Grandma Goes Coastal

Bull Bay to Church Bay to Holyhead July 3+4

Yesterday’s walk was to be 16 miles and today’s 14, but what is supposed to be and what is are not necessarily the same, for, in fact, yesterday’ walk was 20.81 miles and today’s was 18.5. Let’s put it this way, this walk is the most navigationally challenging I have done, except maybe the first Coast to Coast when I knew nada de nada, and now, thanks be to God, I can at least use a GPS. Just as an aside, though, A GPS cannot tell you that yes, you are going in the right direction only you can’t continue in the right direction because there is a wall or a fence or barbed wire or some other impassible obstacle in your way. This is where raw, human intelligence comes in! It helps you determine that, “No, it cannot be this way exactly because the human person cannot continue, this way having stopped abruptly. Example to be supplied shortly.

Anyway, almost 21 miles through difficult terrain is a lot of miles. It was not so much the hillage, although there was some, it was things like lots and lots of tall wet grass (there must be a physics theory that deals with the resistance of tall wet grass and the energy it takes to push through it, and maybe also a variant theory relating to stony beaches and stuff), and loose stones and more tall wet grass.

I was tired by the end of it, I have to say, and at the end of today’s, too, though the distance was slightly more modest. Yesterday was a Pu&Do day, and Eurwyn, the guy, knowing I wasn’t keen on restaurants, but preferred to have a sandwich in the room, stopped at a Super Tesco so that I could pick up a few things. That store was so big, sort of like a super WalMart, that I had to ask someone where the food was. Turns out it was in the middle of the store, but so vast was the place that it was not easy to find what you wanted, and besides my mental faculties were not the keenest at that point. Whilst seeking out egg salad (not found), I did find potato salad, and discovered that it, too, makes a pretty good dressing on those mini romaine lettuces they sell here.

Back to the walk. Every day should have at least one shot of scenery:

And one rock, which, you could say, is a subset of scenery:

This was a place where I could not find my way, not because I was looking for the house that was not, although that could have been a factor:

The aptly named Shale Beach:

The important part of this picture is not the impressive rear end of the cow, it is the slightly blurry walker-guy to the left. (He is the first walker person I have met, only he was going in the other direction.) Walker guy was scared of the cows.

He was especially afraid of this bull, but I told him that anatomic evidence suggested that this was a she animal. Horns can throw one off:

Cow on left is telling walker guy, “Walker guy, I am going to eat you for lunch.” Cow on right does not care:

Cows looking satisfied after lunch:

Anyone walking the length of this beach—it must have been between 1/2-1 mile long— need never take a Pilates class:

Name of this house: New House;

Now, you see this huge area of green, which, when walking through it, you do not know how you are going to get out of it? Because there is either nothing or a wall, even though you are doing it right, You think and you try and wander and you try again and wander some more, and finally slog back to the last “thing” you remember, which, in this case, was a wooden gate, and, yes, there is a little sign telling you to go this way, but, ha, you are supposed to be on the other side of the barbed wire and walking along the estuary instead. You are so filled with joy at finding the estuary that you forgive the “not-error” you made and all the wandering you did and all the time spent trying to figure it out:

The estuary you are supposed to be walking along. But guess what? When you emerge from the length of this estuary, you find yourself in a field that looks JUST LIKE THE ONE ABOVE, only it is not, thank God, the one above, but its neighbour and twin, and it did have egress:

Some ducks near a parking lot:

p.s. I should not be hard on walker guy because later in the day, again cursing a field whose exit could not be located, I was about to head for a a large, high metal gate, which I was planning on scaling had it been locked (that would not have helped, it turns out) when all of a sudden a herd of huge bovines came charging though said gate and were heading straight for me at full gallop. “I am getting out of this field, ” I said, “Even if I have to call a taxi to finish this segment”—and it is a good thing I did not have to because there is no reception on most parts of this island—and I swear, just as I was reaching safety, a creature of gargantuan dimensions was breathing hotly down my neck, All that said, I think the cows are more curious than dangerous, but still!

