In praise of Snowdonia, a land of legend and beauty

The region’s myths and landscape have captivated our writer since childhood. Whatever the weather, there’s magic in the air

Almost a decade ago, when I still lived in Wales, my friend Joe was driving me home from the pub well after midnight on Christmas morning. We had been out drinking in Bangor, and he had very kindly offered to take me a couple of valleys over from where he lived to drop me off. We were on the winding bit of road going into Llanberis that we called “the bends” when I looked up at the sky. “Look at the stars,” I said. I had never seen them so clear. Joe pulled over and we just stood there, looking. I’ve rarely seen anything like it.

That Snowdonia has just been awarded international dark sky status does not, after that singular experience, surprise me (though I will admit that when my editor mentioned the award to me, I thought at first she meant dark skies during the daytime).

Continue reading...

from Network Front | The Guardian http://bit.ly/1O4knbc