We had woken up to rain and a weather forecast of heavy rain and possible thunder all day. The 9 of us sat in the large kitchen of the cottage drawing up a plan for the day and agreed that a visit to some waterfalls and dinner in a pub would be an acceptable rainy day option.
We set off in 2 cars to drive for an hour or so to the Rhaeadr Nantcol waterfalls as suggested by Leigh. Entrance to the waterfalls was free and it was just £4 to park the car at the Nantcol campsite car park for the day.
We were delighted that as we were driving north through Snowdonia National Park towards the waterfalls the weather had improved massively and even the sun was shining!
We had to enter the falls via the Nantcol campsite and found there were a couple of options. We chose to follow the path next to the river which was uphill, uneven and steep in places but manageable for most people.
Part of the River Cwmnantcol the waterfalls are nestled in the Rhinog mountain range. The waterfalls were picturesque and as we climbed higher the surrounding scenery was breathtaking.
As we had followed the path upwards we had passed almost one continuous waterfall as the river flowed downhill next to us.
The best part of the waterfall was at the top where the crystal water cascaded over the rocks and glistened in the sun.
We were able to climb across the rocks at the top of the waterfall which enabled me to take this photograph. This probably isn’t possible after heavy rain!
Despite the lovely sunshine, dark clouds were threatening a distant downpour but thankfully it stayed distant!
We continued following the path to the highest point before it begun to circle back through the woods and back through the campsite to the cars.
We stopped for refreshments in the nearby Victoria Inn where I tried ‘Black Dragon’, an award winning Welsh cider. The friendly bar person checked with me that I wasn’t driving as it was 6.5% proof and over 3 units a bottle! Thankfully Matt was driving today.
The pub was really pleasant and we sat in the large garden terrace under a wooden trellis canopy.
From our refreshment break in the pub we drove for about 3 miles to Harlech Beach and parked there in the beach car park.
From the car park we had to walk for a few minutes along the sandy path to the beach.
Harlech Beach is a huge sandy and deserted beach which is home to leatherback turtles during the summer who go there to feed on jellyfish.
Its worth a clamber up into the impressive sand dunes at Harlech for fabulous views of the beach.
As well as the beach, from the sand dunes you also get stunning views of Snowdonia National Park and its rugged mountains.
We ended our lovely day sitting outside in the sunshine on the terrace of the Ty Mawr Hotel where we enjoyed a tasty meal.
Summary
What a wonderful day! The weather, waterfalls and beach were amazing and all far exceeded our expectations. The two pubs we visited were also fab and we would definitely recommend a visit to either for anyone in the area.
frombluetogreen.com 
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