A very grey and rainy morning at 10am saw me leaving home for my Easter break in North Wales at a camp site I'd never been to before. I'd originally wanted to go to Station Camp Site at Carrog where I stayed last Easter but there were no hook-up pitches available when I phoned to book; I wanted to stay in roughly the same area though, and an internet search had come up with this one - Felin Uchaf. Although it seemed to be almost in the middle of nowhere it was only about four miles from Carrog and just two miles from the village of Corwen with it's shops and cafes; the lovely lady I spoke to on the phone said there was a hook-up pitch available so that would do for me.
As my pitch wouldn't be available until noon there was no point setting out too early, hence the later-than-usual start. With not much traffic on the roads the driving was easy, though the grey skies and rain continued for most of my journey - and so did Poppie's voice. Apart from the day I brought her home last October this was her first long trip in my van and she certainly let me know; whinge, whinge, whinge, squeak, squeak, whinge - it carried on for well over an hour before she finally settled down. Approaching Llangollen, and about twelve miles from my final destination, the rain stopped and faint bits of blue sky started appearing between the clouds so I kept my fingers crossed that this was the sign of a good weekend to come.
At the far side of Corwen I took a left turn off the A5 and another two miles brought me to the tiny village of Cynwyd; a second left turn by the local shop took me along a single track road heading up into the Berwyn mountains and about a quarter of a mile further on I came to the farm track leading to the site - it had taken exactly two hours to get there. Through a gate at the far end of the site was a small wooden cabin which acted as reception, and booking in with the very friendly site owner, Gwyn, I was given pitch no. 1 nearest the gate. Once I'd decided which way round I was going to put the tent I got started on building and sorting out my home for the next few days, then with that done I was able to take stock of my surroundings.
The site itself had decent-sized pitches on either side of the access track leading from the entrance, and across the far side was a steep bank leading up to the single track road; down below the site on the other side was a small river and I'd been told that there was a waterfall not far away - that was something I could seek out during the next few days. The whole place was surrounded by trees, and other than the voices of a few other campers I could hear nothing but birdsong and the sound of the river - I was going to like this little place.
The rest of the day was spent chatting to my camping neighbours and relaxing with a book, then as the evening light started to fade I took Sophie and Poppie for a walk through the site and along the track to the entrance and back; it was much earlier than I would usually walk them but with no lights on the site I wanted to be back in the tent before it went completely dark. With no tv to watch - there was no signal without having a satellite dish - I spent some more time with my book then retreated to my bed for an early night, with fingers crossed for some good photography weather the following day.