The Men of Harlech meet mud, mud, glorious mud !

The weather has worsened and taken a turn for the cooler and wetter. With occasional exceptions, this is how it is going to stay for the next few months. The shorts have been replaced by walking trousers, and there's every need for an extra layer on top as well!

I was glad of the extra mile last time - it gave me a bit of a start today and meant that I was able to finish a little sooner than expected, and, given what the weather was doing later in the day, that was not a bad thing.

After retracing my steps to Minffordd station, it was along the road, turning right at Penrhyndeudraeth. This junction was significant as it allowed me to cross the Mawddach estuary via a road and rail bridge, and means that after walking west along the north Wales coast, and then east along the southern side of the Lleyn Peninsula, I am now heading south. Broadly speaking, it's going to be south to Aberystwyth, then south-west to Pembrokeshire, but there is a lot of walking to do bef9ore that stage is reached.

Just a word about the bridge - there's not a lot of room for vehicles and pedestrians - it can be done, but drivers and walkers alike need to take extra care. Fortunately, it's not exactly the longest bridge in the world, and at Llandecwyn the road starts to lead down the coast whilst the footpath heads into nearby fields.

The off-road conditions underfoot have changed somewhat since reaching Minffordd almost a month ago. It is now squishy and muddy. My footwear could cope with it, but when I finished. I was very surprised to see just how much mud had splashed onto my trousers. Fortunately, they are walking trousers and are machine washable for this very reason, but all the same, I looked a sight !

Why can't paths be more clearly marked? The map did help, but some markers at the edge of the fields would also be useful. In the end, after covering some distance in this manner, I gave up and headed back to the nearest road. I had been trying to get onto the sand dunes to the north of Harlech. Last time I was here, just over a year ago, I had been to Harlech with friends, and we had walked north along the beach after looking round the town. However, then we have accessed the beach from Harlech itself. Trying to do so from further north is not easy. For one thing, at the estuary mouth, tidal conditions can make it difficult, not to say dangerous, and for another, there is some private, inaccessible land further down. Eventually, I settled on a compromise, following some minor roads / farm tracks down the coast as near to the dunes as I could comfortably get before reaching Harlech.

Whilst I did have a map, there was one particular way in which it was not needed. Ever since crossing the bridge earlier, the outline of the castle looms on the horizon and it gets larger with every step.

The weather was not particularly kind today - there had been heavy showers throughout the walk, and it became more or less constant when I reached Harlech. The original plan had been to have a look round the castle and the town, getting a bite to eat somewhere along the lines. With the weather being cold, wet and miserable, that was amended. I did have a look round the castle (I have just renewed my membership of CADW, so this helps me get my money's worth), but then I decided to call it a day and get the train back a good 2 hours earlier than planned.

A successful day's walking, but a bit of a miserable ending.