Cregennan Lakes in the Campervan

by Alan Cole · Published Monday, March 13th, 2017 · Updated Friday, May 4th, 2018

With the campervan full of campervan essentials and the weekend looming it was time to try it out overnight. Morgan wanted to sleep in it on the drive but I had other ideas and fancied a night at Cregennan Lakes in the Campervan.

I started Saturday morning early with some work and then fitted the roofracks to the Camper. We spent much of Saturday morning shopping, including collecting a new car for Anna! We then spent some of Saturday afternoon sorting out a final few things in the camper so that we were ready to leave at 4pm.

Cregennan Lakes

Cregennan Lakes are only an hours drive from here. Owned by the National Trust, they are situated on the northern slopes of Cader ldris, some 800 ft. above sea level, overlooking the beautiful Mawddach Estuary. The are only 5 miles from Dolgellau so we stopped there to get a takeaway for dinner and then drove up to the lakes to eat it in the Campervan. The drive there was nice. With the three of us in the front it was easier to have a conversation as well.

Parked up for the Night

The Take Away looked good, pizza for Morgan, burger and chips for Anna and a kebab for me. It was soon devoured once at the lakes though, followed by battenburg cake, cups of coffee and bars of chocolate.

Battenberg

It was fairly wet and drizzly though so we stayed in the van as darkness fell. It gave us a chance to play with some of the gadgets, set up Morgans cab bunk and even use the sink to wash up. If it weren’t for the thermal window screens Morgan would have had quite a room with a view.

Room with a View

Morgan even put up some fairy lights around his bedroom.

Chilling in his bunk

We played a few games, and then got ready for an early night.

Happy Campers

I think we all slept OK as well. It was certainly nice and peaceful up here by the lakes and no one complained of any discomfort in the campervan. I was of course up earlier than the others, although not early for me. The sun had yet to rise from behind Cader Idris yet but the looming hill of Pared Y Cefn-Hir was too much to resist though so I set off up it for a little walk.

It was only a short walk, straight up Pared Y Cefn-Hir and then along the ridge a little. It did give spectacular mountain views though with the rugged mountain landscapes across to Cadair Idris, Cregennan Lakes below me and the view down to the Mawddach Estuary complete with Barmouth and Barmouth Bridge to the north of me. Several small flocks of geese flew along below me coming in to land on the lake as I walked along the ridge. On the way back, the sun just started to poke it’s head above the mass of Cadair Idris and it’s rays lit up Barmouth far below me creating bright reflections on the waters of the Mawddach.

: Barmouth

: Sunrise

: Mountain Scenery

As I descended back towards the campervan I saw Morgan walking across to the lake and standing on a rock to admire the views – in his onesie of course! I shouted out to him and then met up with him. I also grabbed his phone so that we could take some photos of the scenery.

: Morgan

: Camping in the Hills

: Creggenan Lake

: Lake View

Anna was still snoozing in the campervan so we woke her up and had breakfast whilst the rain drizzled outside.

Sleepy-Head

Morgan then insisted on playing more card games so we packed up the beds and got ready to move before playing another round of Sussed. We didn’t really have anything else planned though as this was only supposed to be a quick night away to test out the campervan so we soon headed off back towards home through the mist and murk of North Wales.

Hopefully it’s a taste of things to come and we’ll be off exploring the hills and coasts before too long, playing in the sea, walking up hills, riding trails, exploring the forests, chilling in the sunshine or snuggling away from the rain all with the campervan as our lounge, dining room, kitchen, bedroom and of course transport for the day.