Snowdon House

Tan-yr-Wyddfa is a house owned by the Oread climbing club. It is located in the village of Rhyd-ddu at the foot of Snowdon. We went there many times during the eighties.

May 6th 1988.

Friday 6th - Leave scouts early at about 8.30pm with Anna, Robert B and Mark P. Drive without stopping get there for 11.30. The ventures have been to a local pub and brought a couple of locals back to the house. Nibe and a few others stopped in the pub just after Llangollen, arrives at 12.30

Saturday 7th - Get up for 7.30am, good breakfast and start walking by 10am. Go up Snowdon with a party of about 19. The lads from the village walk with us for a while and then turn back. Sunny in the morning and misty in the afternoon. Spag bol for tea. Stay in and play cards. The picture shows various people fascinated by the match game.

Sunday 8th - Not leave the house till 11am. Drive to Little Tryfan to go climbing. Quite busy, go up near the top end. We cannot find any good belay places so just do some scrambling about instead. Back to the house and leave for 2pm.

April 4th 1986.

Friday 4th - Zola drives the minibus down to Snowdon, leave at 7.30pm. We run out of petrol in Capel Curig. I hitch a lift to the house, arrive just after 1am. I drive with Clive to Caernarfon then Bangor looking for a 24 hour garage. The minibus arrives just after me and Clive leave. We return at 3.30am, the others are still up playing cards.

Saturday 5th - Up at 8.30am. Me, Clive, Phil and Richie H drive over to Little Tryfan. Do some climbing. Down to Bethesda, watch the Grand National in a pub. Back for lots of free climbing. Get back to the house for 7.30pm, missed dinner. Pub and cards till 3am.

Sunday 6th - We all have a good lie in, brunch at 11.30, due to the rain we head for the Copper mines. home for 8pm.

April 26th 1985.

Friday 26th - Drive down in the Charade with Big T and Ade Harper. Zola drives down with Sally, Heather and Clive. Potter with Mont and Flash. Stop at the Shroppie Fly and then on the far side of Llangollen. Get in for about 12.30

Saturday 27th - Zola gets us up at 9am. Cook the breakfast and then walk up 'Y Garn' and along the ridge, great views over to the sea, gets very misty when we get to the obelisk. The others go to Llanbedrog for the day. After spag bol go to the pub in the village, play Trivial Pursuit till 3am.

Sunday 28th - Get up at 9.30am, doss around for a while, play football outside. Some go back home. I drive Flash, Big T and Mont to Colwyn Bay, have a meal then drive up the A55 to Chester, then Congleton and Leek. Flash notices that my Tax disk is well out of date. Stop at the Queens Head on the Derbyshire border near Ashbourne for the whole evening, back for 12.30am.

March 29th 1985.

Nibor and Jo, Heather and Clive, Edna and John, Bod, Phil T, Quince, Duff, Mark ?, Mike C, Simon B, Sarah P, Joanne C.

Friday 29th. - Drive down with Heather and Clive. The rest of the ventures go in the MiniBus. We stop at the Cock Inn for a meal and then again at Llangollen.

Saturday 30th - Very low cloud, misty, Heather drives some of them over of Caernarfon. Some walk down to Beddgelert. Go into the lounge of the Prince Llewellyn. Walk down through the forest and back over the hills. Cook spag bol for tea. Back down to the Roddy in the evening.

Sunday 31st - Still misty, some go swimming, some go to the Cwellyn Arms, travel back with Heather and Clive.

September 14th 1984. Me, Nibe, Heather and Clive, Edna and John, Pat Hallam, Duff, Mick C, Stuart ?, Brian B, Lorna T, Cathy P, Sarah P

Friday 14th - Set off at 7pm with Clive and Cathy P. The others go in a minibus. Get to Llangollen for 9.30, stop at the Smithfield Arms till 11pm. get to the house for 12.45.

Saturday 15th - Get up at 7.30, John Blount brings us all a cup of tea. Walk down to Beddgelert, very misty. Dinner at the Prince Llewellyn, stay a long time. Some of us walk back though the forest.

Sunday 16th - Get up early, go up Snowdon with Nibe, Clive, Bod, Lorna T. Two hours to get up and two hours down, one hour at the top, very misty. Leave the house at 3.30pm. Heather goes in the minibus, Cathy comes in the car with me and Clive. Stop at the tea shop just before Whitchurch, back for 8pm.

April 1984. Me, Louise D, Sally E, Zola, Nibe, Andy and Chris Marshall, Ian V.

Friday 27th - Drive to Snowdon in my Dad's Daihatsu Charade with Louise.

Saturday 28th - Get up early, drive to Tryfan area, Climb lots of routes on Little Tryfan. Drive to Bangor for lunch. I walk up Tryfan alone in the afternoon.

Sunday 29th - Drive to Red Wharf bay, Anglesey. I swim in the sea and get very cold, start shaking all over, it takes hours to recover. Drive back with Louise, we hit a sheep head on near the Pen-y-Gwryd hotel.

April 1983. Me, Nibe, Zola, Heather and Clive, Mr and Mrs Ory, AC, Min, Dave, Robo, Stuart, Charlie, Louise, Sally.

Saturday 8th - Some go up Snowdon, we go to the pub in Beddgelert. Go to the local in the evening. Sunday 10th - Rains all day, play cards.

Part way up Snowdon after starting from the hut sometime.

The Snowy time 1981 Maybe ??? Edna, Wedge, Me, Ange Hopkins, John Corden, Mont, Ade lots of others

Friday - We all meet at the bottom of Station Road. There is about one inch of snow on the ground in Breadsall. We phone the unit leader Sid and he specifically prohibits us from going to Wales. We decide to go anyway. Leave at about 7.30pm, Wedge drives the van. The snow gets thicker as we travel west. There is a Police road block in Capel Curig but we decide to push on. The snow now is very thick on the road. There are a few cars snowed in along the road. We have to stop many times and dig ourselves out. Start down the Pen-y-Pass but we soon run into an eight foot snow drift. Dig the van out by 1am. Drive back to the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel. Get settled into our sleeping bags in the van when the landlady from the hotel invites us in. We all sleep in the bar.

Saturday - Have breakfast at the hotel. We follow the snow plough down the pass and on to the house. Meet up with Mont and Ade. They had set off last night and went via Chester. They got to within a few miles of the hut before getting stuck. Some people go to dig out Mont's car. Play cards in the evening, the lights keep on going out.

Sunday - A bright blue morning. Go for a walk up Y Garn with John Corden.

September 12th 1980 Go to Snowdon in a minibus, Clive goes in his car. Go up Snowdon by the Rhyd-ddu path in mist and high wind. Sunday go up Y Garn.

April 25th 1980 Go to Snowdon for the second time. Saturday - Walk up Snowdon without a shirt on, very sunny. Sunday - Walk up Mynydd Mawr.