Despite what the nice people at BBC weather think, it is still rain here and it looks like I will be walking in waterproofs again. The good news is that most of my gear is dry, apart from my boots which are still dampish. Still, once they are on I will not feel that.
The day is in two parts with the heavy lifting in the morning as I return to the hills and in the afternoon I have long road walk, with a possibility of turning some of it on to the beach. I have a good pace on I might make elevenses at Fairbourne, failing that it will be a brew up on the hillside. With a fairly grey start to the day I don't think there will be much opportunity for photography. See you in Tal- y-bont! Despite being longer than I expected at fifteen miles and mostly completed under moderate to heavy cloud, this was a good day's walking. There was very little of the rough walking as I was on road or track for most of the walk, although I spent a good part of the morning on the hill. Apart from one or two showers when I was on the hill, the day remained dry, although the waterproofs stayed on to counter the cold winds.
From my campsite at Hendre Hall, where I spent a cosy night in a Yurt, I had a very steep climb out of the village to reach the high ground, but once there, I pretty much retained reposition until dropping down to Fairbourne. My original it was to breakfast here, but as the path skirts the village, swinging round the the promenade and on to seawall, I delayed eating until Barmouth where I had fish and chips at the bottom of the High Street, brewing up my on coffee to the consternation of passers-by. After dropping off the hill there was a long road walk in store, but fortunately the tide was on the wane and, cutting through a caravan park I was able to access the beach and finish walking by the sea. The campsite for the night was just off the beach and right on the coastal path. I had less than fifteen feet to walk this morning and I was back on the path. On a day that ended up fourteen miles long, I walked in persistent, heavy rain. Although I tried to add another layer of protection to me and the rucksack by wearing a poncho, it was blown about so much in the heavy wind that it became a danger when it blew into my face and blocked my vision. The result was that I arrived at my destination soaked through three layers of clothing and the rucksack soaked as well. Fortunately, I was able to change my arrangements at the campsite and instead of camping I am tucked up in a yurt drying out all my gear.
The walking day split neatly in to three. First, I had a few miles of beach walking where the fresh breeze off the sea could be moderately described as bracing. There was a sense of excitement walking by the water's edge watching and listening to the crash of the big breakers. When you are up against the elements, sooner or later there is an element of surrender, a point at which you reach acceptance and beyond that is a wonderful sense of freedom. The second section of the day was a long road walk inland from Tywyn to Bwlch. Starting at sea level, towards the end it started to gain height, ready for the third and final cross-country section over the hillside. Just before Bwlch I passed, given the rurality of the location, an intriguing sign for tea and cake. Thus I found myself sitting in the rain, underneath a sun shade, by a picnic table drinking coffee and eating scones and jam. The warm crisp, shorts scones were a delight and the hot coffee warmed me up nicely. Many thanks to the farmer and his son who prepared it for me, readying me to meet the foe on the moorland. If The third section was a meandering, rolling grassland with sections of track thrown in here and there. The outstanding feature of it and of a number of previous sections was the sheer quantity of sheep shit on the Welsh hillside. I wonder the country does not sink under the weight of it. At first you try to avoid it, tip-toeing in your clumpety boots like a ballerina. The reality is that it is just like being wet. The only one that matters is the last one which you can deftly scrape off on some handy clump of grass. Thus released from worldly concerns you are free to mull over more esoteric matters like where does the wool from the holes in your sock go? Looking out the window where the dominant colour is grey and the dominant feature is water, whatever walking to be done today will be in the rain. The day breaks into two, with the first part completed at or near to sea level. The afternoon sees a return to the hills, with a meandering, rising and falling trail cutting through the valleys above the coast. I am camping tonight and hope the weather will be better by the time I finish.
This was a glorious day's walking with beautiful scenery when it finally appeared, trilling birdsong and burbling Brooks. Oh, but it was tough and because of the many steep and long ascents, appeared very long, when in fact I finished it in good time. After a dodgy start, the weather held up and, apart from one small shower, the sun came out to play.
