Finish Line

My original plan was to walk all the way to Conwy on the Carneddau ridge. The fully booked Conwy YHA shortened that route a bit as I booked my bed in Rowen instead. The weather this morning made me change my plans altogether. The clouds over the peaks stayed all day so I chose not to do the ridge. I could've done it, I had compass, map and gps, but being all alone and still too unexperienced with poor visibility I rather chose a route along Llyn Ogwen first.
Struggled to find my way over a couple of farms after heading over to Llyn Cowlyd reservoir as the bridleway that was on the map vanished time and again. I was sure about the general direction yes,  but just a couple of meters off the mark and I was on treacherous boggy ground. Arg. I was soon in a foul mood and just wanted to get this over with.
The walk along the reservoir wasn't as nice as it looked on the map which didn't really help my mood. It was already 4pm when I finally reached the dam at its end. What now? Find my way over countless public footpaths to Rowen? That would take me ages!
Instead I decided to walk a small road for 5km to Trefriw and hoped to hop on a bus to Rowen there since the village/town looked rather big. Counting steps again I soon reached the top of a small hill and wide views over the Conwy valley ahead, my destination just down there and a few hills to the south openend up. That was actually worth it!
So I really enjoyed my walk down into Trefriw and came onto the B something road leading to Conwy with a bus stop and a pub and it was just shortly after 5pm. I had made pretty good speed.
Had a steak and two ciders before I got the bus at 6:45 that was one of the very few that actually stopped in Rowen. Lucky me. Unfortunately the hostel is a good mile away from the village proper. I walked that mile cursing on a 25% ascending road next to a small stream with bushes and trees... midges country. So stopping or even slowing down ment I was dinner for hundreds of them. Why did I actually book Rowen?
Reached the YHA eventually, drenched in sweat. The woman at the reception was very nice and friendly and after a much needed shower I felt a lot better. The view from up here is truly amazing. Too bad I cannot sit outside on the large front lawn overlooking the valley.  I would be eaten alive by midges within 15 mins.
There is no bus going from Rowen tomorrow so I have to walk to the next village. Maybe I can get a lift from two french girls who are staying in my dorm room.
Will pick up my car in the early afternoon,  hang out in Conwy until then and finally with a decent signal  I should be able to book some accomodation in York. Was a bit unsure what do to. Will visit friends in Sheffield on Friday so that leaves Thursday open. I always wanted to go to York and this is a very good opportunity as it is very unlikely that I drive all that way up just to spend a weekend in York.

The Glyders

Beef stew for breakfast and the backpack indeed felt lighter when I headed for Glyder Fawr at 9am. The path started just behind the hostel, how convenient.  The going was rather easy, up to a small Llyn, over a level boggy bit of grass (that is probably a real pain in normal weather) before the second half of the ascent went steeply over a long boulderstrewn slope and was as arduous as the last stretch of Snowdon yesterday but so much more fun since I was all alone and navigating over and around rocks of all sizes just spiced up the "walk".
The sky had been mostly covered in clouds when I started but it cleared up more and more. I had an almost clear blue sky when I finally reached the top of Glyder Fawr and a whole new world openend up. The ground was completely covered in rocks, some stacked by nature into the weirdest formations plus here and there a cluster of spikes. I was so amazed by this otherworldly scenery, that I almost forgot to enjoy the fantastic view from up here.
It wasn't possible to capture this on a photograph so I only took very few and instead dumped my pack and swiftly climbed the highest of those spiky boulder clusters not really knowing which one of them was the actual top. A group of three older ladies came up another path and found me sitting there, grinning and enjoying myself.
Had a nice chat, climbed down and headed over to Glyder Fach that could already be seen in the distance since it features a huge cairn with massive boulders.
Bloody hell, did I enjoy walking over there!!! The absolutely brilliant weather and jumping and scrambling (heavy pack made it necessary to use hands here and there) over that large boulderfield... I had the time of my life.
Reached that humongous cairn that none of my pictures do justice, dumped my pack again and decided to climb it. I had somehow found enormous fun in scrambling.  So far I have never had the opportunity to do it and it's definitely something I need to do more often!
There were a few tacky situations while making my way up but I wasn't in a hurry and since I was all alone, I didn't take any unnecessary risks. Took my time to find the easiest way up and eventually made it all the way to the top. Man, I was proud. Sitting there feet dangling I thought "Bloody hell, how am I gonna get down there again?"
I knew that you should never scramble up something that you know you can't go back down. So of course I knew getting back was possible without taking too much risk. Always used two hands, picturing the dodgy moves in my mind before I did them and  just slowly made my way down. So cool!
Walked/scrambled down over more boulders to a high grassy plateau where the Miners path crossed my path. Sat there in the sun behind a large rock hidden from the wind for almost an hour and just enjoyed that awesome day. This day and the one walking those lonely beaches were definitely the best ones so far. Finally a proper hillwalking day! Somehow Snowdon was too easy and way too busy.
Eventually got up again and walked down to Idwal with fantastic views all around. The path was quite steep almost all the way down. I reached the valley just shortly after 5pm had a cappuccino at a small caffee watching  military jets flying by every now and then coming in low over Llyn Ogwen and taking a turn just here into the valley leading to Bethesda.  Wow. Never seen one up so close. The noise was deafening but I could almost see the pilot, so close were they.
By now I finally felt that I had been out in the sun all day without protection. But seriously, the almost constant breeze makes you so unaware that it's actually summer, haha. Since I had "grown" a very nice dark tan over the last week it wasn't much of an issue. It's a reddish brown today and will be an even darker tan tomorrow. Wonder if people will still, recognise me when I'm back, haha.
Checked into a single room at the lovely YHA Idwal and made a booking at YHA Rowen for tomorrow since the one in Conwy is fully booked. Ewww. The plan was actually to take the long walk all the way back to Conwy since Rowen is a bit off the track. Well, this shortens tomorrow's stage a bit and since I have enough spare days I'm not so unhappy after all. That makes a very easy and relaxed walk back to Conwy on Wednesday.

