Day 5! We woke up to the sound of rain on the roof of the van, both very thankful we made the call to go to bed at 8:30pm last night! We knew we would need it, as today is the day we go canyoning!
We packed up the van and headed the 10 minutes down the road to Pontneddfechan in the Brecon Beacons! We booked this through Blue Ocean Adventure, who offer a variety of different activities from abseiling to white water rafting and everything in between! If you are in Wales and fancy an activity definitely check them out, our instructor was fantastic and made the experience so much more with all his knowledge on the area!
Into the water
Suited and booted in our wetsuits, helmets, life jackets and trainers (a look that is not flattering) we were in a group of 4 and the instructor which was a really nice, intimate group, they often take groups of 8-12 so felt really lucky to be able to enjoy a more detailed experience!
We were led down to the water and told to jump in, fully submerged and let your buoyancy aid carry you down until you can walk. We all looked at the instructor as if he was mad, but one by one jumped in – it was bloody freezing!
We were quickly in the shallows and walking across the stones until we came to the first bridge. At the bridge the instructor had us line up at the edge and practise different jump techniques, the first one was the arms across the chest and a slight bend in the legs, this one was to be used in deep water.
The second one was the “bellyflop” you don’t need much of an imagination for that one, but that one was to be used in jumps where the water is a bit shallower, and the third was the “penguin” and honestly I think that one was just for a laugh and to get everyone’s confidence for jumping in the water, getting us used to getting in and out and acclimatising to the environment we were exploring!
Scrambling, rapids and one little fall
We carried on scrambling up and down the stream, experiencing the currents, the bouldering, the gorges, the slipstreams, climbing up waterfalls and taking in all the views- it was exhilarating!
We were tobogganing down rapids, traversing rock walls, jumping across boulders, scrambling up rock faces, – we were beaming from ear to ear, feeling on top of the world, enjoying every second! We went from being cold with shock to being confident and raring to go!
We climbed up rocks, we scrambled round ledges, we were jumping when we were told to jump, no questions asked! The adrenaline was pumping, it was all going far too well – I know just a way to ruin it!
We were scrambling up a small waterfall, the water was rushing down the boulders that we were climbing up and I lost my footing. I only fell a couple of metres, if that, and it would have been more if Michael hadn’t of caught me, but the damage was still done.
I hit my right hip and knee and managed to cut my left hand, no real damage was done – other than to my confidence! I sprung back up and carried on, just a bit more weary of the challenges we were facing!
One last jump
We continued our climb until we came across a waterfall, which we then crawled behind in order to jump off of! The adrenaline came flooding back!
We climbed out of the stream to then embark on a 10 minute hike down toward an old, abandoned gunpowder factory which had an array of ledges of differing heights that we could jump off!
We all did the first jump, no problem, there were 2 more to conquer, both being a run and jump to avoid bushes and rocks – I didn’t trust my legs enough to do them, but Michael absolutely smashed them!
Everyone did the jumps 2 or 3 times before we headed on a 15 minute hike back to the car park. The activity was awesome and lasted about 2 and a half hours, after which I was truly exhausted!
Pub grub and a Britstop
The instructor recommend The Old White Horse in the village as somewhere that serves great pub grub, so once we had de-wetsuited, dried off and sorted ourselves out, we grabbed the dog and headed out! It was about a 10 minute walk from the car park and was dog friendly!
I ordered the lamb shank whilst Michael ordered a burger, we also got the dog a pot of ice cream which he loved! When the food came out, our eyes were perhaps a bit bigger than our bellies, but we had certainly worked up an appetite! The food was amazing, a brilliant recommendation, and with full stomachs we headed back to the van to start our journey to The Brigand Inn.
The Brigand Inn, another Britstop, was perfect for us, quiet in terms of Motorhomes which left us with plenty of space to park and be comfortable! We relaxed after the long and in places treacherous drive (shoutout to the Captain for being a bloody good driver!) before taking the pup for another walk to get us all out of our lethargic state.
As we were staying at a Britstop, we went to the pub for dinner, and although we weren’t hungry, we thought we would order starters for mains and the food did not disappoint, Michael ordered Ham Hock Terrine and I couldn’t help but try the Scallops! We had eaten like kings and queens and by 8:30pm again, we were ready for bed!
One final cuddle with the pup, before another early night! Stick around as we have a couple of “rest days” exploring Betws-y-Coed and heading back to Blighty! ✌🏼
