Day 35: 27 Apr 2014; Llandrillo yn Rhos to Prestatyn

Walk descriptor	LEJOG2014		Day	35
Date	Sun 27 Apr 2014		Start to end time	08h 49m
Start point	Llandrillo yn Rhos		End point	Prestatyn
Miles today	19.23		Cu miles	658.18
Ft today	891		Cu ft	109,401
Route miles left	810.37		Route ft left	88,152
Today’s weather	Aprart from a brief shower mid afternoon, dry and bright with sun most of the day. Cold easterly wind. About 13C

Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)		GPX based track of today’s walk (click here to access to access downloadable file)

Commentary

“Today was a great day – not so much for the scenery or sense of achievement this time, but because I had company for much of the walk.

I think in terms of effort, today must have been one of the easiest days of the walk so far. It was almost completely flat, and required little or no navigational effort. The walk simply followed the Welsh Coast path along the sea front, all the way from Rhos-on-Sea through Colwyn Bay, and Rhyl, to Prestatyn. It was pretty much impossible to get lost and it was almost dead level. After the last 34 days where I’ve been averaging around 3000 ft of climbing every day, it was a welcome break for my legs!

It was nice to be back on the coast again – less spectacular than the South West Coastal path, but on a bright breezy day like today, it was quite exhilarating. Far out to sea, on my left, I could see the giant Gwynt y Mor windfarm, which stretches for some ten miles offshore between Rhyl and Prestatyn and is the biggest in Wales. It will generate around 500MW of electricity at its peak from its 160 turbines. The coastal hinterland was pleasant but urban. Lots of caravan parks and fun-fairs, although not that many people about, despite it being a weekend. It certainly doesn’t feel like holiday season yet, and there was a certain ghost-townish quality about many of the areas I passed through today.

But the real highlight of the day was having company! In the morning, I was joined by Penelope Dell-Smith, who is one of the leaders of the “Golddiggers” contingent to the Jamboree in Japan in 2015. It was great to meet someone who is so closely associated with the cause I’m supporting. And then in the afternoon, one of my friends from university drove up to join me for the hike between Abergele and Rhyl. Again, it was great to have someone to talk to and find out what was going on in the “real” world.

When I arrived at Prestatyn, at the end of the day’s walking, I discovered that I was actually at the start (or end, depending on how you look at it) of the Offa’s Dyke long distance path. This really was quite a surprise – I’d rather lost interest in the path once I’d left it behind in Hay-on-Wye, and just assumed it finished somewhere near Chester. So to come across it again today was a bit like rediscovering an old friend!”

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


In Colwyn Bay with Penelope Dell-Smith – from the Golddiggers Scout contingent going to the 2015 Jamboree in Japan next year	I was given this Scout group name-tag – the longest in the UK – as a gift to join me on my travels! With a name that long it will add significantly to the weight I have to carry!

This form of excitement is definitely not for me	On the waterfront at Rhyl

Lovely downtown Rhyl. About as far from Capel Curig as you can get	In the centre of Prestatyn I unexectedly found myself at the start of Offa’s Dyke path, which I had followed from its other end, at Chepstow, as far as Hay-on-Wye. Hadn’t realised I was going to see those acorn signs again!

Fantastic new swing-bridge, opened last year, at Kinmel Bay. Saved a mile of walking round the estuary