Dave seemed quite content to do any lane that was was put before him, while Graeme seemed (to me anyway) to want to drive as many lanes as possible. With this in mind, I drew up a route that would start us near Llanwrtyd Wells where we would head north via Strata Florida and the Happy Valley BOAT towards Dolgeellau and an over night camp, before heading inland towards Lake Vyrnwy. Fortunately, this plotted route was flexible, as the weather might play a big part in proceedings.
Dave & Graeme arrive at the campsite (expertly researched and booked by Graeme) around 15:00, and once set up, did a little exploring of their own (I'll let them tell that particular tale
). I arrived around 19:00ish, and soon had my new tent up with the assistance of helpful hands.This was a cracking camp site and after cooking our evening meal, sat in front of a camp fire and told many a tale:
Remember my promise of breakfast - it was no lie, my hunger was fulfilled, and them some. A little later than planned, we headed off to Strata Florida. (Due to the forecast wet weather, I decided to forfeit the first planned lane, mainly due to the road mileage required, in favour of shortening the route should we have to abandon Strata Florida (it can get seriously flooded). We were not to worry though:
It might of been a bit damp and misty but spirits were high and we often stopped for photos and coffee:
There was quite a lot of standing water, but overall we all managed rather well:
On Strata Florida, we met two groups of motor cycles (a group travelling each way) and two groups of 4x4's - one group being lead by one of the GLASS guys I go laning with on occasions (Carmarthenshire and Powys West area Rep) - it was quite funny when one of the group said "Are you Trugga ?" - It seemed that after that, that everyone we met knew me !!!
Anyway, moving on... a 40 minute road section brought us to the southern end of the Happy Valley BOAT (having bypassed two other lanes, of which I knew one was mudddy and I did not want to be responsible for destroying it any more than what it probably was, considering the wet weather):
I wish I'd bought my wellies:
It's a good job dave did:
Come on wellie man, another damp one here:
...but we soon cheered up with another hot mug of coffee:
Whilst stopped for a breather, a group of walkers descended upon us from out of the mist... it turned out to be a group of early tanagers on a Duke Of Edinburgh hike. They approached us for confirmation of where they were as they thought they were lost. The laptop sitting on my passenger seat confirmed their location and although I think they had missed their turn (a footpath off the BOAT), I tried to encourage them that they only had a couple of more kilometres (down hill) before they got to the main road (where they would turn right to their overnight stop). Hopefully they were encouraged and had renewed spirit (and got a warm shower when the arrived at camp).
We continued on and as it was getting late (and dark), skipped the next couple of lanes and made our way to our camp site. Once the tents were up, an impromptu shelter was created and we cooked our evening meal, before relaxing once again around a fire, beer in hand:
I think we all slept better last night, even with the noise of a nearby stream and the over night rain.
In the light of day, it was not a bad, although very rustic, camp site. Once again, the provided breakfast was spot on:
On the journey to camp the previous night, Dave's' 2.4 was making some funny noises and a quick rummage underneath suggested failing prop shaft universal joints, so rather than risk any further damage, Dave got in the passenger seat of Graemes Sport and we set off in a convoy of two (This also gave the damp tents a chance to dry off).
In the morning sunshine, we did a couple of lanes, first a low road over looking Barmouth from the south, then the high road on the return trip:
We then returned to camp and packed up. We decided that Dave would drive straight for home (with the RAC card in hand), whilst Graeme and I would do one last lane, although we'd convoy together for at least half an hour before our route split. When we did, turn off, the 2.4 was still drivable (and we had a confirmation SMS later to confirm that Dave had returned home to the Midlands safely).
Graeme and I turned off the A458 at Foel and headed towards Dyfnant Forest. The first section of this lane is quite steep, twisty, over grown and muddy, but both 2.0i Sports made it up relatively easily:
After a short stretch, we were in the forest:
Once out the other side, we looked for somewhere to brew up, chew the cud and watch the world go by:
After that, we finished of the lane and made our way back home.
It was an absolutely fantastic weekend away, something perhaps I've needed for some time. Great company, great food, great camaraderie and all told, a bit of an adventure.
I hope you enjoyed this tale.
Cheers Dave, cheers Graeme.
Lawrence
I did try to take a photo with Dave in the foreground to give the photo some scale, but cos I was hopping around on one foot as I'd lost one of me boots in the deep mud, the picture came out too blurred. 
managed to recover the boot for me 
