When we started out our mission to serve those in poverty we wanted to do it as a family. Involve the children.
We thought around 10 is a good age to meet others and gain a broader sense of the world and its people. In the past I’ve taken Caleb (in 2016) and Joshua (in 2018) to Kosovo.
It’s Reuben turn. Not quite 10, but in Year 5.Due to issues of Brexit uncertainty we decided to not go to Kosovo yet and maybe take some time out together. When looking at options (costs and opportunities), we thought: rooooooaaad trrrriiiippp! Let’s use the Caravelle to the max and sleep in it and head out somewhere cool for a few days. We needed up thinking: “Let’s do Snowden!” (Not “Mount Snowdon”, apparently that’s the first thing not to say)
So here’s our trip in pics:
1. Stopping at a waterfall in Wales (Reuben wanted to capture it)
2. The sheer view heading into Snowdon National Park against an awesome sunset.
3. Then trouble struck (the battery light went on and the car stopped and we broke down by the side of the Road (just after the photo above). Oh and we had one bar of phone signal and due to the beautiful sunset meant the light was going.
4. Just in case you want to see a man, in fading light, with his broken down car on the A5 (note the sun has gone)
5. After a lovely Policeman stopped and stuck with us whilst waiting for the roadside recovery. Kev, the policeman even let us stay in his car when it started to get cold and let Reuben put on the siren (Reuben later said “why would he do that? That’s really kind of him.”. We ended up being towed to a lake where we pulled up beside and spent the night. The RAC were going to being called in the morning, when the light was better.
6. Not a bad place to breakdown. Though we had no signal now and Angie had to make the calls for us (agreed the night before when we did have the one bar of signal)
7. Found some signal (one bar) on this rock.
8. The RAC man said he can’t fix it the timing has gone (usually indicates something more serious than just the alternator belt). His question, where do you want it towed to? We went back to TW. I’d given up. Let’s go home. Reuben however was in tears. We’d already wasted time and energy being here. How do I help him understand: we can’t go on.
9. As we waited a text came through (don’t know how as we didn’t have signal) to say your insurance entitles you to 3 day complimentary car as onward travel. I was spent. Just wanted to go home. When I looked at the broken boy beside me and told him about this he said we can’t stop here.
10. We managed to get a courtesy car (it needed to be delivered to a postal address... unfortunately lay-bys don’t have postal addresses!) Angie found us a youth hostel where the team said we can stay and use the postal address to receive the car. We were dropped off by the towing company and then decided to do climb after receiving our new car.
11. Stunning!
12. The views
13. We thought we’d go even further up.
14. No stopping now.
15. Still ascending.
16. Reuben was stoked to find snow.
17. We had each other. Spirits still high!
18. More Snow…
19... and some!
20. He was shattered and had to rest.
21. “Stop taking photos, Papa”
22. Day 3 after a night at the Youth Hostel. Starting the day with a porridge.
23. The Llanberis path up Snowdon
24. The halfway station. We were hoping to get a train down. Feeling a bit tired now.
25. This was approaching the hardest part of the walk up (after another hard bit). Reuben was fairly broken.
26. Made it. But oh so shattered!
27. Together (at the top)
28. Resting on the descent and admiring the views
29. Train station (but no trains)... we had to walk down. Even lost my phone and ran back up (around 500 m) to find it placed by the side. Someone said they saw it placed there. Grateful!
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