Leaving Machynllth there is a narrow bridge over the River Dovey on which there is no pavement. I was caught with cars on both sides and had to stand with the rucksack leaning over the parapet, at which point a strong gust of wind blew my hat off my head and into the river. Joanna's favourite hat was last seen heading for the Atlantic. Leave town, cross the bridge, turn left for a few hundred yards and you are faced with a stonker of a climb to breast the range of hills you will be walking through. Running over a mile and rising to almost fourteen hundred metres, in hot sun it was a killer. At the top of the road you leave to begin a cross-country section where the climbing continues on the open hillside before entering a forest for a walk on a forest track of two or three miles. The birdsong on this section was lovely and although hemmed in by the trees and with no view to speak of, after the tough climb the easy-walking, primarily downhill, was la pleasant interlude. Exiting the forest on to a quiet road you pass through the village of Pennal, where the path runs through an estate on which there is the Y Garth health and spa service. I stopped here for an early lunch, knowing there would be nothing else between there and Aberdovey. Leaving the spa village there was another cross-country section before a section of road and track back on the hillside that rose steeply before settling in to a pattern of rise and fall. I was walking above a narrow, green valley and the scenery was breathtaking. Later, when the land opened in front of me the view over the river and estuary was stunning. It was late afternoon and with the sun slightly lower in the sky the light effects over the sea, the river and the huge expanse of exposed sandy was a delight. On the last road section, while I was taking a breather by the roadside, I met Paul from Plymouth and we finished off the last bit of road together. Paul was very pleasant company and after a day on my own it was nice to be taken out of myself. The end when it came was sudden as you cannot see the village of Aberdovey until you actually step in to it. I parted company with Paul and set about to find my accommodation, delighted to find it only two minutes away. It had been a hard day and, on top of yesterday, all I wanted was to be off my feet and horizontal. Within two minutes of booking in, job done! Camped up last night at Glanlerry to avoid a twenty -two/three mile walk today. Weather forecast was not good for today and there were one or two small showers during the night. Just as I was packing up the gear in the tent at 8.00am, it came back again and I had to pack the tent damp.
There was a small river running down the side of the campsite that I was able to follow this morning to take me on to the coast path again. As I set off the heavens opened and I was forced into waterproofs that stayed on for the rest of the day. When it rains there is a risk you go inside yourself and do not pay as much attention as you should. I paid for that by missing a turning and had walked a half mile before I realised. Once back on track I made reasonable progress in the heavy rain, albeit my boots were soon soaked through from the long, thick wet grass. Walking on the edge of Cord Fochno marsh, I did not see another person for about four miles. The wise Welsh were staying at home today. Exiting the marsh at Tre Taliesin, there was a road walk to the hamlet of Tre'r Ddol where I took refuge from the elements in the community cafe, Cwmni Cletwr. The reception was warm, the good was great and the service quick and efficient. They even offered to dry any wet gear or clothing I had. If you are walking in the area, please give them your support. Services like this are few and far between. After leaving the cafe, I set off on a long section across country, walking through numerous forests and woods and wading through long grasslands. Things went well until Caerhedyn where, in the rain, I let my attention wander again and turned left instead of right. It was only when I emerged at Dovey Junction I realised my mistake. Going in to reverse, I had to plod back up the steep hill I had just come down, at least a mile in each direction. Once back at Caerhedyn I found the right road and set off on a long, long uphill road walk, before turning on to another cross-country section, another road / track walk to Wylfa, before dropping down in to Machynlleth. The weather finally relented on the last downhill and I was, at last, able to take off the poncho that covered all the other waterproof gear that I had on. It had had been a long and frustrating day, lengthened by my own stupidity and one in which the camera seldom left the bag. It was with relief that a very tired Vagabond found his accommodation on almost the first row of houses he came to. Very nice, short but very taxing walk today of about seven miles. The Ceredigion Coast Path really does have some lovely and challenging walks. There is a monster climb out of Aberystwyth and half way through you have a climb that does its best to be a reflection of Flower Barrow in Dorset. In between there are a number of smaller gullies, as well as some beautiful coastal scenery. I had an interesting conversation with a man who worked for British Rail and has photographed most of the signal boxes in the UK.
The main purpose of today's walk was to position myself for a long and hilly walk tomorrow when I will be walking up and through the forests of the Dovey Valley. It will be a challenging day, even just from the point of navigation, as it is a torturous route. At least I will not be bored and if I am lost you know where to look. Today is the first day of the second half of my trip on the Wales Coast Path. My trusty walking companion has returned to base to go back to work while I, happily retired walk on.
There are twenty one stages to this next section, in addition to the odd day off. Today is a relatively short walk to position myself for a longer and much tougher section tomorrow and the day after going up and down a major waterway and gully. Over the next week I will make my way up to Porth Madoc, before heading along and on to the isolated and sparsely populated Llyn Peninsula. Making my way round and up the peninsula, I will be bypassing Anglesey to head for North Wales and a walk up the Dee Estuary and river to cross back over in to England via the Hawarden Bridge. And there the journey ends. I hope for good wethar, particularly on the Lleyn Peninsula, but the long range forecast is not good. 'Ca Sera'. |
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March 2024
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