#18: [12-Oct-24]

#17: [08-Aug-24]

#16: [23-Dec-15]

#15: [23-Apr-13]

#14: [21-Sep-09]

#13: [28-May-09]

#12: [28-May-09]

#11: [15-Feb-08]

#10: [17-Mar-07]

#9: [08-Jul-06]

#6: [12-Jul-05]

#7: [12-Jun-05]

#4: [22-Nov-03]

#3: [08-Nov-03]

#2: [21-Oct-01]

#1: [18-Feb-01]

#5: [08-Jul-04] (incomplete)

24-Sep-2005 -- Having succesfully driven up to 53N 03W earlier in the day, it was on to the real target 53N 04W, which you definitely can't drive up to! My previous visit shows just how difficult you can choose to make this.

I decided this time to follow the more traditional route in, by turning left out of the car park, up and over the gate and off up the initial steep and fairly challenging (if you are out of shape) ascent.

Half way up was this lovely waterfall, closely followed by another.

At the top there is a small cairn (about 6 feet high) built I presume to commerorate the community that once lived and worked here. There are the remains of the old narrow guage railway and an old pumping station you can enter. Be careful if you do as the wooden floor is rotten and I would advise remaining right by the door on the concrete part.

I carried on around the path and began to skirt the lake, where I ran into about a dozen people all with camera's on tripods. Apparently they were on a photography holiday. The organiser has lived in the area all of his life but didn't know about the existence of the CP on his doorstep.

This route takes you through another glacial valley and you are surrounded by mountains. Another 20 minutes and you spy the Old chapel referred to by previous visitors, and this unhappy parishioner!

Up to now I had peace and quiet with only the sounds of nature for company, unfortunately this was disturbed by the scourge of the countryside, four off-road motorcycles, desecrating the tranquility of a National Park and doing damage to the footpaths....

Another very steep incline takes you to within about 500 yads of the CP so some determined hiking soon gets you there.

The weather wasn't as nice as my last visit so the cardinal points North, East, South and West are a bit more moody.

I have a new 300mm zoom lens on the EOS 300D and with it you can clearly make out the details of Portmadoc which lies about 7 miles to the West.

In the Snowdonia National Park.