We heard a better word to describe the paths since Newgale beach today - "undulating". A gentle sounding term, it describes well, with the additional prefix "increasingly", the shift to more rocky, steep terrain that rises and falls more regularly and with more of the rise and more of the fall!
One of the benefits of this though has been that once we have ascended some of the larger hills, the views have been breathtaking and in this department, today was the best yet.
We stayed in Porthgain with Dan's mum last night after a good night at The Sloop with some of James' and Dan's family and friends (a special thank you to 'Kavi the collector' too, who went round the pub rattling a tin and managed to collect an additional £62.50 for the cause!) A good night but one that we suffered for the next day. We blame Paul Walsh (an old friend and a very generous sponsor for this walk) and Morgan the Moon (see Max Boyce), with whom we sat talking and listening to music until the early hours, finally rolling in at about 1.30am. Not ideal preparation for the 13 miles walking required the next day!
It was a busier morning work wise too and once we had both done a few bits and pieces, including Dan frantically applying Vaseline to his chaffing thighs, we met James' mum Nicola, her friend Catherine and Catherine's son Charlie, plus James' parents dog Archie, a handsome Labradoodle.
The pace is always more enjoyable when we have people other than each other to talk to. And a hangover does nothing for speed either.
It was a lovely morning's walk and the weather was overcast but not too heavy. It was fresh enough to keep cool and with regular stops to top up on energy foods and to give Archie the chance to drink some water. His thick black coat means he heats up nicely so needs to cool down when possible.
Charlie found some huge mushrooms growing along the path hedges, and also had about 15 failed attempts at smoothing a Sheep. We kept our eyes peeled for signs of seals but only spotted one very briefly which was a shame.
As always, it was great to have some company along the way and to catch up on some news. Nicola, Catherine, Charlie and Archie left us at Abercastle where they had parked the car, and we headed off to try and shake off the hangovers with a 7 mile walk!
We passed through some familiar and beautiful beaches such as Abermawr and Aberbach, however the pick of them was Pwll Crochan, which isn't accessible by road and is always very quiet, probably in no small part due to the fact that the only way down to the beach is via a piece of rope. James had come here about 10 years ago but had not been able to find anyone in the intervening years, except for his Uncle Tim, who had any recollection of it.
So it was great to "find" it and although it was high tide, Pwll Crochan will definitely be somewhere we head back to.
Later, Dan's mum Shelia and her friend Caro, met us somewhere between Pwll Crochan and Pwll Deri, and from the top of some of the hills, it was clear enough to see for miles and miles, with the patchwork farmland on one side and the sea on the other. Scrambling up some of these hills was hard work given the previous night's endeavours, but the" views made it worth it.
We reached our destination for today at around 16.30 and headed home after a quick drink in the Farmers Arms in Mathry, who had also been kind enough to support our cause with some quiz nights and a collection box.
We then ate a great meal prepared by Shelia with a tasty salad from Caro and went to bed. Tomorrow we will walk from Pwll Deri to Fishguard, where we have a few people we want to see to say thank you.
Tight Calves!
James and Dan
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