Moelfre to Bull Bay July 02

The sun shone today! AND it was not overly hot, a good thing, too, because this was a L O N G day: 16.5 miles. Fortunately, the last bit was strikingly beautiful, but maybe that would have been better earlier on when your little toe is not hurting so you could enjoy the drama more better.

Like I said yesterday, this is a ruse:

Hey there Cap’n Jack! (I have no idea what this guy did to earn himself a stature.)

In Wales one can be warned bilingually.

In places like this it is hard to know in which direction to go. Even the walker guy (above) might not be striding so confidently:

But here you do:

A trio of lovelies:

This is a huge, I mean huge cargo ship sitting in a queue—like planes on the tarmac—waiting for high tide so that it can dock at Liverpool:

Shots of rock formations never capture the grandeur of the real thing, pero bueno:

Caim to Moelfre, July 1, 2017

Such a gorgeous day to day! There were some navigation problems, though, for example, I got off the path at the wrong place so missed about a mile of coast line. I would go back to do it tomorrow, but tomorrow’s walk is long enough without adding a mile from the B and B to the “wrong spot” + the extra mile.

So, navigation. You see this photo? You see the little brown post behind the leaves? That is a marker. Then, heretofore, unbeknownst to me, it turns out that little posts with bright yellow caps on top are also markers (I missed one today) along with the regulation circles that have birds on them. But a picture of a walking person + an arrow is not.

Thank God the dogs had not yet been let out for the day:

Beach walking. It was harder than it looks, but on a dry day, it’s not so bad:

But THIS was gorgeous! Four miles of gorgeous! Took off my boots after about ten minutes and went barefoot. You just have to watch our for those razor like shells:

Of course, if you are going to walk barefoot on wet sand, you are going to have to put your socks and boots back on your sandy feet. So what do you do? Why you go into your back pack and fetch that cunning, thin little piece of red and white cotton fabric that you had bought two years prior in a museum in Paris because it was pretty and it was inexpensive even though you had no actual use for it at the time—nor could you think of one—but boy, does it make a good little towel when you need one!

Menai Bridge to past Beaumaris June 30

Today, at the end of the walk, I was met by Car Talk’s chauffeur, PickupandDropoff (from now on to be referred to as Pu&Do) to be transported back to Beaumaris, then, to be returned tomorrow to recommence. This is one of my least favourite arrangements because I like to be in charge of my schedule, pero bueno, it worked out fine, and besides, Eurwyn, planner and driver, is helping me pronounce Welsh, a definite bonus.

A few words about guilt! I was feeling guilty that I had bought a new backpack and new rain gear for this walk, oh, and new boots, but those I had to buy, the resoling of the old ones having turned out to be a total waste of money, but now I am so happy that I made these purchases. The left at home raincoat and pants (from Zpacks) as lightweight as can be, but the raincoat makes the left side of my face itch like crazy. Both coat and pants (very large) make an annoying sound as you walk, besides. Now, the OR Pertex Shiled Plus ensemble fits perfectly and does not make my face itch nor do these garments make an annoying sound when you walk! But I hope I won’t need the pants and jacket quite so regularly because at this very moment, local time 7:15 p.m., it is not raining and the sun was out for a few minutes a little while ago, which reminds me of a story:

Yankel always had bad luck. Nothing ever went well for him. For example, every morning after he put jelly on his bread, he dropped it, and it landed jelly side down. Day after day, the bread fell and landed jelly side down. One morning, Yankel put jelly on his bread, dropped it, only this time it landed jelly side up! He could hardly believe it! He ran to the rabbi and with great excitement shouting, “Rabbi, rabbi, this morning when I dropped my bread on the floor it landed jelly side up. Does this mean my luck is changing?” The rabbi stroked his beard, thought carefully for some time, and finally replied, “No, Yankel, I am afraid it does not. It just means that his morning, you put the jelly on the wrong side of the bread.”

We’ll leave the virtues of the new backpack for a slow news day.

