Nick L.

Hi All,

I’m a Yorkshire man, I don’t live in Cymru but I do spend a lot of time in the north, recreationally. I’ve always had a fascination with the language and wanted to learn more, but the real catalyst for me came a few months back when I went mountain biking from Barmouth up into the National Park.

I remember cycling up a very steep hill in the baking hot sun and meeting a smiling, happy farmer at the top who shouted “Creoso!” to me. I had no clue what that meant so I waved, said hello, and continued on my merry way. For some reason, the word stuck in my head and when I got home I googled what it meant and immediately felt a huge sense of regret knowing that the farmer was saying “Welcome”, how rude was I?

So there you go, a bit of an oddball story I know but that encounter led me to SSiW and here I am, 7 challenges in and I’ve never been as confused in my life, but I’m absolutely loving it. Mission number 1 is to learn enough to go back and thank the farmer properly for being so kind and also the reason for me learning Cymraeg. From there I would love it if I can learn enough to have real conversations with Welsh speakers when I’m out on my various adventures!