Last weekend I celebrated my friend Rachel’s Hen Do in beautiful Snowdonia. I took Friday off work, hopped in a car with my best friend and we traveled up to North Wales to a little cottage we had rented for the weekend. I’ve known Rachel since I was eleven and we’re part of the same friendship group who have known each other since our secondary school days. It’s kind of crazy to think that whenever we all get together, we’re reminiscing over stories that span 20 years.
My friend Chrissy and I are both bridesmaids and we were tasked with organising the hen party. On the first day, we arrived earlier than the bride-to-be so that we could decorate, make sure the fridge was well-stocked (all the carbs) and plan in some fun activities. Rachel leads a pretty busy life as a doctor so a chilled out hen-do was exactly she wanted and it was the perfect opportunity for everyone to hang out, eat pizza and enjoy the weekend.
I loved organising all the decorations, the majority of them I purchased from Amazon with a few other items from Etsy and Paperchase or were things that I already owned. These are the mini milk bottles and this is the donut holder. The Instax film which was all strung up, included pics of the bride with her friends and it was a cute little momento, that we packed away for her at the end of the weekend.
The old slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Snowdonia was our home for the weekend. We were super lucky that our cottage was just a stones throw from Zip World where all kinds of activities were on offer including zip-lining and unique indoor adventures in the abandoned slate caverns. We opted for Bounce Below which consists of giant trampolines suspended inside a huge subterranean cave. The nets are on multiple levels, connected via stairs and slides – it’s pretty crazy and I believe it’s the only one that exists in the world. I’m not very good with heights and while I was a little unsure when I first stepped on to the nets, I soon got used to it. It was such a laugh and actually quite the work out, if you’re ever in Snowdonia, I’d call in and give it a go!
The rest of the afternoon involved zip-lining for those brave enough to have a go on Europe’s longest zip zone, chilling out back at the cottage or exploring the local area. I wasn’t quite brave enough to go zip-lining and opted to wander around and explore the hills just beyond our cottage. It was fun to discover some of the ruins that are dotted across the landscape, remnants from the town’s old mining days.
The rest of the evening involved a meal in the local town at the The Grapes Hotel followed by a pyjama party back at the cottage. Of course, no hen party is complete without a few hen party games including the classic Mr & Mrs quiz.
We had a lovely time celebrating Rachel’s Hen Do in Snowdonia and it was over far too quickly. Over the weekend, I’d made a decision to stay away from social media over the weekend and it was the perfect break, spent with some pretty awesome company. Wales is such a beautiful part of the world and I’m looking forward to heading to South Wales next month for the wedding. These posts from here and here are from visits to Rachel in Swansea a few years ago and I’m really excited to be back in the area to see Rachel and Ben tie the knot!
