Ceredigion Coastal Path 7 - Aberporth to Llangrannog

Another sunny Sunday, so time to get back on the coastal path - retracing our steps from Aberporth to Tresaith and completing the extra few miles to finish back in Llangrannog (where we'd parked up for the duration).

From there we took another Cardi Bach bus trip to the start of the walk in Aberporth, then followed the  'mostly' wheelchair friendly path to Tresaith.  (Although the hedgerows had gotten so high in places that anybody in a wheelchair wouldn't have been able to see much!)

With the dry summer we've been having the waterfall wasn't looking so impressive, and after a brief rest by the beach we followed the road and started the climb, past the Ship Inn and out of Tresaith.

The path climbed quite steeply to the top of the cliff, with some great views back over Tresaith towards Aberporth - although a touch of mist was by then coming in off the sea.

The path hugged the coast for a bit before it turned back inland around Penbryn beach (looking stunning below us):

The footpath descended (quite steeply in places) through green woodland - took a bit of a slip on these steps, but the cool of the wood was otherwise much appreciated, and we paused to admire the stream and the general ambience.






The path finally climbs again to emerge in the National Trust car park by the Plwmp Tart cafe. 

We came close to stopping for tea and cake, but eventually decided to press on - if we'd known then about the climb ahead we may have chosen differently!  It was a steep haul, with the sun very warm after the cool of the woods and the earlier mist, but we were soon back on the cliff path again, enjoying the views, as Llangrannog crept ever closer:

We arrived back in Llangrannog after about 3.5 hours - Martin had hoped to combine this walk with one of the other legs, but I wasn't sure that my legs were up to a 14-16 mile walk! 

I was glad we stuck with the shorter option - time for what Martin would refer to as my 'traditional cider' - sitting in the sun outside the Pentre Arms watching the world go by. 

Finally it was back to the car and home (no chips in Aberaeron today).

The final stats from Martin's GPS recorder:

Distance 9.43km
Duration: 3:25
Moving Time: 2:55
Calories: 1008
Ascent: 395 meters

Ceredigion Coastal Path 6 - New Quay to Llangrannog

Finally the weather was looking good, so we decided it was time to continue our Ceredigion Coastal Path journey from last year - when we had managed all the sections north of New Quay (finishing in September with New Quay to Aberaeron). 

Today we headed south  to complete the New Quay to Llangrannog stretch - driving to Llangrannog and taking the “Cardi Bach” bus service to New Quay to the start the walk.  (This way we did not have to worry about completing the walk in time to catch the bus back to the car!)

The bus trip itself was interesting, bumping our way along minor roads and stopping in a few of the places we would be walking through later - arriving at New Quay with time for Sarah to fortify herself with a huge slice of bread pudding from the bakery we coveted last year (Bosun's Locker).  Having substantially more will power, I abstained from indulging on cake calories before I had actually earned them!

Cake eaten, sticky hands washed and walking poles adjusted we finally set off (some 30 minutes later). Amusingly, the GPS trace shows me wandering around during this 'downtime' orbiting Sarah's position.

We firstly made our way to the end of the stone jetty - disappointingly, no dolphins were to be seen on this occasion, but there were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine.  

The coastal path out of New Quay then took us past the Fish Factory before climbing steeply to the top of the cliff via a shale quarry and an overgrown path at the back of some houses.  Nice views from here back over New Quay:

The path hugged the cliff then all the way to Cwmtydu (the section way-point at about 3.5 miles in), with some spectacular coastal views over hidden coves, and winding up and down paths.

Along the route there is an old coastguard lookout at “Craig yr Adar” (Bird Rock), where we stopped for a few minutes looking at the wildlife - sadly again no dolphins, although plenty of dolphin watching boats!

This first part of the walk to Cwmtydu felt like hard work, and by the the time we reached the hamlet we were both feeling a bit broken. Sarah admitted she'd have happily stopped there and taken the Cardi Bach back to the car - but we had an ice cream and carried on, starting the long climb back up to the cliff top.  

(This pic and the GPS elevation profile below - Cwmtydu is at 8km - show just how much of a climb it was!).

