The extra mile

Today was meant to be from Criccieth to Porthmadog. Things started well and got better. The way out of the town is easy to begin with, it's simply follow the path along the railway line until you get to a hill, Graig Ddu, or Black Rock. There is then a choice of ways to go round the hill, but as the easy way was blocked by cows that I was not going to try and argue with, I had to stick to the coastal route and do a bit of scrambling. At least that is what the guide-book said. As it happens, it was not as bad as that. Yes, there were places where I had to put my hands on the rocks to steady myself, but I was not in serious danger of losing my footing at any point, it was for back-up more than anything else.

Once round the rock, the next bit is easy and glorious - right along the sands, and the scenery of the Mawddach estuary is stunning. Indeed, if I dare admit this, being a grown man in my 40s, there were times I almost wanted to cry, it was so beautiful. Before I run out of superlatives, I did realise that I would need to know where to get off the sands, otherwise various streams and rivulets flowing into the estuary could make life interesting.

Oh alright, so I didn't get the exit off the sands *quite* right - and at one point I did have to take off my shoes and socks to get across some flowing water. Not too bad when wearing shorts, as I have on the walk so far, but as I don't think there'll be many more days this year when I can get away with that, life could get a bit more interesting if this happens again in the coming months.

Skirting round the edge of Morfa Bychan seems to be caravan / camp site Heaven. I was more than happy to leave them to it. I was now turning my thoughts to Borth-y-Gest, a place which a friend of mine enthuses about. I can see why, it is a very pretty place and makes for a pleasant stay. My stay was a short one, but it was long enough to stop and have a coffee and scone, which to be honest, I found a bit disappointing.

Looking at the map, I could not believe that Porthmadog was so close. My original plan had been to stop there and have lunch, but as the short walk to the town from Borth-y-Gest got me there before lunchtime, and as I was still feeling a bit full from the scone, that plan came to nothing. So, after a map check, I wondered about going on a little further than originally planned. That is what I did, and following the track of the Ffestiniog Railway, arrived just over a mile later in Minffordd. As there was a train back to Criccieth where I had left the car in 20 mins, I decided that was enough for one day, I had gone a little further than planned and was slightly ahead of schedule.

So far, with the weather, I have been very lucky. But it is now the end of September, and whilst I don't plan to do quite as much walking in the autumn and winter months, I will be doing some. The shorts will almost certainly have to go away, and I suspect that the raincoat and waterproof over-trousers will be making more of an appearance. There's only one way to find out, I suppose.....