We had planned to go camping in Wales, but the snow and fog that was forecast made it a much less appealing proposal than when we first discussed our Bank Holiday plans. Despite having bought all manner of wet-weather gear - waterproof hiking shoes, trousers, tops and hats - we decided to ditch our camping plans and stay over at J's parents' farmhouse instead.
Walking
So instead of climbing Snowdon, we walked around:
- the grounds of the farm, near Torrington, on Day 1
- the historic town of Clovelly - where there are no cars and people move goods using wooden sleds, on Day 2 - after literally chilling out on the windy beach at Westward Ho
- Tarr Steps in Exmoor National Park on Day 3.
We didn't encounter much rain during the day as it fell mainly at night. The trails we took were muddy though not bog-like. The girls, mistrustful of their waterproofs, took great care to tread lightly and to detour around the wetter areas. Where such tactics were unfeasible, they took to hopping over those problematic puddles.
This prompted to J to exclaim, "All the gear, no idea!"
Other activities
Pub lunches and cream teas accompanied all the walking, and in the evening, we were treated to one another's culinary delights. B and I managed to escape without having to cook a dish, and were thus saved from embarrassment.
Before bed we played round after round of Cranium and Articulate in a mini 'battle of the sexes'. At times the levels of testosterone - as well as other hormones - got dangerously high but these were somehow defused by interminable bouts of inexplicable giggling. In the end, there was no overall winner, because the guys were lenient with the enforcement of rules.
Better than freezing
It was a lovely Easter weekend. We got to exercise our legs, brains and taste buds, with lots of laughs in between. Much better than freezing our bums off in rickety tents.
