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 I
arrived at the camp site in Rhayader
on Thursday, rather stiff from the drive, and was delighted to
be welcomed by Dave, Gloria and Jean, with Phil and Maureen arriving
shortly afterwards. Clive and Caroline arrived later to give us
some amusement as they constructed their tent on a garden table
and then proceeded to carry it around the field looking for the
ideal spot. The site was great and it had very good toilet, which
is not surprising as Caroline had inspected and passed them as
OK before she would let Clive pay, during their recce. That evening
we went to the Crown Inn where Clive had arranged for us to have
the rear dining room where we all had great meals.
 On
Friday we climbed up from the Caban-coch reservoir to the moorland
above, where we were ambushed by midges at our tea break. I was
particularly surprised at the magnificent countryside, it was
much better than I thought with wild rolling hills and spectacular
views of the Brecon Beacons. The walk seemed longer than 11 miles,
probably due to the heavy rain and thunder. Expecting just showers,
I didn't put on my waterproof trousers when the rain started in
the afternoon. Unfortunately, the rain didn't stop until the following
morning! When we got back the river had risen a foot and there
was a moat around my tent. Luckily I had put my tent on a slightly
higher ground, so I was safe, and this was the worst that it got,
as the weather for the rest of the weekend was very much better.
Pleasantly tired, we all arrived at the pub where we met Rhoda,
Roger, Brenda, Ross and Judy for the evening meal.
 Saturday
started with a pleasant walk through the deciduous woodland around
the Garreg-ddu reservoir to one of the many dams. Clive then took
us up to Y Gurn and then back down to the Elan
Valley Visitor's Centre. This was well worth a visit as it
gave the history of the area. The model of the valley was particularly
interesting. Throughout the day Clive, our leader, was a beacon
to the group; yes, he had his day-glo orange t-shirt on again.
Back at camp, we were all invited to tea and some of Maureen's
delicious cake. If there was one thing that kept our moral up,
it was Maureen's cake at the end of the walks. There was sticky
prune and date, chocolate and walnut and bread pudding, and she
even made a gluten-free cake for Clive.
 The
walk on Sunday again started alongside the Caban-coch reservoir.
We then had an epic time getting across swollen streams and bog
before reaching another dam. After climbing to the top we walked
over Rhos y Gelynnen, taking in some great views along the way.
The descent was through woods to a bridge where, to our delight,
Clive had organised an ice-cream van; or at least he said he had
organised it. We had a slow lazy walk back to the cars licking
our ices. That evening we had our last meal at the Crown Inn before
heading home on Monday.
 The
weekend was a great success with three superb walks and only one
afternoon of rain. The success was due to the efforts of Clive
and Caroline and we all thank them very much.
The quote of the weekend was on the second day
when Clive sent us down a steep track with him at the back and
Caroline in front. When the front of the group was at the bottom,
Clive decided that we should have turned right, back at the top.
After calling the group back he was heard to say "I don't
think they noticed, I think that I got away with it". Looking
at Caroline's face when she got back to the top, I doubt it.
Ted
June 2007
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