Walking around Rhyd-Ddu

We have been walking around Rhyd-Ddu this afternoon, that’s just Rachel and myself.  One of the nice things was leaving the car at our little rented cottage and finding this stunning landscape right on our doorstep.

I think my eyes must have been popping out on stalks.  It was simply so stunningly beautiful and difficult to imagine anything better.  Each time we come up to North Wales to visit our daughter Hannah, I find something new and even more compelling about the area.  We have now seen it through all seasons – each so beautiful in its own right.

I would love to have an excuse to settle in this part of the world.  Already we know some lovely folk in the Hope Church in Bangor and being amongst them has made quite an impression on me.  However, Hannah is set to leave here at the end of March so I’m not sure how often we’ll be coming here.

As we walked around, it was so easy.  Having walked along a road from our cottage to the edge of a woodland area, the Rhyd-Ddu trail was clearly marked.  Rachel was worried we were going to be caught in a snowstorm, or even a blizzard.  She even reminded me of the perils of avalanches as a walker had been airlifted off Mt Snowdon a couple of days ago.  We weren’t even on a mountain, we were just a mile or two from our cottage!!!!

As we strolled I thought to myself this would be a fantastic place to run with nice trails, beautiful scenery and being able to make a nice loop of a route.  We came across two cyclists on thier MTBs with one stopping to chat for a while (he had good knowledge of all the local names, completely lost me – and he knew it!).

As we chatted, we reflected on how our girls are doing and their different paths being taken in life.  We recognise ourselves in them as they make their way in society as young adults and sometimes I envy their view of the world around us through such young and youthful eyes.

We discussed a few church issues, we touched on our desire to connect with more people through the simple, honest act of sharing a meal.  I expressed the need to step back from life right now, to just make sure we are on the right track.  Everyday is increasingly precious for me, I don’t want to waste a single day and my retirement must count for something.  In someways this is the pinnacle of my life.  I have worked through my career with all of the crazy twists and turns, became a Christian, got married, became a father and now have the privilege of stepping back from a salaried career.  It must be for a reason, it must count for something.

While these are just a few random thoughts being shared, the overwhelming point of this post is the memory of such beautiful surroundings in the stunning Snowdonia landscape.  The dusting of snow, the clear, clean fresh air, the low winter sun all came together for a wonderful walk.  Add the company of my best friend and it was perfect.  Just perfect.