Snowdon!

Had I looked with foreboding over to Snowdonia the last few days hoping the weather would stay,  I can only say, it was the right decision to skip the first stage and do Snowdon today. There are still two more days in the hills ahead and I'll spend them in fantastic weather if I'm lucky.
The sun drove me from my tent again in the morning heating it up like an oven. Was too lazy for scrambled eggs so packed,  munched a snickers and set off at 9:30 along Llyn Dinas to Nantgwynant where the less trodden Watkin Path up to Snowdons peak started.
Somehow I had grown two nice blisters yesterday each under one heel. Arg. Very bothering and too deep to just cut open. Taping didn't help so I wore two pairs of socks now, which at least helped maintaining the status quo. Still the impact of those two little buggers was quite immense and I understand why blisters can be a reason to abort a tour.
Reached the start of the path and climbed through a nice valley ever upwards meeting a few people on the the way but that was quite expected on such a fine Sunday.
Heaving my backpack up the highest mountain of Wales and England was arduous but fun and I had to take short breaks more to rest my feet but catch my breath.
The last very steep ascent up a path with scree strewn all over it was the only bit that really made me curse the weight on my back that felt like someone was grabbing your shoulders while you climb, pulling you back down.
Reached the summit that was buzzing with people. Yeah. Sunday. Good weather. Somehow expected but not to that extent. OMG. I hated it. You had to queue to actually get to the trig point cause it was just too busy. Just went up there for a minute and back down to sit somewhere more quiet and marvel at the nice view. It's just too easy to get to the top.
Had a steakpie at the cafe -I was starving! - and started my descent on the Pyg track now, the easiest and most popular. Still walking down to Pen-y-Pass took ages and I'm not a big fan of downhill walking.
Reached the YHA Pen-y-Pass some tine after 5pm. It's been recently refurbished and is as lovely as it is big. Good spend £20. They even have a restaurant/bar that serves food and has some drinks. So I had some chicken gaujons as a starter followed by a nice chili and a homemade mandarin cheesecake. Yeah. Will have my beef stew for breakfast then tomorrow to get rid of the can,  haha. Not going to carry it around another day.

Run to the Hills

Had a great night just lying on the couch watching tv somehow not really getting tired. It was just so comfy there! So after world cup I ended up watching Predator 2 until almost 1am. I had actually not seen it yet.  A shame. It's so bad that I had a great time laughing at the ridiculous dialogs, bad acting and cheap props. The best entertainment is the unintended one.
Couldn't really sleep. I guess I was just too excited to be hillwalking all alone soon with no waymarks. And I worried if I would really be ready for it.
Spent an hour over the outspread map with my gps and a guide of Snowdonia walks that covers some parts of my intended route. Still I didn't have the bit from Porthmadog to Beddgelert fully covered and only relying on my gps while climbing two hills? Hmmmm.
I started walking towards Porthmadog shortly before 10am on a very easy path, half of the way on a large beach again. It was so widespread that people actually drove their cars onto it and lay down onto the sand next to their vehicle. Errr... that is almost American,  isn't it? Haha.

