Cadair Idris via the Minfford Path - Dad's 70th

So last weekend we headed up to Machynlleth to stay in this amazing cottage called Fronfraith which Mark and I have been to a few times now. Here is an awesome shot of it framed against a dramatic sky on Sunday taken by my dad (Black Planet Photography):

Fronfraith - Abercegir

It's a gorgeous cottage (see more here from Blaentrothy Cottage Holiday Company) which sleeps 9 and has 2 log burners and a huge kitchen with loads of space to relax and lounge in, plus it's dog friendly! We had contacted them in advance to see if we could bring 3 dogs with us as my brother now has a little westie puppy and the owner kindly agreed we could (as they're all fairly small breeds) so long as we paid a damage deposit - happy days!

Meet Tilly the westie - 3 months old

It's a great base for walking and there are loads of walks immediately from the cottage; Glyndwr's Way footpath runs through the fields next to the cottage. It's in a little village a few miles outside of Machynlleth called Abercegir, although when we first came to this cottage about 5 years ago, Mark was calling it Abercigar! For those not actively inclined, there's lots of other touristy things to do nearby - shopping and eating in Mach, the Corris craft centre and King Arthur's Labyrinth is a short drive away and the steam railway at Talyllyn and Tywyn are all close by too, as is the centre for alternative technology.

We booked this cottage to go on a family minibreak to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday which is actually on 19th April. So on Saturday, the forecast was perfect (as it has been the last two times we've done this hike) and me, Mark, my dad and brother headed off to Cadair Idris. We parked at Dol Idris car park which is a little further up from Corris and costs a fiver to park all day. My brother hadn't hiked Cadair before and it was a great day for it - warm and sunny! The first great day of weather we've had all year I think.

After hiking Cadair Idris twice before (and the last time was when Mark proposed here!) I was feeling strong (despite having gained weight and not done much walking since then) but the mountain soon crushed any delusions I had of being a fit, hardcore, adventurous walker. It is such a steep, long slog up to the summit, climb after climb after climb. Mark bounded off like the mountain goat he is into the distance and I lagged behind my dad and brother wondering if I'd even survive the first climb.

Here's Gracie enjoying the view on top of Cwm Cau.

I spent the majority of the drive to the car park telling Mark that I think because we'd done the hike twice before that we'd be fine because mentally we were prepared for the steep climbs and how long it was to the summit but I instantly began to doubt myself as mentally I succumbed to the psychology of the hills and the fact my legs would not be able to haul my fat arse up there. It's a long continuous climb up and around the ridge to the top of Cwm Cau and my dad kept pausing at regular intervals to say this was the most boring part of the walk and that he didn't like it - I told him to shut up because no matter how many times he said it, we still had to do it to get to the summit! We finally reached Cwm Cau and stopped for a well deserved rest and something to eat.

This is a great spot for photos and I think a lot of people have lunch here rather than the summit just because of the sheer commitment involved to getting to this stage of the Minfford path!

My dad doing what he does best - balancing precariously close to a cliff edge to get the best shot!

Most 70 year olds would have a party or go out for a meal for their birthday but my dad prefers the solitude of the mountains and he has been caving and rock climbing and generally living dangerously since the age of about 17, so it only seemed fitting that we celebrated this milestone by trekking up an epic mountain along a pretty hard route. I think my mum is devastated that Ciaran and me have both inherited his passion for the outdoors - she is a nervous wreck worrying about us all rock climbing, caving and hiking the mountains!

My dad has a really annoying habit of being a backseat driver, a backseat photographer, an overprotective father and generally super safety conscious. He regularly shouts at me to WATCH THE ROAD when I walk back from his house to mine (it is 2 houses away across a very quiet cul de sac)...and if me and Ciaran are rock climbing with him, he will attach us to several slings and ropes whilst on the top of a cliff but he proceeds to walk without a safety rope on peering over the edge and did exactly the same this weekend! We kept telling him that plummeting to his death into Llyn Cau would really put a downer on our trip away although we know he'd be happy with that exit! He kept not listening and telling us to get away from the edge when we were way further away. Typical. I keep trying to reiterate that he is not immune to death and falling off mountains but he seems to have defied death so far doing all these dangerous things and we definitely can't stop him now.

For someone who loves solitude, we struggle to prise him away from his Samsung and here he is taking a rare selfie when there were no other people at the trig point: a rare occurrence on Cadair Idris as it's so popular!

