On our arrival at Gelliwig we found that Gilly & Mo and Rendo & Sheila were already in residence and appeared to have made themselves comfortable as they greeted our attendance with a drink in their hand. Whilst the total number of attendees was a little down on normal our happy band quickly started to grow with the additional appearance of Melly, Suzanne and Allan.
In general the first night usually consists of people relaxing from their journey down from Cheshire with a drink (or two) and catching up on what has happened over recent times. This year proved no exception with everyone quickly settling into the normal routine as wine, beer and gin flowed ensuring that we headed off to bed without a care in the world – with the 
exception of a certain member of the Henderson clan who was left wondering why only 1/10th of their bottle of gin remained !!
The next morning saw everyone up for breakfast and quickly getting ready for their chosen activities – which is unusual as it’s normally the crack of noon before activities take shape. Dave and Mo had decided to take the opportunity to get out on their bikes and swiftly headed off into Porthmadog, going over the causeway on the bike path towards Penrhyndeudraeth (try saying that after a couple of pints, or a cup tea come to that). At Penrh'what's it, they turned left to go over the little toll road (bikes go free so that was a bonus) onto the Harlech road and then north to cross the A487. Flat riding so far but then the next section climbs steeply though the forest to Rhyd. A white knuckle decent into Garreg, followed by a flat section again to Eric’s, resulted in the reward of a cup of tea and a nice piece of cake. Dave explained that it was a very pleasant ride and only about 16 miles.
Allan, Suzanne, Melly, Ian & Sheila chose to take advantage of the excellent weather and elected to stretch their legs with a walk to the West of Beddgelert. When we met later that evening Allan explained that they had done 3 moles!! Without wishing to appear rude I thought it better not to ask for more details just in case the RSPCA had to be contacted, but it became evident that he had meant they had climbed Moel Hebog, then over to Moel yr Ogof, before finishing with Moel Lefn (phew, they were just hills). 
A trip to the ice cream parlour was their reward for their efforts.
With the weather being as good as it was climbing figured quite highly on my wish list so Dave and I elected to climb on Tremadog’s Upper Tier, an area neither of us had previously climbed on. Quite short, single pitch routes provided plenty of opportunity to dust of the winter cobwebs and as these are not as popular as the main crags this ensured that there was always the prospect of us having the option of climbing, or taking a break and basking in the glorious sunshine.
As everyone congregated in the late afternoon back at Gelliwig Rob and Carol arrived and very quickly, after a quick wash and brush up, we all headed off to the Sportsman Hotel in the town for our evening meal. We had decided to dispense with the efforts of producing our own meals ‘in house’ and voted to live the high life for a change and dine in the restaurant. A wise choice as everyone thoroughly enjoyed the chance to sit, talk and eat together in a very pleasant and convivial environment.
Sunday arrived and it had been decided that Rob & Carol; Allan, Suzanne & Melly; Ian & Sheila, and Dave & Mo would set out on a mystery walk led by Allan. They drove out of Portmadoch, on the Criccieth road, and parked up at the birth place of Lloyd George. The walk followed a beautiful little river valley out of the village and then struck off over moorland where, as you can see by the photograph, they got a little bit lost. Spotting a farm they asked the farmer which way to go and he pointed across his fields saying "there are some very poor stiles to cross". These turned out to be very poor fences masquerading as very poor stiles. Dave did take some uncomplimentary photos of the various stile climbing, but refuses to put them into the public domain for fear of reprisal. Once again the day’s events ended up with a cup of tea and a nice piece of cake in the garden of a cafe. “Well led Allan” was the cry.
Being gluttons for punishment Dave and I thought that another days climbing sounded a good idea. After a quick discussion we headed off to the Llanberis Pass to follow in the footsteps, or is it rock shoes, of Julia Bradbury and try our luck climbing Crackstone Rib. As always the weather within the pass can be very hit and miss in comparison to the coast and so it proved again.
Although generally dry and bright the strong wind and climbing in the shadows made life a little bit uncomfortable, but undeterred we pushed onwards and upwards, made it to the top, and as we looked down into the valley and across at the stunning views of the mountains in front of us we brought the day, and our very enjoyable weekend away, to an end feeling very satisfied with our efforts.
Write-up by Allan, blog and pics added by Dave
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