Walk 123

Pestatyn to Sealand 24miles

A cold frosty but cloudless day greeted me on my final walk in Wales, I can't quite believe I have completed a whole country on my walk .....though I should have known it would happen eventually!!!

 

As I strolled towards the next main town of Mostyn I tried to calculate the amount of days I have spent walking the Welsh coast, and that number eventually came to 34, I thought not bad for a man over 50!!! Just after Mostyn the path moves away from the road I had been walking along and starts to hug the bank of the River Dee. I then came across the highlight of all my walking weekend , the wreck of the Duke of Lancaster.  Words cannot express what an amazing site this ship is as you walk towards it, its just incredible!!!!!!! Here is a link to information about this ship. http://www.dukeoflancaster.net/index.html.

I had to walk back inland for a while taking in Baglit and then Flint. At Flint there are remains of a castle, which is free to roam around and makes a change from the usual £5.90 you have to pay to look at castle remains. From Flint I picked up the cycle path to Connah's Quay and then across the Hawarden bridge finally arriving at the Wales/England border where I let out a loud Whoooooo as I crossed into England

Walk 122

Llandudno Sea Front

Llandudno to Prestatyn 20miles

Prestatyn Beach

A damp start to the day as I walked along the front at Llandudno towards Little Orme, I dived into a bus shelter to miss the worst of the rain and succeeded in doing so! Little Orme was to be the last climb of my walk around the Welsh mainland coast and it was a difficult one as well, not so much the climb but due to the slippy paths the decent into Rhos on Sea was a little hairy to say the least! I took a pic from the top looking towards Rhos on Seas. Just after Rhos the path once again runs next to the busy A55 this takes you through to Colwyn Bay where I managed for a while to walk along the beach and in the process under the pier which is now derelict, the signs said to walk around the pier as it was not safe but whats life without a bit of danger!!

Rhos on Sea

Colwyn Bay Pier

The path stays with the A55 until just after Llanddulas where at last it heads inland, it was here where I jumped on the beach and walked the next 3 miles all the way to Rhyl. Now Rhyl is another town I haven't visited in 40 years and once again I was very sad to see how the town had become so run down so I walked quickly along the front and onto Pestatyn which I must say was surprisingly nice!

The Albion Hotel, Bangor

What do you mean "the door doesn't fit"

Trenchfoot going to the loo

Shower Anyone!!!!!!

I had been let down at the last moment by my original choice of accommodation which is why I ended up in this dump.  Firstly its a pub not a hotel, secondly they have a licence to play music until 1am and thirdly the room was a disgrace. The owner apologised for the leak in the bathroom but said at the time that  " he couldn't find where the water was coming from!" well I'm not a plumber but I could tell where the leak was located!!  I had to wear my walking shoes to go to the toilet the carpet was so wet (and getting wetter by the minute) the shower was just disgusting I wouldn't wash my dog in it let alone myself.  So here are a few pics....enjoy.

Walk 121

Bangor to Llandudno 24.5 miles

After a night to forget in the worst accommodation so far on my walks, £20.00 for the night and I thought that they should have paid me! In order for people who read this blog to avoid at all costs I have made an entry all of its own c/w photos.

Penbryn Castle

 The day started with crisp clear air and blue skies, I walked down Bangor high street and was pleasantly surprised on how nice it was, people were busy setting up Christmas stalls for a festive market...very nice! Just after the high street I had to walk along a busy main road which took me past Penryn castle (see pic) even though you can visit this castle you can't walk through the grounds to get to the coast path. So I walked on through Tal-y-Bont and took a left turn down a track that leads to the coast pausing only to take a picture of the snow capped mountains that surround Bangor.

Conwy Castle

 The coast path is really well maintained and flat, the first town you arrive at is Llanfairfechan (easy for you to say!) this is where you pick up cycle path No5 which runs parallel with the very busy and noisy A55. I followed the cycle path through Penmaenmawr and onto Conwy where I stopped for lunch in the shadow of their magnificent castle (see pic) I crossed the bridge and made my way to the Great Orme (see pic), unfortunately the weather was starting to close in and by the time I hit the first slope it started to rain, by the time I reached the summit the mist and fog had descended and you could barely see 10ft in front of you this was a great shame as I was looking forward to the views from the top! I trudged back down the other side of the hill into Llandudno just as it stopped raining and started to clear....typical!

Great Orme