The weather forecast for today was for little to no chance of rain, with wind gusts up to 60 kph, but we woke to a very grey and misty day. Nevertheless we set off on our shortest walk so far, but expecting a fair bit of elevation gain.
Being prepared, knowing that there is nowhere to get even a drink of water enroute to Cemaes, we were carrying a packed lunch from the hotel, plus nuts, chips, fruit and lots of water.
The path immediately took us up onto the cliff tops and we went up and down all day, following the coastline, with some fairly large drop offs from the path to the ocean below. The rain also started immediately, and we had a light misty rain for several kilometres, driven by a most ferocious wind. The rain eventually stopped but the wind was relentless, which made walking very difficult and at some points, scary.
 |
| A Long Way Down |
After about 2 km we came down to Porth Wen (not the one in Doc Martin) and its abandoned brickworks. It was abandoned in the 1940s after the owners could not get insurance due to the large swells at the quay, which made loading ships difficult.
 |
| Porth Wen Brickworks |
Back up on the cliffs again, onward we slogged into the merciless wind. At a kissing gate above Porth Cynfor (Hells’s Mouth) Marlene had to hold onto the fence to avoid being blown over.
 |
| Marlene At A Kissing Gate |
Today was of course also the day where our instructions had a glitch. We climbed up the hill from Hell’s Mouth and our instructions indicated that the official route takes you left, but if you go right, you will come to the most northerly point in Wales (but don’t try it in bad weather). The waymarker however showed the official trail going right, so off we went, eventually coming to a lookout at this most northerly point. Here it took all of our efforts just to stay standing, and after the obligatory photo, we decided not to take the zigzag path down the cliff, so returned to the waymarker and took the alternate route down.
 |
| Jim at Wales’ Most Northerly Point |
We got a little respite at Porth Llanlleiana, a small bay with ruins of some long gone industry, where we ate some nuts at a picnic table, in relative calm, behind a stone wall. A seal sat in the bay and watched us for a while, but eventually he swam away, probably looking for some relief from the wind.
The wind showed no sign of letting up as we climbed up the hill from our rest spot (I am not going to try spelling it again), and we continued along the cliff tops until eventually coming to Llanbadrig (the church of St. Patrick). Legend has it that St. Patrick (of Irish snakes fame) was shipwrecked on nearby Middle Mouse Island, and when he was rescued, built this church in thanks. We were glad that he did, as we took the opportunity to eat our lunch in the lea of a church wall.
 |
| Looking Back Down The Trail |
From here we had a relatively easy walk into Cemaes, another little fishing village, and our home for the next 3 nights.
 |
| Cemaes |
When we arrived at the guest house there was nobody home, but one of the other guests came along, and we shared stories of travelling until out host arrived home with the groceries.
We only walked 12.25 km, with 1720 ft. of elevation gain, which would not have been a big challenge, but with the wind we were both exhausted, and ready for a hot shower.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, and on Saturday we do the longest section of our walk, but given that tomorrow is supposed to be calm and Saturday as windy as today, we just might switch the two days around.
Tonight will likely be a quick dinner at The Stag here in Cemaes and an early night.
No comments:
Post a Comment