Having another absolutely fantastic day I decided to skip the part uncovered by the map and take a bus to Beddgelert instead to do the three most difficult stages as long as the weather lasts. The numerous 3000ft hills I'm about to climb have their tops hidden in clouds for most of the year. Not climbing them right now would be stupid.
So it's Snowdon tomorrow. Then the Glyderau ridge tomorrow and Carnedd Llewlin and friends the day after tomorrow,  either staying in Dulyn bothy if I find a way down or pull through until Conwy if I can.
Reached Porthmadog after 3 hours of leisurely walking in the sun. Had a look around, a coffee some food and took the 15:20 bus to lovely Beddgelert. It's a typical small beautiful village neatly tucked in between hills that you take your family to for a Saturday/Sunday walk. Had a cider at a pub since the campsite was a bit of a walk and I didn't know if I really could be bothered to walk back.
Indeed I could. It was only 5:30 so I decided to walk back via the ridge of some lower hills on the south side of the valley as a bit of a warm up. Without the heavy backpack it felt really easy and I enjoyed the view from up there over to the Snowdon horseshoe and Yr Aran opposite. On the other side I could see as far as Porthmadog bay in the early evening light. At least I've been walking on higher ground a little bit today hehe.
Back at the pub watched the Germany match over a couple of ciders and walked back to the very lovely campsite where I had pitched just at the river under a tree with a nice view of the surrounding mountains.

Snowdonia on the Horizon

What a day!!! Blue sky and sun from the start to the end. More than worthy for the second longest day of the year. There's not many places in the world I'd rather be now.
Left that very lovely a B&B again at 10am (Seems to be my standard time of departure this time.) and just walked a very lovely public footpath down to the beach. Had my first glimpse at Snowdonia's peaks straight from the start and throughout most of the day. Walked along two very lonely and very nice beaches, hills ahead, blue sparkling sea to the right and the bright sun shining from a clear sky above. It just couldn't get any better than this!!! And this is Britain. Seemed like all my countless holidays with rain and mud were finally rewarded with a week of perfect weather. This was absolutely worth it. I'd go through all of it again just for another day like this.
Arrived at midday in Pwllheli with the option of staying here and just relaxing but a fine day like this cannot be spent wandering around a town so I kept on going.
The was a quite undulating stretch of walking along the A497 at the end which couldn't spoil my mood the least bit. Wanted to just have a quick look around Criccieth hoping to find a B&B but didn't want to walk around endlessly and instead push for Black Rock Sands Camping two miles out if I couldn't find one.
There wasmone just when I entered town but they were full, but the owner was very nice and advised to walk along the beach as there are numerous B&Bs just lined up there. The first one had a free room for me and what a room that was! Huge with a double and a single bed, a couch and tv and seaview! For unbelievable £40!
I only realized how lucky I'd been again, when I walked further along the beach to head for a pub and saw in all the other B&B windows a sign saying "no vacancies". Ha!!!
Steak and one of my favourite ciders "Somersby" at the pub,  now heading back watching some world cup by the window waiting for sunset to end a perfect day and thus part 1 of my journey.
Tomorrow will be a transition stage as I leave the peninsula and head into the hills of Snowdonia. Not much climbing yet as I stay in the valley and intend to get as far as Maentwrog campsite.

Pulling through

The relentless sun pushed me out of my tent around 8 when it was just too hot in there to doze. Some gusts of wind had woken me up time and again. This campsite was not the best I've ever seen but it had one very uncommon thing at the shower facilities. An electric hookup! Charged my phone for a bit while taking my time to brush my teeth and charged my camera while packing my tent.
The plan to have breakfast in town failed as nothing was open. Boo. 99% of the numerous tourists here were 60+ and they all stayed in the hotel or a B&B so no need to eat out in the morning.  So it was the Spar and an apple and Snickers double for lack of choice.
I was still way ahead of my schedule. Ideal would've been to get as far as Abersoch. Perfect would've been Llanbedrog because that would've put me exactly one day ahead. Well, I accomplished the later one! The walk was pretty nice again but unfortunately the path didn't lead all along the beach called Hell's Mouth and instead zigzaged over farmland nearby. Arg. Finding the next stile on a field that stretches over half a mile is time consuming.
I decided to cut this a bit short and walk some road instead. Just when I was climbing the last stile I met a guy who said he was working on the Coastal Path and how I found it. Told him I was a bit grumpy for all that zigzagging and he said by the end of the year the path would lead all along the beach. Hmpf. Too late.
Allthough I was now an hour behind I walked all the way to Llanbedrog. Found a way to carry on even if your feet hurt and you jus don't want to walk anymore: Counting steps. Keeps your mind from complaining and telling you to stop and before you know it you've walked 1000 steps.
Reached Llanbedrog shortly before 6. Wow. Quite unexpected. Thought I wouldn't make it before 7. Went for the B&B that was signposted but another mile out of town. Litarally dragged me there cursing that this was the longest mile I ever walked.
The Wern Fawr Manor Farm B&B was in a huge house and luckily there was a free room for tonight. The landlady gave me a very warm welcome and even reduced the rate a bit since it's a double room.
She gave me a lift up to the road again to the pub so I only had to walk down again. Just lay on the bed after, too lazy and tired to move a muscle just watching some world cup on tv.
Don't really know what I want to do today. Walk the 2 hrs to Pwhelli and have a look. If I like the place I call it a day there and relax.

