A small group gathered at Bishops Scale over the weekend of 1st and 2nd December to chop wood from a tree that had been felled a couple of weeks previous.  As a result of their efforts the wood shed is now almost full with wood which will need to be left to dry and therefore cannot be burnt until next winter.

Stocks of burnable wood are low at Bishop’s Scale at the moment and efforts are being made to address this.

The weekend of the 8th and 9th December saw the fourteenth and final Christmas at Tyn Twr meet to be organised by John and Ann McGonagle along with help from their faithful assistants Pete and Hilary McGonagle.

For some of us the weekend started early, arriving at the hut on thursday evening to give time for the beer to settle and the opportunity for an extra days walking.  On the Friday Chris and Tash had a very windy shuffle over some the Carneddau, whilst the Makins and Poolers opted for the lower level walk around the forest of Betws Y Coed and Pete and Hilary went over the water to Anglesey.  Paul Charnock opted to stay at the hut and chop wood whilst John and Ann went to Tesco’s to do the big shop.

Most of the other attendees arrived on Friday afternoon in time to sample the barrel of Rudolfs Best Bitter – it had settled nicely and it went down very well.

All those not involved in food preparation were ushered out of the hut at 09:30 on Saturday morning and following a brief photo shoot we jumped into cars and headed off to Beddgelert.  The planned route for the days walk, being one of John’s favourites, involved walking along the swollen Afon Glaslyn, up Cwm Bychan, past the ancient copper workings, down to Llyn Dinas and back to Beddgelert.  It rained for most of the time, but the spirits of most remained high and we were fortunate that the longest dry spell coincided with the butty stop at Llyn Dinas.

An hour or so was spent rehydrating in the Tanronnen Inn before returning to the hut where Ann and Hilary were well on with the preparations for the evening meal.  Pre dinner drinks were enjoyed in The George (Y Sior) at Rachub and everyone returned by seven to sit down to a wonderful Christmas dinner.

Many thanks to John, Ann, Pete and Hilary organising the weekend and particularly to Ann and Hilary for preparing the dinner.  The meet will be held next year although the format will change slightly – always a popular meet  – booking essential.