“My sister models as her hobby - How did I end up doing this?!”
Not the words you expected to hear on a girly weekend to Wales, but Avneen had a fair point. 10 minutes into the upwards climb to our ‘cute’ bunkhouse, I had wondered how I’d ended up there myself. A handful of torches between 15 girls to make the slog up the mountain, we arrived to our bunkhouse before realising there was no electricity, no sockets, not even one match with which to light a candle! While the bottles were opened, Fiona marched around with gas cannisters, and soon the lights were on, the fire was lit, and the Camembert was on the stove to start off the wine and cheese night to a gooey success.
No girly sleep-in time was set for the next morning so at 7:30 the bacon rounds begun while texts from our resident rainchaser came through announcing plans for the Llugwy were scrapey at best and to head for the Lower Tryweryn. After three attempts at going in different directions, we were eventually heading the right direction and were on the river only a mere five hours after waking up! With Kim leading the first group ahead, Ailsa had her first go at leading the second, and we proved girls trip to be no less carnagey than any other fresher trip.
Back on the river, it flattened off after a cheeky portage of a particularly gnarly Grade 2 section, and despite the swims, the sound of “Would you like to build a snowman?” continued on in good spirits. Sarah demonstrated particularly well why trees are out to stab you in the back when one hugged her into a wet submissal, and made me roll after a particularly girly Rambo attempt to dislodge the branch, and Avneen and Charlie’s pile-onto a rock was a particularly good display of limbs flying everyway! A quick discovery of the joys of the portage leat (A personal highlight of my trip that proved more difficult than the actual rapids after losing my paddles, wedged between the narrow bank) and we had made it past Bala Mill Falls- which definitely had no tree stuck in it as Aaron and co. demonstrated when he arrived to the cheer of approval from freshers.
A quick collection of the van and some lost freshers from the side of the road, and we regrouped at the get off, where several girls were now sporting a variety of hats from the walking guidebook himself, Andy. After several hurried pardons, Kim and myself legged it for the comfort of ready-cooked food, alcohol and electricity of Plas y Brenin while the remaining girls packed the van and headed back to the bunkhouse for chocolate and toasted marshmallows. After touching the hands of Benny Marr himself, Kim was swapped out in favour of Ruth and at 1am, the trek into the wilderness was made again for a quick nap before the next day’s paddle.
The llugwy welcomed us- wet, cold and windy. Spirits were still high and after attempting to bargain with the WWSR students to practice their lining below Forestry Falls, we broke out of our eddy into the flow.
And straight into the first river-wide tree, whoops!
A slow start had the minibus still in view after an hour, but the pace quickened considerably once everyone had found their river legs and lost their nerves! With Fiona and Schneids leading the day it passed smoothly on until the falls, where Maeve learned what it meant to be backlooped, freshers tried their first grade 3, and even older members were taken by surprise by the cheeky rock in the middle of the drop. Once everyone had had their fun, some even enjoying it a second time, everyone piled on down to the get-off, where Charlie proved girls trip could infact be a nice time when she’d spent the day in the cafe and sight-seeing the local Grade 5s!
A particularly muddy pack-up saw the girls back on the road to Liverpool, although considerably quieter than on the way…...
Until next time- Do you want to build a snowman?