The final stretch of the walk (5.9 or 4.2 miles depending on which information source you believe) saw us heading towards the Ynys Lochtyn peninsula, and the distinctive shape of Pen y Badell hill, with its hillfort.

Along the way we passed the Urdd residential centre and its somewhat incongruous dry ski slope (just visible on the left of the above pic).

It came as something of a welcome relief when we finally reached the headland.  Although I did manage the detour out onto the Ynys Lochtyn peninsula . . . 

. . . while Sarah (claiming to be nursing a dodgy knee) made her way down into Llangrannog, for a welcome cider - as designated driver I had to settle for a diet coke  :(  - before the trek (uphill again!) back to the car park.

All in all a not unenjoyable, if rather exhausting, walk on a beautiful day, with fantastic views - perhaps we were just a bit out of practice!   

The final stats from my GPS recorder:

Distance: 17.35km
Duration: 6:21
Moving Time: 5:06
Calories: 1885
Ascent: 677 meters

Final treat of the day - chips sat at the harbour in Aberaeron!

What We Did on Our Bank Holiday . . .

A lot of gardening . . . at various points over the weekend.

Martin dug and rotavated the veg plots, and we got the courgettes and potatoes planted out, as well as the main greenhouse.

The rest of the garden is looking very colourful too at the moment, with the clematis, rhododendrons and azaleas out:






A sunny Saturday afternoon on the prom watching the Cyclefest events - including the Women's Tour Series:

And on the bank holiday Monday itself a slightly too hot walk round the Hafod grounds . . .

A nice extended weekend - and a sunny one at that!

Long Weekend

Extra few days off either side of the weekend gone - time to visit my parents, do another parkrun, make the sunny drive home, have a Sunday in the garden, and a day out in Caerphilly while Martin was in work.

First off, a sunny Thursday afternoon / Friday with Mum and Dad, doing a bit of gardening, trip out to Houghton Mill . . .

. . .  Huntingdon Garden Centre for a bit of shopping, and a family dinner Friday night.  Nice to see everyone and catch up.

Saturday morning parkrun, before saying my goodbyes and heading for home - sunny drive, but a long one, getting back mid-afternoon  Pottered the rest of the day away, before settling on home-made fish and chips for tea . . .

We'd acquired a deep-fat fryer a bit back - which makes some very nice chips - and decided it was time to give battered fish a go.




It was all going very well, until we put one too many pieces of fish into the frying basket, and they got a bit stuck together.  The result looked a mess - but still tasted pretty good!

A day in the garden on Sunday, then a sunny Monday off (part of my new four-day week working pattern), so took the opportunity to accompany Martin to Caerphilly.

While he went to work, I had a lovely sunny morning wandering round Caerphilly Castle:

All in all a good - but busy - few days!

Greenhouse One

Got our first tomatoes planted today - courtesy of a work colleague, after the almost wholesale failure of my cherry tomatoes to germinate.* 

So we have: 3 Alicante; 3 Cherry - plus 3 Tumbling Tom in the pot:

I'm usually even later planting up, so hopefully we'll get some eating tomatoes before the end of the summer this year!

*Fair play to Fothergill's they did send me a replacement packet of seeds, but a bit late for planting up this year.

Flying High

Glorious day in West Wales - afternoon walk up Consti and over to Clarach with paragliders overhead:

Enough said!

May Days

A few days off and a trip to Ludlow, calling in at Craven Arms and the Ludlow Food Centre on the way (egg custard tart - to die for!). 

Beautiful sunny afternoon in town, had a wander, a pint or two, and dinner, before the half hour or so walk back to the travelodge (with bottle of wine!).


The following day we re-visited Croft Castle - not the most memorable property, but nice grounds (even a vineyard) and with some Hafod connections.











Got back to Ludlow to find the fair had hit town in a big way - had seen some lorries arriving the evening before - it must have taken some really careful driving to squeeze those trailers through Ludlow's narrow roads to the market square!


Interesting that on our walk back to the travelodge we spotted this window where someone was celebrating the fair's arrival in model form :)

All in all a nice couple of days away - good food, a lot of walking, and a historic property or two!