![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.glmorganwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dinas-Dinlle.jpg\")
<\/a>Within the earthen walls of Dinas Dinlle.<\/p><\/div>\n
Dinas Dinlle would likely have dominated the landscape, and you can see for easily 20 miles from the top of the mound.\u00a0 The mountains of Snowdonia are visible to the southwest, where they seem to crash into the sea, and to the north, the jagged peaks give way to more rolling hills\u2014perhaps the Rivals that we explored later (it\u2019s hard to keep my bearings with all the twisty roads and roundabouts!).<\/p>\n
The fortress consisted of two ramparts on either side of a ditch.\u00a0 Some scholars suggest that livestock would have been kept in the ditch during troubled times.<\/p>\n
The Rivals and the Hunt for Tre\u2019r Ceiri
\nWe then made our way a little further north to the base of the Rivals.\u00a0 Somewhere on top of these three, barren mountains is the hill fort of Tre\u2019r Ceiri, which was in use up to circa 400 AD.\u00a0 Dad and I had downloaded directions from the internet, and began our trek up a grassy moorland.\u00a0 To either side, the hills fell away to what would likely have been extraordinary views of the coasts of the Llyn Peninsula, had the valleys not been filled with clouds.<\/p>\n
Following the directions and the yellow arrows, we wandered upward, across moderately rugged moors, through a field of sheep, and toward a gate.\u00a0 At the gate, we met a farmer with his dogs.\u00a0 We asked him if we were heading the right way, and apparently we weren\u2019t.\u00a0 He walked back up the sheep field with us, and pointed us in the right direction\u2014further uphill, through a kissing gate.\u00a0 Supposedly, beyond this point, the track continued straight, over a creek and a bit of rocky ground, to a second kissing gate, where a path would lead to the hill fort itself.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The clouds over the Rivals<\/p><\/div>\n
No such luck.\u00a0 We made our way through gate 1, over the stream, and along a very, very rocky path.\u00a0 It was difficult for me, not being able to see where I was placing each foot.\u00a0 I slipped and stumbled my way behind Dad, pushing through gorse bushes that lined the tiny, rugged trail\u2014leaving only enough space to put one foot in front of the other.\u00a0 As the trail grew more difficult, Dad left me waiting by a large rock while he \u201cscouted on ahead,\u201d since by this time we couldn\u2019t see more than 100 yards in any direction with the cloud cover (more like fog at this height).\u00a0 There was no sign of Tre\u2019r Ceiri, and since the clouds were growing worse, boiling up the valleys from the sea and tumbling over our hilltop, we decided that safety had to come first and retreated to our car.<\/p>\n
Tre\u2019r Ceiri, I\u2019m told, is a very impressive site if you can find it: a hill fort so large it contains the remains of more than one hundred round houses.\u00a0 I was keen to reach the spot, since I\u2019ve arbitrarily decided that it is here that one of the key players in my novels held court.\u00a0 Maybe if the weather clears, we\u2019ll try again.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, our struggles on the slopes of the Rivals has shown me that, while I would probably be physically capable of climbing the Snowdon Ranger Path (the path up Snowdon that I\u2019d really like to take), the men<\/p>\n
tal endurance required to deal with the stress of never knowing what type of footing I\u2019m going to find the next time I take a step is likely too much at this time, especially since the Ranger Path is supposed to be one of the more rugged ascents.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ve given up on getting to the top of Snowdon, just that I\u2019m going to relent and take an easier path\u2014but not the train! (For those of you who don\u2019t know, there is a nineteenth-century steam train that takes visitors to the top of the mountain; I flat out refuse to use this, as it feels too much like cheating :P)<\/p>\n
Dad and I did drive around to the base of the Snowdon Ranger Path, and walk a few hundred yards up the trail to get a sense of direction and layout (I need it for a scene in one of my novels).\u00a0 We spent a bit of time on the shores of Llyn Cwellyn, a cigar-shaped lake at the foot of Snowdon.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The mountain visible is not Snowdon, but a neighbouring peak.<\/p><\/div>\n
We met a couple from Coventry descending the Snowdon Ranger Path just before we headed out for supper, and paused to chat with them about the ascent.\u00a0 They were regular climbers, and had made this particular ascent 5 times before.\u00a0 Today, they set out at 1 pm, and were just finishing their hike at 6:30 pm.\u00a0 This was encouraging, and the hikers said that while it was indeed more rugged than some of the other paths\u2014like the simple Llanberis path, or the popular Pyg or Minor\u2019s tracks\u2014it probably wouldn\u2019t be impossible for me to do it.\u00a0 This trip, though, we\u2019ll stick to an easy route so we can reach the summit.\u00a0 Next time\u2014and hopefully next time will be soon\u2014I\u2019m going to make my way up the Ranger Path.\u00a0 Just because \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monday, May 20, 2013 Unfortunately, today dawned with a good deal of cloud hovering low over Snowdonia, which meant the upper reaches of Snowdon itself were not easy for first-time climbers to reach.\u00a0 So, Dad and I put off the … Continue reading