Despite the rain, which you cannot see, I could not resist struggling to take off the gloves and mittens, and get the camera out to capture this bull breakfasting:

But back to the rain….there was walking on the beach, which, in the rain and wind would be fine, or maybe not so fine, except this beach had huge slippery, slimy stones. Before you know it, you are no longer vertical, but uttering expletives from a prone position, but really happy that your iPhone did not shatter. Some of the scenery was quite bucolic. I am guessing there will be more of it as the circuit around Angelesy continues.

In Beaumaris there is a GAOL and an old courthouse, but they are closed on Fridays, which means that today you couldn’t go to court and you couldn’t go to jail! I really sulked about this:

Beaumaris also has a castle—the remnants of a castle—that was never completed due to financial issues: the money ran out and the workers deserted when Edward I turned his attention to Scotland. What there is, though, is intricate and impressive, having been designed by James of Saint George, the most famous designer of castles in all the land. He also designed Conwy Castle (seen) and Harlech (yet to be seen). (I think the statue of James was designed by someone who specialised in religious art.)

Anyway, the castle’s moat is still there for all to see:

And so is an old saw (ha):

The castle walls may not keep out enemies of undetermined origin, but they do offer a home to baby gulls:

Conwy to Llanfairfechan to Anglesey June 28+29

Just have to announce one of my great accomplishments! I can pronounce, Welshly, Llanfairfechan, the name of the town wherein I am staying! (It took a lot of practice!) There are a lot of other place names to learn, so maybe I’ll get the hang of it. Going to web sites that give you the rules is just too tedious; more efficacious is to ask someone, then repeat as many times as necessary.

Leaving the B&B, noticed that some guests had a different style of transportation:

This was the first day of walking in the wilds. It was rainy, cold, foggy, and windy, not good conditions in which to GET LOST, which I did. Up there on the mountain there were stone walls going all over the place, so one wrong move, and you’re kind of done for, especially when the visibility is poor. But between the phone and GyPSy, I got back to where I had gone astray, at which place there was a choice: you could go right or left! (Apparently, I had gone on a diagonal, which was pretty stupid.) The OS map on the phone pointed left; GyPSy pointed right, or the other way around, depending on which way you were facing of course A difficult decision because the graphics on the phone are much clearer, but I thought it wiser to follow the waypoints programmed into the GPS, and, fortunately, it did work out.

Just to complicate matters, there is the Wales Coast Path and the North Wales Coast Path. Sometimes they are the same and sometimes they are not. The color of the little icon that identifies the trail(s) is not consistent, either, AND although there will be arrows de temps en temps, they do not indicate the place to which the arrow is pointing. This is most irregular! Signage on the cheap I call it.

By the way, when I realised that I was off course—tromping through huge clumps of gorse is a good indicator—oh, and another by the way—remember that woman who DIED on the Appalachian Trail last year, only a few feet from the path—I decided that it was important to keep warm, so added the poncho to the other rain gear and used three hoods: wind jacket, rain jacket and poncho. It helped.

Sometimes it is easy to know where NOT to go, for example, when you come to a padlocked gate:

Despite everything, there was some gorgeous scenery. This shot taken during a moment of respite from the rain and before much ascent:

Follow the wall (ha), so long as it is the correct one and you are on the correct side of the correct wall!

The walk ended at a beach side cafe, where I did purchase and consume a delicious raspberry swirl ice cream cone, and the B&B, right close by, is just gorgeous with sea views and comfortable easy chairs form which to watch the wind and rain! Staying in a really nice place on a dreary day, after a unwanted experience is among the best treats ever!

So ferocious was the weather today June 29), that though the impulse was there, no photos were taken. Heading out of Llanfairfechan, the wind, rain, greyness, and temperature were such that I swear it felt as if snow was expected. But onward one goes.

Biggest challenges of the day were cold wet hands….did have gloves and thin “waterproof”mittens, but you have to take them off to use GyPSy and each time, the inner glove gets wetter and wetter, and harder and harder to put it back on. Wore the light boots, today, ’cause I was after speed, and knew there was much pavement and no ascent, but they did not stay dry. Signage was so confusing in spots—they could have just put up a placard reading: go whichever way you like and you will arrive somewhere—that without my navigational tools, carefully and lovingly programmed, I would, at this very moment, be weeping by the roadside, completely at a loss as to which direction to head.