Photo by my bro

The views from the summit are absolutely breathtaking and you can see Snowdon in the distance, the sea and are surrounded by rugged hills in every direction. I can't decide if this is my favourite mountain hike ever. It's a really close call between this and Tryfan. Both magical in different ways. I feel like this should pip Tryfan to the post seeing as it's where Mark chose to ask me to marry him but Tryfan was such an epic scramble and adventure, I feel I can't choose between the two and will have to rank them both equally at the top of my list!

I was chuffed to make it to the top as I really felt like I was going to die en route. We bypassed the trig point and let my dad and Ciaran go up to get some photos as he'd not been here before, so we just went to lay down and recover from the steep climb!

Engagement shoot at the top! The beagles are rarely facing towards the camera.

The path is a bit indistinct but fairly easy to follow off in a circular loop down via Mynydd Moel. It was a welcome relief to not be walking uphill but I knew the joy wouldn't last long as this route back involves some very steep downhill over loose scree and some scrambling.

Our pack.

A rare "easy" section of the path!

A very happy beagle! Dexter loves climbing mountains (and sunshine).

It is well worth going down this way though as one of the best views (in my opinion) is yet to come when you come full circle and look back over Llyn Cau to the ridge. We weren't disappointed as the sunlight bathed us and the scenery the entire way down.

Looking back the way we came. It feels like the longest 5 miles you've ever walked by this point!

My knees were weak and I was surprised I didn't fall over coming down the scree path (if you read my blogs or have walked with me, you'll know I regularly fall over and I even wondered at this point if I could call it a hike if I hadn't ended up on the floor during it). I felt like all my ligaments were giving out and I was in pretty agonising pain by the time we got back to the pretty little slate bridge over the stream....and it's still not over then, because you have to carry on down the steep stone steps to the car park for a good 20 minutes!!!

I felt victorious at the end but also defeated. Sounds like a contradiction I know....I made Mark drive the van back because I wasn't even confident I'd be able to get out the other side once I stopped moving! I drank a bottle of prosecco and dozed off on the window seat in the cottage. When I woke up an hour later, I basically rolled off and hobbled up the steep staircase to bed. The next day I woke up in agony and everything hurt. I started to really worry as although I haven't done many long walks in the past 8 months, I felt like I'd rapidly lost all my fitness and it was then Mark pointed out that I'd hiked in my new walking boots...and despite me wearing them in thoroughly, this was the first killer mountain hike with lots of steep climbing I'd done and wearing a heavy backpack...so that instantly made me feel better and less like a complete wimp who had lost all mountain fitness in the space of half a year. It's now 3 days post-hike and only now the pain in my legs has subsided!

Looking back over to Llyn Cau.

The past 12 months has been a real rollercoaster. There's been lots of happy times and huge life changing events but also a huge amount of stress and sadness. I've been battling through feeling immensely fatigued because I'm deficient in B12 and folate and it's been a long time since I've felt like myself as a result of it all. It was really nice to be away with the entire family - it's been so long that we've all been able to get together for that length of time - and just escape from the day job and reality for a weekend and chat and laugh and spend quality time together. I know more than anyone else how fleeting life is. Time is precious and we need to cherish every moment and not waste a minute on something that doesn't wholly captivate you. As I was struggling to reach the trig point of Cadair Idris, I stopped and just sat on a rock and looked back the way we'd come. Mark and Ciaran and Dad were near the summit but it's not about the destination, it's about enjoying the journey.

A good friend reiterated that to me when we were doing another Snowdonian hike last year (Cheers Tim, full of sage advice). We're not here to race up to the summit and bag another mountain. We should take the time to be present and mindful, to really breathe in the fresh air and soak up the view. I stopped and felt the sun beating down on my face and the breeze in my hair and the rolling rugged hills and the sea in the distance. It was so peaceful and quiet - even though there were quite a few people climbing up the same way - and in this moment, I was just totally free and at peace. I try to hold on to these moments, to capture them and revisit them when I feel stressed and out of control. To just be still and remember the feeling of freedom and being alive. Because on a basic level, it is easy to forget that there are many things to be grateful for, even when we feel like everything is going bad. I am alive and breathing and surrounded by lots of brilliant people who support me and that is a wonderful thing.

Happy 70th birthday Dad - you're my hero (even if the one skill you haven't mastered is smiling in a photograph)!