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"My brother Gwilym, who was then about sixteen, had been camping at school, and Father, who was very keen on outdoor life because he thought it was healthy, decided that we should all try it. Mother hated the idea, and I don't think the rest of us - apart from Gwilym - were very enthusiastic. We were at Criccieth at the time, so there were plenty of places not far way where we could go. Father chose Cwm Ystradllyn, a rather wild area on a plateau between Moel Hebog and the Tremadog Rocks. It was only five or six miles from home, but it could have been several hundred miles away. Tents were pitched near the lake, and we carted a vast amount of food and equipment with us, including an oil stove. Since Father didn't really believe in roughing things too much we also took along a maid with us! That horrified Gwilym. 'This isn't camping,' he said.
"Unfortunately we didn't have a very good weather, and I can't say we really enjoyed the experience. I think we had two nights there, and that was quite enough for us all. Father told us, 'You are an unsporting crowd!' and drove us home. He liked us to do things together as a family, and I think he visualised spending a few days away from everything in an idyllic setting, with us all going out on the lake by boat, fishing and picnicking. As it was, I think we all got rather bad-tempered, and the whole thing was not an experiment we wanted to repeat." (Lady Olwen Carey Evans, Lloyd George was my father. (1985), 46-7)
© National Library of Wales
Unidentified photographer, "Our Tent"
(PG2353 Llyfr Ffoto LLGC : NLW Photograph Album 1013, t.24)
© National Library of Wales
Unidentified photographer, "Our Kitchen"
(PG2353 Llyfr Ffoto LLGC : NLW Photograph Album 1013, t.24)
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