“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” Jacques Yves Cousteau, Oceanographer

So last week I walked another part of the Wales coastal walk and for some reason have decided that I am going to try and walk the whole path, all 800 plus miles of it! I have to say this is one of the least coast based coastal walks I have ever done! So the walk is meant to be 12 miles, by the end of my time in Wales I had done 18 miles! By the end of the 18 miles my right leg was killing me! (so I thought the pain was cramp but as I am writing this I have just gotten in from a hike where the pain returned, its mainly in my right thigh but sometimes will go down my whole leg. I am going to go and try and get a sports massage this week to see if it helps!)

One of my problems with this is that I can only walk on Sundays which is fine for North/Mid Wales I will book time of work and do South Wales in chunks which seems like a plan. However public transport in Wales is not great on a Sunday with most places only having one or two trains/buses a day so it is taking some real planning to do! So I parked my car in Harlech (like an idiot at the top of the hill) and decided to get the bus to Porthmadog and walk back to my car.. With public transport I didn’t want the worry of not being able to get back! There was one train at 11.57 or a bus at 10.20, I opted for the 40 minute bus ride as it meant I would be able to start walking earlier.

The walk starts alongside Porthmadog train station with some stunning views, the whole work is around the estuary, in fact I only saw the sea from a distance, which for me was disappointing. However I did see some beautiful views and I didn’t die so over all it was a good walk! Unless I have actually hurt my leg then I might have an actual issue.

Views over Porthmadog! There was a lot of walking over farmers fields and with livestock. At this time of year there is still young calves and lambs in the fields which I was very aware of. In fact the same day I did this walk a poor woman really close by to where I was walking got badly injured protecting her grand daughter when cows charged at them. I am really lucky that I grew up around livestock and know what is safe and what isn’t and I think a lot of people would just assume if the path goes through the field then it must be safe. A cow could kill you especially when protecting its young, which may sound very dramatic but there is a lot of weight and power in a cow. I walked around a couple of fields to save me going through some, if you are unsure then walk the extra and walk around the field.

Also just because sheep are smaller then cows they will still protect their young in the same way we would protect our children. And there were some pretty angry sheep out, I would be happy not to see another one for a couple of weeks! I can still hear them now! Any one else think of “Baa Ram Ewe” from Babe when they see sheep. Not even going to hide the fact that I might have said it to a few sheep!

There was quite a bit of road walking during this walk, still no sea and little water! Although I can’t expected all the hundreds of miles to be breathtaking views!

Part of the walk takes you behind Portmeirion, I was tempted to go in but I didn’t want to spend hours there and still have more than half the walk ahead. But if you are staying in the area then breaking the walk up a bit would be perfect!

For the very first time ever in my life I have purchased a water proof coat. My first ever piece of practical clothing. This coat was from Mountain Warehouse and is perfect for hiking lightweight but super warm! Plus I am colourful, as much as I love colour I did pick this because I walk alone so if anything happened to me it would be easier to see me from a helicopter! See a real adult buy.

The pictures really don’t sure how beautiful the area is and I walked for miles without seeing anyone, walking in Wales is really good for the soul. I have such a busy week that spending time for complete silence and exercise means the world to me! Although I am pretty sure I spent the whole day either walking in sheep or cow shit!! Luckily I stayed upright though!

The walk takes you through what I think is a nature reserve and also over the new bridge that gets you over the estuary. I wish I remembered more of the names but I tend to concentrate on not dying.

That little built up area in the distance is PortMeririon which a few hours before I had walked behind. I visited Portmeririon a few weeks ago and remember looking across the estuary (before I had done any walking) thinking it doesn’t look far across! Let me tell you it is, I guess fields are not great for scale but looking back at the buildings being so small, it really shows it!

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.” – Edward Abbey

These were two of the most angry swans I have ever met, I was no where near them when they started hissing! Clearly not a fan of tourists! Also the puddle at the bottom of the gate I was lucky enough to slip in, again luckily I stayed upright. Not landing on my arse seems to be a sign of a good hike at the moment!

So with a few miles left to go I decided to put my camera away, at this point my leg was hurting and I felt pretty much done! However being in the middle of a field in Wales on a Sunday there is no such thing as giving up! You have to keep going and I am glad I finished (not like I had a choice) I will keep you updated on the leg hopefully I have just pulled something and I am hoping to go on the next bit of the walk this weekend!