Heights and hearts for William and Kate

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have spent the day in north Wales in a series of engagements that scaled the heights and tugged the heart strings.

The Duchess of Cambridge makes a new friend on a day out in north Wales

(photo Kensington Royal Instagram)

Kate and William started the day in Caernarfon where they stopped in at Gisda, a charity which which provides help to young homeless people with around 400 people being supported by the organisation every year. William and Kate met some of those being helped by Gisda to hear their stories.

Dyma ychydig o luniau heddiw...here are some photos from today pic.twitter.com/BiHAZOflkT

— Gisda (@Gisdacyf) November 20, 2015

The royal couple also visited an art project established to help young people with mental health problems. The project is run by MIND and William and Kate visited a photographic exhibition put together by young people using art to voice their problems and concerns.

View image | gettyimages.com

William and Kate also took a short trip to Snowdonia where they dropped in at the Towers Residential Outdoor Education Centre to get a better understanding of how physical activity is used to help young people overcome mental health problems and heard how exercises are used to bolster confidence. And then they donned safety gear and tried a spot of abseiling. As royals do.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge try their hand at abseiling at the Mountain Rescue Outdoor Education Centre in North Wales. The Duke became patron of Mountain Rescue England and Wales in 2007, reflecting his desire, in his own words, to 'highlight and celebrate the vital, selfless and courageous work of our mountain rescue organisations'. Photo © Press Association

A photo posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Nov 20, 2015 at 8:36am PST

'This is the aaagh moment,' Kate said as she began her descent down a 36 foot slope. Safe again at the bottom, she then watched her husband show off by trying to climb it again before taking a stumble and setting his wife giggling. William had the last life by recovering and speeding his way to the top.

View image | gettyimages.com

Their final stop was at the Mens Sheds project to hear about work on helping men speak out about mental health problems. The visit, which ended a day focused on mental health issues, gave William and Kate a glimpse of groups set up to allow men to socialise and learn to share their issues.

Meeting men from @MensShedsCymru - who provide a friendly, inclusive environment for activities and socialising pic.twitter.com/G9zZfHE18B

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 20, 2015

Earlier in the autumn, Kensington Palace said that Kate would be focusing on mental health issues as her agenda picked up following the birth of Princess Charlotte. And today's engagements come hot on the heels of visits highlighting difficult issues and the ideas being used to solve them.  And there's little doubt that the presence of William and Kate has helped bring the issues to a far wider audience.