Bit of luck last night after a slightly unfortunate day. Initially, we were to be in separate male/female dorms. At the last minute, the family in the small unit moved out and we ended up with a room to ourselves. Not that we wanted to be anti-social, but it is nice to have privacy.
We had a varied and interesting walk today but, of course, it was hard going at times in lots of places. Walking to the Tydhu Vale, we initially crossed fallow fields with heavy growth and thick shrub growth to return to the coast path. With heavy dew on the grass it was not long before the boots were wet. At one point we passed through the courtyard of a farm and sought to consult the farmer about our thoroughfare. He apologised for his slurred speech, noting he had fractured his skull a couple of weeks ago, resulting in a bleed on the brain. We forget how dangerous farming can be and, given he was in his work overalls, his work didn't stop because he was ill. We had to skirt a military area just before Aberporth where we had a steep downhill to the beach. It was a nice, sunny morning and there were lots of people on the wee beach. We found lots of little cafes, but no food stores for supplies.
Rounding a couple of streets, we followed a concrete path to Tresgaith, a caravan / static kind of place rather than a village. Climbing lots of stairs to the top of the camp (where there is apparently a waterfall), through a wooded area with a steep hill and then another very steep gully with steps and a wee private beach at the bottom. Entering a very pretty wooded gully, we were soon sitting in the National Trust's The Plwmp Tart eating Pistacio & Rosewater cake and plum and almond tart. What? There has to be some benefits to this hiking lark.
From the Plwmp Tart there was an up and a down to Llancrannog, where we had our photo taken beside St Crannog. Between them, Cornwall and Wales must have cornered the market in Saints. We spent some time chatting to an older couple who were also walking the path, before dropping down in to the busy seaside town. There were lots of people but we stayed long enough to resupply. Leaving the village to continue round the headland overlooking Ynys Lochtyne, passing the now closed Urdd ski centre. Passing through fields of sheep, we returned to the cliff, very steep in places and constantly rolling up and down. Fortunately, it was not as narrow as it first appeared or we would have had trouble as the weather changed, with the wind blowing from landward. Luckily, we were shielded from the worst of it until we started our descent.
The end came after a descent down a craggy, wooded hillside and in to the Tydu Vale. The rain started just as we arrived but we pitched without the gear becoming too wet. The high wind and heavy rain continued for most of the night but we were tired enough not to care. It had been a good day's walking and I was fast coming to the conclusion that the Ceridigion Path is vastly under-rated. It offers some very beautiful scenery and has a wildness to it that some of the better known paths have lost as they have been sanitised. Here you walk on the sea side of the fences and damn the consequences.
We had a varied and interesting walk today but, of course, it was hard going at times in lots of places. Walking to the Tydhu Vale, we initially crossed fallow fields with heavy growth and thick shrub growth to return to the coast path. With heavy dew on the grass it was not long before the boots were wet. At one point we passed through the courtyard of a farm and sought to consult the farmer about our thoroughfare. He apologised for his slurred speech, noting he had fractured his skull a couple of weeks ago, resulting in a bleed on the brain. We forget how dangerous farming can be and, given he was in his work overalls, his work didn't stop because he was ill. We had to skirt a military area just before Aberporth where we had a steep downhill to the beach. It was a nice, sunny morning and there were lots of people on the wee beach. We found lots of little cafes, but no food stores for supplies.
Rounding a couple of streets, we followed a concrete path to Tresgaith, a caravan / static kind of place rather than a village. Climbing lots of stairs to the top of the camp (where there is apparently a waterfall), through a wooded area with a steep hill and then another very steep gully with steps and a wee private beach at the bottom. Entering a very pretty wooded gully, we were soon sitting in the National Trust's The Plwmp Tart eating Pistacio & Rosewater cake and plum and almond tart. What? There has to be some benefits to this hiking lark.
From the Plwmp Tart there was an up and a down to Llancrannog, where we had our photo taken beside St Crannog. Between them, Cornwall and Wales must have cornered the market in Saints. We spent some time chatting to an older couple who were also walking the path, before dropping down in to the busy seaside town. There were lots of people but we stayed long enough to resupply. Leaving the village to continue round the headland overlooking Ynys Lochtyne, passing the now closed Urdd ski centre. Passing through fields of sheep, we returned to the cliff, very steep in places and constantly rolling up and down. Fortunately, it was not as narrow as it first appeared or we would have had trouble as the weather changed, with the wind blowing from landward. Luckily, we were shielded from the worst of it until we started our descent.
The end came after a descent down a craggy, wooded hillside and in to the Tydu Vale. The rain started just as we arrived but we pitched without the gear becoming too wet. The high wind and heavy rain continued for most of the night but we were tired enough not to care. It had been a good day's walking and I was fast coming to the conclusion that the Ceridigion Path is vastly under-rated. It offers some very beautiful scenery and has a wildness to it that some of the better known paths have lost as they have been sanitised. Here you walk on the sea side of the fences and damn the consequences.