I keep a list, I suppose it’s a bucket list of sorts

I knew that two things on the list could be ticked off together if the right opportunity came along – Surfing the famous Severn Bore and flying over Snowdonia.

When Soph (my girlfriend) and I saw this opportunity we hit the road early.

The Severn bore is a tidal bore on the River Severn in England. A natural spectacle that can produce a 7ft wave and ride times of over an hour. Sadly, on this particular day we arrived to find it was tiny and pretty much a waste of time. On the bright side—after getting covered in mud and feeling a bit crap, we managed to get a free hot shower at the local pub and after breakfast we were on the road again.

…Next stop Snowdonia national park!

When we arrived the wind was actually really strong so no chance of flying that night, but a quick swim and scout around was a perfect end to the day. After a good nights sleep in the car I took off from the side of the road and in no time I was above the low lying cloud and then I popped through the inversion…I was then on a level with the summit of snowdon, more than 3000 ft high.

I didn’t actually know which peak it was but as I climbed up the east side I could then see the train line and the station on the top—breathtaking views, super smooth and surprisingly warm.

I had a slight concern that the cloud might fill the valley I took off from making my return tricky! But actually, the part of Wales I had come to explore remained brilliantly clear—thanks Snowdonia.

You were on my bucket list, or was I on yours? Either way, I’d flown over the peak which looked truly incredible so it was now time to see it from a different perspective—it was time to run up it with Soph. 

We chose the Watkin Path (named after the railway owner Edward Watkin) as it appeared to be the path less traveled—maybe because it’s more demanding than the others. It took us 1 hour and 35 minutes to get to the top where we were greeted by the most amazing views. After a quick bite to eat at the cafe we ran and jumped our way back down to the icy cold water falls at the bottom, where we got naked and cooled off …Seemed like the right thing to do!

— Kester Haynes