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| CABAN COCH DAM |
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| REMAINS OF NANT-Y-GRO DAM |
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| WINDY BARMOUTH RAIL BRIDGE |
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| OUR HARLECH CAR-CAMPING SITE |
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| HARLECH CASTLE |
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| AMAZING VIEWS FROM HARLECH CASTLE BATTLEMENTS |
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| SITTING ON PONT-Y-PAIR BRIDGE IN BETWS-Y-COED |
We had a restful night sleeping in the car at the Claerwen dam car park. Following breakfast we made our way back to another car park by the top of the Caban Coch dam, which is the one that immediately overlooks the Elan Valley Visitor Centre. I was keen to visit the site of yet another dam which involved a short walk along the other side of the Caban Coch Reservoir. This small dam, the Nant-y-Gro, was constructed around 1890 to provide water for a temporary village built to house the families of the workers building the main dams. By 1942 it was no longer required so it was used instead to conduct experiments to determine how much explosive would be required to breach it. This led to the development of the Bouncing Bomb, conceived by Barnes Wallis, which was deployed in the Dambusters raid to attack the Ruhr Valley dams a year later. The resultant flooding of Germany's industrial heartland significantly disrupted arms production for some months. The Nant-y-Gro dam was never rebuilt.
After a final look around the Elan Valley Visitor Centre, we headed west for a quick tour of Aberystwyth (dodging the rain) after which we continued on to Barmouth.
For Rubi and me, the most notable attraction in Barmouth is the railway bridge that crosses the River Mawddach estuary. There is a walkway attached to the up-river side of the bridge so a return crossing of its 699m span on foot seemed like a pleasant way to spend the early evening.
Our final goal for the day was to reach Harlech. We planned to visit the Castle the following day, but for now we just needed to find a discreet place to car-camp. Just as we parked in a suitable clearing up the road from Harlech Castle, the owner of the adjacent property turned up with his dog. He was in the process of bringing in his chickens for the night. A chatty gentleman, he not only confirmed that it was fine to park where we were, but he brought us a half a dozen eggs.
In the morning we fried a couple of our newly acquired eggs before walking down to the Castle, which was only half price to enter because of our English Heritage membership. It played a significant role in various conflicts between the English and Welsh, and its superb location offered spectacular views towards the sea from the walls and turrets.
Next, we drove further north into the heart of Snowdonia, initially looking around the outdoor shops in Betws-y-Coed and finally settling for the night at Dolgam camp site in Capel Curig. The weather forecast for the following morning kept changing, but we hoped that it would be suitable for a hill walk.
