Day 8
Cwmtydu to Tresaith: 8 miles
Dedication of the day: To the guy who set up my tent for me.
Reason: I think it's obvious.
Leaving Cwmtydu
On P driving me to where we left off in Cwmtydu, I realized I'd forgotten my walking stick. Sea fog had also just rolled in, and the grocery store didn't have ready made sandwiches so I was eating a package of salami for lunch - so it was really shaping up to be a great morning.
The stick wasn't back at the B&B, so we figured maybe I left it at the cafe in Cwmtydu, where we were headed anyway. And luckily, after a hair-raising drive through tiny twisty single lane roads in the fog down to Cwmtydu, the owner had found it, and so I was ready to go.
Only problem, of course, being that whole sea fog situation. The start of this hike was supposed to be up a relatively high hill, with commanding views on a clear day all the way up to Bardsey Island on the Llyn Peninsula, and down to Cardigan Island in the south. Key point being clear, and today was anything but clear with the tops of the valley covered in thick mist.
I considered waiting for a better day, given this was supposed to include cliff walking and if visibility was zero it could have been fairly dangerous. Ultimately I decided to soldier on, but my fears didn't get any better when I saw a warning sign when I got halfway up the hill, commenting that this was a particularly challenging part of the coast path (in addition to someone having scribbled in 'path of doom' under the name of trail). It even gave the few 'escape' routes available.
But still I went on, just assuming this would be a lost day that might include some tough parts, and reminding myself I could always turn around or just stop and wait for the fog to leave.
What ended up happening though, is I consider the fog kind of a godsend. One of the path warnings was for an exposed trail on a very steep hill. And it turns out that the benefit of only having 15 feet of visibility is that that extends in all directions - including down. And it's really hard to get vertigo when everything only looks 15 feet high.
Anyway, given there wasn't much to see in the fog (which is a shame), I don't have much to say for the first part of the hike. I eventually came out of the fog near the Welsh-focused Urd Center, and got some absolutely wonderful views of Ynys Lochtyn, a peninsula and island that jut out into the Irish Sea. While I'm sure they would have been better views without fog, there was something interesting about having mist hovering over everything - even though it meant the air was a bit damp for my taste.
Now this is what I'm talking about
And then I reached Llangronog, which for some reason I can't entirely explain kept bringing to mind the character from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who Arthur Dent kills in multiple reincarnations. That bat-like creature's name was Agrajag, and now that I've been to Llangronog, I can truthfully tell you that I will never make that mistake again.
With a sheltered beach between cliff tops (two beaches actually), scattered rock formations and greenery all around, Llangronog was extremely scenic. But even better for my current purposes, was the fact that there was, on the trail, a pub with picnic tables where one could get a cider and sit down and stare at the sea. Which I will admit I readily did.
Without my backpack on me, I'd been able to stop and smell the roses several times on this hike, without being concerned about when I'd get in or stopping and having to put it back on, etc. And sitting at this particular pub is pretty much exactly what I pictured would happen occasionally on this walk and I was really looking forward to.
And on to Penbryn
Of course all good things come to an end, and I continued on, stopping every ten feet to get a different picture of the Llangronog beach. Eventually I managed to tear myself away from my camera long enough to get to Penbryn, which is a beach cared for by the National Trust, and it was all I could do to not stop at the extremely cozy looking flower-surrounded tea room right on the path up to the beach cliffs.
I decided I couldn't stop and smell all the roses. But from the top Penbryn also looked like a lovely (though distinctly less pub-adjacent) beach, but one of those 'I will have to check this out some other time' beaches.
And into Tresaith
After Llangronog and Penbryn, Tresaith looked a little on the grittier side - but still pleasant enough with great views to Aberporth, cliffs and even in this case waterfalls. But my feet were hurting a little, and what I really wanted to do was find where I'd be spending the night.
So I continued up the path toward Aberporth, and eventually turned left into the caravan park I'd booked the day before. And found, wonderfully, that P had successfully dropped off all my belongings after he left me at Cwmtydu, and I had a tent already pitched and waiting for me. What wonderful service, I kind of wish he could come along for a few more days. . .
