Bodfari to Clwyd Gate
11 strenuous miles
7 hours
Good Luck to Gary on participating in the Walk Wisconsin half marathon!
Poster in the bathroom in the Freezing Home.
The London Times Newspaper was waiting at the breakfast table. Looked through it while chewing (no internet in that room - only at the chair) and found this article about Hay-on-Wey and their library that caught my attention. Both because of staying there (and returning), the sheer amount of books in that tiny city, and because of John le Carre.
This walk there are not people really to meet, and those that are met seem very grim, and few to ask to take my photo, oh well I know what I look like, and so does everyone else.
7 dogs all looked alike to me, but their mistress said there was only one good one (whatever she meant by that).
WINDS were amazing today. Fierceness. Felt like it was a constant fight between this walker and the element. Hard to stay upright and move forward.
Nest said that on a clear day the Isle of Man and the west coast of Scotland can be seen from the mountain tops. This clearly was not a clear day. Just winds.
Footprints to use aa footholds/bootholds up the hill.
Asked Nest again about never going up on the mountains and she said there were always other things to do, with a funny little grin. Now I wonder what she was up to in her younger friskier days.
Mrs Nest Price.
Archeological dig all covered over, and the land returned to camouflage the hidden mystery beneath the turf.
Casually greeting one another everyone says something that sounds like Hi-yih. Not hi-ya.
Winds were amazing. Can not emphasis that enough. Like blizzard winds only no blowing snow. Thankfully I had the backpack on which weighted me down. As it was often the body was blown sideways a step or two, and the poles became the trusty brakes.
Stones mark the spot of the top of Arthur's fort. Climbed up the extra hill to visit this site of Moel Arthur.
Oh jubilee, oh jubilee, there is the Jubilee Tower again. It was finally reached after seeing it off in the distance for four hours. Too gusty to spend anytime there. Going down the circular steps from the top was almost impossible as the wind force going up kept wanting to push me into reverse.
Joggers were out in shorts and t-shirts with nothing on their heads. Lois had ears covered with four layers to keep out the chilly winds. Ear plugs. Headband. Buff neck/head covering. Hood from the rain jacket which today worked as a wind jacket.
Cat (Catronia) whom I am staying with again, was given free tickets to an outdoor live concert of ELTON JOHN at Colwyn Bay this evening. She has left me alone in her beautiful home for the evening. I walked to get dinner at the Miner's Arms a short distance away in this tiny village. Just lock the door when going out, and be sure to take the key was the advice.
Encountered three clusters of kids on some sort of survival weekend camping adventure. All of them were carrying too much gear. Some could hardly stand up under the load. They supposedly were not to ask directions, but had to find their way to the next camp site using maps. They did ask me if I could read maps and could point out where they were. I was pleased to find the location we were standing at on their map as theirs was different than mine.
It was like they all had these huge backpacks and totally filled all the available space with stuff.
Looked up The Duke of Edinburgh Award. Learned that it is a Charity. The DofE award was started in 1956 by - the Duke of Edinburgh - Prince Phillip aka the husband to Queen Elizabeth (he has to walk a certain number of steps behind her in public).
"The DofE was formed to give all young people aged 14-24 the chance to develop skills for life." Today's encounters were those working on the Expedition portion.
This thoughtful hiker did pass on the information to the girls that typically I have gone astray everyday. But, there were no problems yesterday and today, in fact was totally able to go without looking at the maps. Everything looked familiar to this walker.
Happy birthday to Jessie, the mother of 6. and soon to be 7, of my grandchildren. Sorry to miss your party (assuming you had one).
Problem with emptying the cookie canister - it is empty! And, no stores anyplace today to restock. Silly mistake. Took banana and applefrom breakfast and assigned a time when each could be consumed. Banana at 1:30 after the Jubilee Tower. Apple at 3 on the down slope of the last hill. Rationing in the extreme. Plan to be better prepared tomorrow.
Had hopes to expose the pale legs to get some sun today. Had I worn shorts the legs would have been windburned.
Talked with slightly chunky man as I descended from the tower. He wanted to know about walking with trekking poles. He was filled in on all the perks. Knees, striding along, pulling up hill, brakes on the down. He said he has lost 90 stone so he was feeling good. Question - does the size of the stone affect the number of stones a person looses. What a dated, even primitive way of talking about our fat.
Regular highway up and down the stretch to the Jubilee Tower. Saturday the day for excursions, exercise, exploring, breathing that brisk, Very Brisk, Mountain air. Why not throw in some wind to make the day complete.
Fortunately that was just one mountain that was covered with foot traffic. There were three others that were Lois' private possession to struggle up and close down. Actually the going up is getting better. Must be getting stronger.
Just outside the farm, the cold farm, last night was spent at there were 5 llamas in a small pasture. Nest drove past so fast no photo was taken. She said there is a larger farm near by that has lots of llamas. They are raised for their wool which is very expensive. The llamas are also pricey costing about £2,000 each.
Looked it up. It wasn't Lord George that Nest's grandfather was friends with, but the Earl David Lloyd- George of Dwyfor. Lloyd not Lord, but an Earl. Liberal Party. First and only Welshman to hold the position of Prime Minister.
Llamas. Now in Welsh when a word begins with two letter L's, it is pronounced with a "C". So would a llama be a clama? Most likely there is a totally different word all together for llama.
Nest did stop the car so we could admire the lambs in the field outside her farm, which is rented to anotjer farmer. I asked if the sweet little things were going to be eaten. Yes they were.
Nest told of a time when a mother sheep had died and her daughters and herself bottle fed a lamb to raise it. They named it Mary. When it was time for Mary to go the way she was doomed for it was traumatic. The daughters and Nest vowed to never eat lamb again. They haven't. Whenever her husband or sons wanted lamb Nest would fix a very special meal for the girls and herself.
Clwydian Hills "stretching for 20 miles in a series of whaleback ridges...marks the boundary between the industrial landscape of Deeside and the gentle Vale of Clwyd. Springy turf greets the walker across these Heather and bilberry covered hills, and the views on a good day are splendid". The views were Very good. Wonder what they would be like on a "good" day.
Smoked Haddock and Leek cakes at the Miner's Arms.
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