Today is a long day so I’m up and out before dawn. The beautiful morning sun should dry my clothes, damp with condensation due to camping in long grass.
My left knee is niggling, which is a worry given the tough schedule for the week ahead.
Red Wharf Bay is huge, requiring a long inland loop across boggy ground. The good news is my knee is fine, having loosened off the early morning stiffness.
There are cows on the far side of the bay, but this is the perfect path for any hikers wary of cattle, as you look down from the safety of a high, if narrow, stone wall.
A jogger appears from the opposite direction and we engage in a somewhat acrobatic manoeuvre to pass without tumbling off the wall into a waiting cow pat.
It’s a tough climb up Fedw Fawr, leading to a stunning headland walk with fine views back across the bay.
I can see Puffin Island in the distance, although it takes forever to get there, the path twisting and turning. I’m slightly early for puffins, one of the Holy Grails on my coastal walk, along with otters, dolphins, whales, eagles and others. Unfortunately, you can’t land on the island, so I’ll bide my time until I reach the Farne Islands.
Heading down the Menai Strait, there’s an interesting building at Penmon Priory — a dovecot built around 1600.
Sand martins dart in and out of holes in the sandbank before a mass exit fans out over the water to draw me away.
A ferris wheel? Beaumaris is heaving, the castle surrounded by families playing the in the park. It’s Saturday and the Easter holidays, so I don’t linger in the crowds and push on round to Bangor under a greying sky.
Despite a long and tiring day, I can’t resist a quick look at the main Bangor University building overlooking the city. It’s a short walk further on to their management centre where I’m sleeping in luxury.
Walk distance: 26 miles.
Total distance: 2,996 miles.
Beautiful photos Tony…especially the sunrise.
Cheers Mike.
Given you are doing the walk in a non sequential way it would be interesting if you could occasionally include a coastline outline marked with sections you have completed – and a rough idea of what % of the entirety remains to be walked.
Great progress and excellent pictures. Nice sunshine in place of the earlier rainy sections.
Watch that knee!
Peter
Hi Peter. The “Progress” tab has a little map showing my progress. I’m about 3,000 miles in and I reckon another 7,000 miles to go depending on how many islands I visit. 🙂
Wow – a long walk! They say Red Wharf Bay got its name after a very bloody battle. Hard to believe on a lovely day. The walk along the stone ‘wall’ is interesting, isn’t it. Glad you didn’t fall off 😁
I was thinking you might have enjoyed that perspective on the cows! 🙂
Nice to see you back on the coast Tony and you certainly managed to get a rare period of good weather for it, what stunning photos. I found Bangor a strange sort of town, a bit like a seaside resort, but without any beach (but it did have a pier). The University building looks very grand. Did you get a deal to stay in the student accommodation outside of term time or something?
It was a joy to be hiking and camping in dry weather for a week. It makes everything so much easier. The university runs a commercial management centre open to anyone. It’s not cheap though.