Snowdon Day 1

Machynlleth to Dolgellau, 17.1 miles.

Yesterday I drove up from Kent to Machynlleth, a relatively trouble free trip though it took six hours instead of five because of roadworks, a closure and similar. M25 in particular was slow.

The b&b is fine,  only a single bed not the double I asked for but I am in walking mode now and didn't bother to mention it. No doubt I will have worse to put up with at some point.. incidentally, I will be reviewing the various accommodations on Tripadvisor in due course and will post links on the last Snowdon update blog, Thoughts on Completion..

Dolgeylen is a working farm, and in a very quiet, picturesque location. Elinor a typical farm wife, friendly & brisk. She is followed everywhere by an adoring cloud of half a dozen dogs.

After a respectable breakfast I set off in warm sunshine. The b&b is not very near the town so I had a walk of nearly two miles to get back to the Dyfi bridge. The Dyfi (Dovey) is a wide river here, not far from the sea, and not fordable without swimming. 

The walk to Dolgellau was pleasant, rural and uncrowded, undulating if not very mountainous. I went through several tiny villages, mostly built near slate quarries - and deserted even though it is a Saturday - and arrived in Dolgellau around 4.30pm. The plan was to eat here and then walk on a little to find a spot for the tent. But this is a very pleasant little town, and when I found the Torrent Walk hotel would do a double room for £35 inc. breakfast, I decided to stay there. It is a wee bit seedy but very welcoming, friendly staff and excellent value. 

Today I cannot find a way to give captions for the photos below! They are of my b&b in machynlleth, the view from there, the Dyfi bridge, a tiny village called Aberllefenni, the huge abandoned slate quarry there, that you walk through, And a first glimpse of the higher peaks I will come to later on, including Cader Idris to the left.