A Coastal Walk

Had a good night's sleep and got up at 8 with the sun shining from a bright blue sky again. My sunburn got a lot better over night, I guess it's the tank top again tomorrow,  yeah.
Had a lovely chat with my hostess before breakfast chatting about Berlin. Can only highly recommend Tryfyn B&B! Again just being spontaneous, asking around had the best possible outcome.
Enjoyed my breakfast and had a lot of tea while I sat at a big window. The sun was shining from a bright blue sky again. Left as late as 10am and first stopped at the local petrol station/convenience store to get some food. Asked if I wanted a bag I turned around and showed the guy behind the counter my backpack.  He laughed and wished me a good day, hehe.
Back on the trail I soon got to a golf course. Hm. I had found a golf ball in the nature reserve the day before, I fished it out of one of my side pockets and placed it just on a stone at the entrance, hoping for him to find a new owner soon.

Walked all day along the coast with perfect weather and great views. The going was mostly easy but for one stretch with knee high grass and an abundance of thistle and nettle... arg. Me walking in shorts, remember?
Decided not to go to the campsite I had on my plan but to go a bit further instead hoping that the campsite on my map was really there. This would also shorten tomorrow's stage by a good bit which would be quite hard otherwise.
After a nice walk on the beach I left the trail and turned onto a tarmac road. Asked a nice lady if there really was a campsite. And yes there was. Not as good as the last one, but I had the necessary shower and one can of beef broth plus some sardines in Teriyaki sauce. Could've eaten twice as much but there won't be a shop or pub tomorrow night and I need to save the food.

At the End of the World

Wanted to leave early but was too lazy to get up and only got going at almost 10am after paying for my stay and a nice chat with the lady of the property again. She even gave me a nice leaflet about Llyn and its history. Cool.
Set off to walk along the coast again and came to a point where the sign of the coast path was clearly ripped of the wood. GPS and map pointed to another field with cows on it but the was no sign at all at the gate so I was a bit undecided. In the end I went back cause I had passed two other public paths on the way according to the map that would both lead down to the road as well.
The first one didn't exist. I was bracing myself for going back all the way when I came to the second one and it was actually where it should be plus lead me down to the road. I was dragging my feet over tarmac again and still felt that first day. The high hedges flanking the road killed the mild breeze that was blowing before and as the sun fought through the clouds that had come in from the sea beforenit was getting awfully hot. And all the insects that lived nearby and liked human blood threw themselves at me. Horseflies were worst. The not only land on you while you walk, they can also bite through fabric and are generally just a pain in the backside.
My feet were hurting but had to go on. A herd of very curious cows made me smile as they rushed to the barbwire that was the  boundary of their territory just to have a look at who was walking there.  And I met the guy again that was staying at the same camping ground I stayed last night. I drove by in his car and stopped to say hello. Haha, third time now. Wonder if I see him again tomorrow.
Eventually that tedious road section ended and the path led me to the beach of Whistling Sands. The campsite lady had said that there was a cafe and there was. Yeah. I was starving!  Had some chicken and stuffed two snickers in my backpack just in case.
The path now to the very end of the peninsula was easy to make out. Unfortunately there was still no view. A pitty. Some strenuous uphill parts got me sweating but I enjoyed the walk a lot. At the very end of the Llyn peninsula the view got better. The blue sky was back. Yeah!
As I was all alone it was really a very strange feeling. Like being at the end ofnthr world. There was nothing else to come now. In a very strange way a calming feeling. I enjoyed it a lot as well as the view of Bardsey Island close by.
Walked now on the south of the peninsula in perfect weather again and could see today's destination ahead.  Aberdaron. The view stretched as far as the distant peaks of Snowdonia.  Wow! It was too great to capture with my camera.
Walked another hour and a half until I reached Aberdaron. Parts of fhe path were overgrown with a thicket of grass,  nettle and thistle as high as a man. Argh.
Reached Aberdaron at 6:30 and went to one of the two campsites as I couldn't find a B&B with a free room and wss too weary to walk around town. The campsite is not overwhelming but it'll do. Had the biggest fish & chips portion I've ever seen at the hotel restaurant and went back to my tent at 9:30 exhausted. Did again more than I had initially planned. Dunno where I'll go tomorrow then. My planned campsite is way to close and the next bigger town is probably too far away.