Oh, I forgot! I did take one picture:

The highlight of the day, more than a highlight, really, a thrill, was crossing the Menai Bridge. You can see it for yourself, if you like:

http://www.photosbykev.com/wordpress/2008/06/09/menai-bridge/

Rest Day June 27

In the rain, found my way under two underpasses (Google Maps does not do underpasses), to Llandudno Junction rail station, where boarded the #25 bus to Bodnant Gardens.

The gardens are gorgeous, and, due to the weather and my early arrival time—9:00 a.m. when the gardens open—I had the place, and it is a BIG place pretty much to myself, so you might say it was peaceful!

Who would not like to look like this at 100?

Because of the rain and because it is so bloody annoying to deal with photos on Blogger, I am not sure I chose the best few to elicit oohs and ahhs.

There are streams and waterfalls in many areas of the gardens:

Some areas are just lush:

Sweet little sweat peas

And sturdy deep purply-blue daisy-like flowers:

Flowers in the water, too:

There were towering trees. In fact the tallest Japanese Maple and the tallest Sequoia in the UK are in this very garden. Of course, there are much bigger sequoias in the US. How Trumpian is that? (The tree below is not of either above mentioned species, but I loved the way its branches fell so low.

After the gardens and the bus ride back to Conwy, I visited Conwy Castle. Massive. Massive walls massive spaces, massive towers. In short, it is big, even more Trumpian that the trees, and dates from the time of Edward I, who, to the Welsh, was not kind.

I have no really good shots of the castle, but must include at least a couple or you would not believe that I had been there, ¿verdad?

The view from the gaps in the turrets (or whatever) yield a view quite different from that that old Edward and his men had:

Even a fighting man needs time to think once in a while:

Llandudno to Conwy June 26

A short day, the first walking day that did not begin with rain, pretty, with a climb up and over the BIG Orme, which, honestly, is not very big:

Approaching Conwy, you see its castle from across the estuary:

I did not visit the castle today, so taken up with other sights that time ran out, and besides I decided to buy half a chicken and some other edibles, return to B and B, eat, and “get sorted” for tomorrow’s visit to Bodnant Gardens. How to get there was the sorting part.

There was the merchant’s house dating from the 16th century, and Plas Mawr which dates from I don’t know when. Let us assume photos are from the latter. Anyway, every house must have at least one handsome door:

And where to eat:

And where to sleep:

Poor man’s dinner:

And poor man’s toilet:

Rich man’s dinner:

And rich man’s toilet (the padding on the seat, is, apparently, original:

Ya’ll can write your own caption for this delightful decoration. There were many images of these ladies, who, on close inspection, look pregnant.

This vessel was so impressive! It beats a crockpot, though I don’t understand the bacon part:

Cutting edge of medical practice:

Bur people still died in droves (before their time) of other unpleasant ailments. Note, especially, the last cause listed!

One cannot come to Conwy without visiting the Smallest House in Great Britain. It is SO CUTE!!

I would love to know how many women had to audition for the job of smiling-lady-wearing-period-costume-standing-in-front-of house-to have-picture-taken-hundreds-of-times-a-day:

Littlest house has a little ladder to take you up to the little second floor, which contains a bed, normal size, as the house belonged to a man 6’3″.

Homage to mussels, which looks oddly like Horton:

Prestatyn to Llandudno, June 25

‘Twas the truth, but by and by, the beach showed up.

Lots more walking on asphalt today, but there was a little bit of pretty scenery (not photographed), but that came with some navigational problems ups there in the Little Orme. Tomorrow there should be some doozies up in the Big Orme!

After arriving in Llandudno, again in the rain, it was off to the copper mine

Just walking though the tunnels was fascinating:

This looks like a photo that Alex took in Hawaii or at least it reminds me of one:

Some of the things I learned: large stones, bones, and fire can be used to quite some advantage! It does somewhat boggle the mind, as so many things do, that people could extract ore from rocks by such primitive means—that they even thought to do it. More boggling is that tin, which was mined in Cornwall, somehow got together with copper, mined here, to make bronze. Quite some years ago, someone wrote a dissertation called Copper and Tin. It was very short. I think I have a copy (unread).

