The time to resume came at the end of February. Shotton to Fishguard on the train, 7 hours of a job, not something I wish to do on a regular basis. However, once in Fishguard and finding the B&B, it was a walk into the town centre for a bite to eat. Afterwards, I went back to the place where I had left off a few months ago. The walk from there back to the B&B was not far, but it did mean that I was on the right side of the town for the following morning when the walk was to recommence.
So, that morning, leaving the B&B, calling into a local supermarket to stock up on snacks, and heading out into Goodwick, it was hello again to the business of walking uphill to reach the cliff-top path and resume the walk around Penbrokeshire. I hadn't gone far when I encountered an unexpected problem - cows!
Now I have walked through fields of cows before, always with a note of caution, but generally taking the view that if I don't bother them, they won't bother me. This has up to now always proved to be the case. Not today. One was looking at me and started to walk towards me. I didn't hang around to find out if it was just a curious friendly hello or something more sinister. Happily, I was conveniently close to a style into the next field and found myself surprisingly athletic as I went over that in record time! With the safety of a wall between us, the cows came close, but then walked away again pretty soon.
The slight problem now though was that I was slightly off the path, and, a few fields later, had to find a place where some barbed wire had been cut through to get back on track.
Did you know that it was here that the last invasion of Britain took place? Well, perhaps invasion is a bit of a grand word for it, but all the same, the French landed here in 1797, and there is a stone to mark the occasion. The invasion didn't last long - by all accounts, the local women scared them off pretty rapidly !!
Further round the coast, Strumble Head lighthouse marks the end of another headland and the path now continues southwards for several miles to the end of the peninsula.
It's not too much further round the headland before Pwll Deri youth hostel is reached. Being mid-week and well out of season, it was closed, but all the same, a bench in the grounds served as a good place to take the rucksack off for a few minutes, have a sandwich and gather some strength for the afternoon ahead.
There are 2 beaches as part of the afternoon's walk - Aber Bach and Aber Mawr. I had to laugh, "Aber Mawr" means "Big Mouth" - but it's not rude, it refers to a river mouth! The problem was getting onto Aber Bach. At the end of the path, a small stream was emptying onto the beach. It wasn't deep, but it was wide enough to present a challenge. After pondering what to do for a minute or so, and having even looked at some small boats nearby and wondered if anyone would mind.... I eventually walked onto the beach a bit more, still had to trust that my shoes were waterproof and use some protuding stones as stepping stones. I was splashed but not soaked!
Aber Bach and Aber Mawr proved to be very nice beaches, but stony, so no good for sunbathing in the summer, then it was round the coast a bit more to Abercastle. That is a very pretty harbour village - I had originally hoped to spend the night here, but had no joy with on-line searches. Not that I was worried - I did have somewhere to stay.
The place in question was in Trevin - a village about another 5 miles or so round the coast. It was easy to reach and, in a village that size, the B&B was easy to find. There was no mobile signal at all in the village - so I simply switched my mobile to flight mode to save the battery and relaxed with a meal in the village pub followed by a bit of reading and telly watching! Bliss!
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