered heading over Moel Hebog as well, but time was marching on, so I dropped from Bwlch Meillionen back to the van. A total of 8 miles in 3 hours with 750m of ascent, which I was reasonably pleased with.

On Monday we had an early start to get home in time to pack for the Bruges trip, so left the summits still clear of cloud and headed east.