Though convinced by some of the curation—like that bellows for the fire were made of leather and had logs for handles—some was whackadoodle. For example, blackberry seeds were found in the tunnels, the take on that being that this suggested ritual sacrifice! What, of a berry? Wouldn’t seeds be more a sign of bats? Then there was a pair of boots. The thought about that was that them there boots were left for the mine spirits….maybe. Aye, and there’s nothing like an old pair of boots when you are a spirit, now, is there!

Anyway, after Effyd’s tour of the mine, it was off to the Bodafon nature centre where there is a large collection of owls. Now, owls in cages would be easily photographed ’cause they just sit on their perches most of the time. But since the cages have lots of protective mesh, the birds are not so easy to photograph except when the mesh has some wide openings, like here, for example:

There were some other animals, too:

I am staying at a much nicer place!

Prestatyn-Colwyn Bay June 24

When the walking is flat, on asphalt, it really lifts the spirits to have the band come out to greet you, especially if that is, say, Ringo on the right:

I would not have noticed this establishment off to the left, had I not heard the most horrendous yowls coming from inside. Hydrotherapy?! (Waterboarding?! God forbid!

Carlos (L) and Fenton (R) have a good thing going:

Playing on the beach is for everyone, only they are not really on the beach:

There is a zoo a mile from Colwyn Bay, so walked the 15 1/2 miles from Prestatyn fast in order to have time to visit. In the reptile house there are heads:

and tails:

A deceptively innocent-looking Meerkat:

Then the camera battery died, so you cannot see the really gorgeous camel, not the scruffy kind you usually see, even if only in pictures, but a sleek one with two fat humps. His way of eating was like this: hind legs straight, kneeling on front legs and head sideways on the ground, as opposed to the way a horse eats, for example. But even though this was a most handsome creature, it sure needed a good dental hygenist!

The dead battery was not the end of the drama for the day. After returning to B&B, little pouch containing $$, ATM card, credit card, and passport copy gone. VERY VERY nice proprietress of B and B drove to the zoo, the main entrance of which was closed, and the other entrance not to be found. A frantic call to emergency number did not yield helpful results. While thinking about having to bother Suzie and searching for USAA’s overseas number, I felt in the pocket where I had looked three times previous, and, lo, the treasured object materialized, like magic. To quote the wise rabbi of Where is Yankela? “Where you left it, there you will find it.” Very embarrassed!

First REAL day, and second day, too. June 22+23, 2017

21.3 miles from Chester brought me to Greenfield Dock—the mileage should have been a little bit less but I made a mistake at THE CLOCK—at which place I did call for a taxi to get to B&B in Prestatyn, so impossible was the bus schedule to decipher and besides, there were hardly any anyway.

What a welcome!

Today it rained and it didn’t rain and it was windy and then it wasn’t, and it was hot and also chilly, so it was possible to try out all the garments and determine whether they were well placed in the backpack. They were. The terrain was flat as a pancake and the first twelve miles or so were like the Farmington Canal’s worst stretches. Very dull, indeed. The signage is ehh. It takes a bit of doing to figure out how best to use the GPS, maps on the phone and stuff, so an easy day with lots of weather changes was tolerable. I will say this, it is much much easier to walk 20+ miles that to run to Liverpool and Manchester chasing after repairs and devices.

Today, being the tomorrow of yesterday, the weather was the same except it never got hot, and the challenges of finding the way persisted, mostly, but by no means entirely, due to my own inabilities. Though the distance was less by two miles, the walking was more difficult because a L O N G stretch was on sand and against a heavy wind.

The Duke of Lancaster:

Maybe this is why the Duke (see just above) might be most profitable at Alderman Dow, as opposed to, say, being rented out for bar/bat mitzvahs:

And, though in a nature preserve, just to stay with the theme of decay (poor birdie):