The day started well - after yet another cooked breakfast prepared by our landlady Mrs Llewellyn and her friend (whose name we didn't catch), we got talking with them about what we were doing and charities we were supporting. As soon as they heard that it was for a children's hospice, both ladies very kindly donated £10 each to the sponsorship fund, which was really appreciated.
We then set out from Marloes, back down to the coastline, and started off towards Little Haven, where we planned to have lunch. For some reason (maybe because we were still suffering from the tough day yesterday), even though the terrain wasn't particularly difficult, we both found the walking pretty hard. After about 3 hours, we arrived, exhausted into the pretty harbour of Little Haven, but after refuelling with burger and chips each, we then met up with Jill, Gail and Ed, who it was great to see, and whose appearance gave us both a boost (particularly James of course!)
Gail and Jill then set off by car, thankfully carrying our heavy packs, whilst Ed joined us on foot for the next stretch.
Without the packs (and with Ed setting the pace!), things became a little easier, and we made good time and soon met up again with Gail and Jill at Nolton Haven. This meant that we had travelled beyond where we had planned to today, and for the first time we were actually ahead of our planned schedule. We are becoming walking machines!!
The highlight of the day however was yet to come. Gail had very kindly organized a Bed & Breakfast for us to stay back in the village of Dale. Well, we say Bed & Breakfast...probably Country Manor House & Breakfast would be more accurate. As we winded our way up a long drive, we were greeted by the sight of a huge ivy-clad house, complete with classic cars in the garage, and peacocks roaming in the garden. Wow.
Elizabeth, the lady of the house and our landlady for the night, showed us in - and the decor inside didn't disappoint either. It was very grand and full of character, with every space seemingly covered with ornate looking pictures, sculptures and interesting looking trinkets. It was the kind of place that it would have been impossible to design from scratch, but could only be created through years of being lived in by very rich people. Every room seemed to tell a different story...even the toilet was posh, and really gave the impression of 'sitting on the throne!'
We had a quick explore (over the bits that we were allowed to-it would have been nice to have been able to do more!) and then after a quick change, headed out to Dale's only pub 'The Griffin Inn'. After a few beers and some filling but pretty unremarkable food we returned to the manor house and by far the most comfortable beds we stayed in so far (we learnt in the morning that the mattresses had been handmade by a Mr Hooper from Swansea!).
So more than half way now - pub count today a pretty average 2, so a grand total of 14 all together. After years of saying he is drinking too much and encouraging him to stay out of pubs, Dan's mum Sheila is now expressing disappointment at the low number we have been to so far and actively encouraging us to visit more. It's amazing what the thought of raising a few extra pounds for charity does to people!
Tally Ho
Major Dan Craft and Brigadier James O. Wilmott
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment