I write this post as a diary entry so that I can look back in it in years to come and remember a great few days away with a great friend, and getting the opportunity to spend some quality time together to chat … and I mean really chat.
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So this past weekend (Friday thru Sunday) I headed out on a Road-Trip around areas in North Wales with my great friend Brian Dukes.
We’d been speaking about doing this for quite a while, and so a few weeks back finally managed to put a date in the diary and before we knew it, we were heading off.
First stop took us from Cardiff where we’d left my car at another friends’ house, Anthony Crothers, then on to Abergavenny for some dinner and finally to Builth Wells for our first stop-over.
We didn’t arrive until around 9.30pm so after an ‘interesting’ greeting from the owner of the B&B (our fault for being so late) we headed out for a quick drink and then it was lights out for an early start the following day.
After breakfast we made our way to Devils Bridge Falls situated in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains, Mid Wales.
A famous location attracting tourists year round, armed with mimimal kit consisting of just our iPhones and Tripods (although I was carrying more kit for filming) we made our way down the seemingly endless steep steps into the depths.
The effort was well worth it though when we got to see the waterfalls which with all the greenery on the surroundings trees and plants, looked stunning.
We followed the route around the base and back up the other side, stopping occasioanlly to take some photographs and grab some video content with my 360 camera.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
10 second long exposure using the ReeXpose App
A great cardio and leg workout and a great first location and a great start to the Road-Trip!
After a spot of lunch at the Hafod Hotel (well worth a visit) which is directly opposite the entrance to Devils Bridge Falls, we then set off towards Bangor, passing through some incredible scenery en-route including the Abergwesyn Pass.
DJI Mini 3 Pro
DJI Mini 3 Pro
Having arrived at the hotel for our 2nd night stop, The Slate, Bangor (which was fabulous) we quickly checked in and then headed the short journey to the Menai Suspension Bridge.
I kept saying it all weekend, but wow, we were so incredibly fortunate with the weather being as good as it was and with there being some incredible clouds too.
We walked across the bridge and made our way down to ground level below the bridge and found a very well positioned grassed area for taking photographs.
It was so good being there with no concern of time or schedule and just hanging out with a friend, taking photographs and capturing video content.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
60 second long exposure using the ReeXpose App
We were both using the ReeXpose and ReeHeld long exposure apps on our iPhones, which definitely contributed to the whole experience being so relaxing not having to carry or think about so much additional kit … just incase.
Having captured all we wanted, it was then back to the hotel for a quick freshen up, a delicious dinner (Brian had Fillet Steak and I had Surf n’ Turf which set off the hotel fire alarm) and then the short drive over Britannia Bridge and onto Anglesey.
I’d been wanting to go here for a few years to photograph the Twr Mawr Lighthouse; a location that has been photographed thousands upon thousands of times … but not by us and certainly not by us with our iPhones.
The walk across the beach to the lighthouse takes about 40 minutes and would be great to do at a steady pace, but we definitely had our marching boots on so we could be sure to get near the lighthouse before sunset which was just over an hour away.
The lighthouse and where its situated is as stunning as I was led to believe. WOW! So incredibly peaceful with only the sound of the sea and the many varied sea birds in the area.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
30 second long exposure using the ReeXpose App
There was unfortuantely a little bit too much low cloud shielding the setting sun from casting warm shafts of light across the landscape, but despite that we were both really pleased with what we saw and captured, and hey … there’s always next time.
Having covered several hundred miles and been to some spectacular scenery along the way, it was time to head back to the hotel and relax, chat, have a cold drink and as we did, enjoy watching Guns n’ Roses LIVE on TV from Glastonbury 😃
The next morning after breakfast we then started making our way slowly back towards Cardiff, but en-route stopping off at a few places so as to take in as much as we could and just enjoy friends spending quality time together.
First stop was to Betws-y-Coed which is somewhere I’d spent quite a bit of time as a child doing activities such as orienteering, rock climbing, canoeing and so on, and being there brought back so many great memories.
The weather, although still fabulous, wasn’t really ideal for photographs so we both just ‘went with the flow’.
After maybe a couple of hours we then headed on to Aberdovey through the outstanding Snowdonia National Park, stopped over in one of my favourite places, Aberaeron to grab a drink and a light snack at the Harbour Master, and then continued making our way back to Cardiff … our final destination where we then met up with friends, Anthony Crothers, Ian Munro and Gerwyn Williams for a meal together celebrating Ian’s recent success in the Natural World Bodybuilding Championships.
So that was it; our 2 ½ / 3 day Road-Trip that was over in flash, or so it seemed.
Great fun. Great memories.
Roll on the next Road-Trip!
