Tuesday 23 August 2011

Day Six - Aberdaron to Tudweiliog, 14 miles.

As I sat eating my lunch on the grass at the best lunch spot in the world, part way round the best coastal day walk in the world, on the best day's weather ever in the world, I realised that all of the long distance walks I've done have had defining moments, and that this was probably it for this one. Eating lunch on a grassy lump by the sea.

I know I said a few days ago that my favourite Lleyn weather was big grey clouds and a strong breeze, well dawn to dusk blue sky runs it a close second. And if there really is a better coast walk than Aberdaron to Whistling Sands I'd like to know about it.

No map was needed as the route hugged the coast all the way. Aberdaron, views of Bardsey Island, Ffynnon Fair (St Mary's Well), Mynydd Mawr, Mynydd Anelog and Porthor (Whistling Sands). A classic and a whopping 786 metres of ascent today. St Mary's Well is a spring of fresh water nestled into a cliff about 10 feet above the sea. I traded all my Ship Hotel tap water for spring water before carrying on.



The end of the pilgrimage - Bardsey Island.

Whistling Sands was a culture shock. I was suddenly in the company of hundreds of semi-naked bodies, and had to join a very long ice cream queue. It was pretty tasty though (the ice cream that is), clotted cream with raspberry ripple.

There were still 5 miles to go after Whistling Sands but the fitness levels are pretty high now and I felt the end much less than on previous days. The pack I barely noticed at all today.

So everything was pretty much perfect except for..... "You can't stop lookin' at me, blah, blah, blah". When am I going to get this song out of my head? Others join it, then they leave, but Cher is still there. Today she was joined by that new one by Example about staying awake, with the line, "Should we chase the rabbit into wonderland?" which is the most blatant drugs reference in a song since "c-c-c-c-c-cocaine" by Queens of the Stone Age. Oh and I started singing 'A little respect' by Erasure for no apparent reason.

I forgot to mention on day three that I began the day utterly convinced that I would meet someone I knew. I have no idea why, but sure enough I bumped into not one, but two sets of people I knew, both from school. The first was the mum of a girl who was in my class last year, she pulled her car up alongside me while I was walking a road section. The second was a girl who was in Taliesin while I was there. She was in the pub in Llanbedrog with her mum, drinking a pint! Oh God where does the time go? Anyway, I set off walking this morning utterly convinced that I was going to see a dolphin. I didn't.

Dead animal of the day - a slug. I'm not sure there's much more mileage in this dead animal business.

The campsite is actually a few miles from Tudweiliog, otherwise I could have gone to the pub to watch United play Spurs. At it was I settled for watching the sun disappear into the sea from my tent.


Grassy lump, sea, blue sky and lunch (in rucksack).

-- Posted from my iPhone

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