Proper Hiking

After almost a whole day on tarmac I hoped that the path would lead me off road today. Having a look at my face in the mirror this morning I realized I had probably put the sunblock on too late yesterday.  Two or three hours too late,  haha. I had been enjoying the weather so much that I kind of forgot all about it. That also explained the weird pain I had felt on my shoulders during the night. I was porperly burned. Ouch. Something like that doesn't happen very often to me. Last time I remember was in my final year at school.
The sun was already shining when I set off around 9:30. Despite sunblock it felt quite uncomfortable. Went a bit along the road but soon was led onto a smaller one and not long after into a nature reserve right at the coast. Finally a propper path!
Some grey clouds hid the sun and for the first time in my life I was happy about it. Still the views of the coastline were stunning. Near Trefor I climbed a pass between two hills, the view behind me getting better and better. Took a short break halfway up changing into a long shirt which was a very good idea since the sun was shining from now on from a bright blue sky all day long. Wow!
With a backpack of maybe 17kg I was soon out of breath and had to think of my upcoming Kilimanjaro hike. I need to work lut much more! My thoughts strayed to various expeditions like Denali where there are no porters and everyone in the team has to carry 25kg plus pull a 25kg sledge. Arg. My respect for all who had seen the top grew imensely as I was ploughing on. Reached the pass and was rewared by a stunning view of then next bay. Sun, sea and a bit of rock... heaven!!! Was immediately reminded of Sardinia.
Happily walked down to a carpark and to some kind of artificial village that was built at the site of a former quarry. The steep tarmac road down there was poison for my knees. Arg. Had a cappuccino and some Welsh cakes (Pretty much like flat scones. They're even served with butter.) before  I walked on. The path wound its way along the hillside through thick fern that I was reluctant to touch with my bare legs knowing that this is tick territory.
The path was going more up than down and I was soon huffing and puffing again but having a good time. Had a short break at a small church near a road before taking on the last few kilometers to today's destination Nefyn. I had a campsite there in mind but would rather stay in a B&B just to relax and have food somewhere. Fired up my phone to check for pubs and found the Cliff Inn just a few yards off the Llyn Coast Path. The walking on tarmac all day yesterday was taking its toll as my feet were hurting badly by now.
It was almost 5pm when I arrived there, asked for a room but they were full. Was referred to a B&B nearby and the lovely lady of the house took me in and gave me a room. After a nap and a very welcome shower I headed back to the Cliff Inn for food. I was starving! The walk today had been equally long as the one yesterday but more exhausting. Since it was the only pub in town I didn't have much of a choice and reviews on the net were good and bad. Fact is, I had a very very good steak with loads of veg. Washed it down with two pints of Scrumpy Jack as I was typing this, watching some Wold Cup footage on tv.
Heading back to my B&B after to upload my post. Looking at the map, tomorow's stage is a bit shorter going to Penrallt campsite and almost all of the path is right at the coast. Sounds like a lovely day again! If it wasn't for that burnt skin on my arms, haha. Me being happy for some clouds... that's a new thing! If this weather stays for at least a week I'll look like a chocolate muffin when I'm back. Although I'm more a raspberry one right now, haha.

Sun and Tarmac

Had my breakfast at the Black Boy Inn as planned and it was okay but by no means outstanding. A bit disappointed. Heaved my backup onto my back and started walking south along the coast on a minor road. The was a family cycle event so lots of cyclists of all ages raced past me and despite proper bike clothing and fancy road bikes at least 50% had their saddle too low. Strange.
The day started with a grey sky but the further I went the more the sun pierced through those clouds until I was walking under a blue sky again. Yeah. Tanktop and shorts again. I was already showing a nice tan.
The walk was nice but apart from one short stretch through a small wood completely on tarmac. Arg. Not very spectacular as well so I was glad that I had taken the bus yesterday and not walked the path from Conwy.
I made 25km in 5 hours excluding a nice break at the beach devouring some icecream and a handfull of other short breaks. Arrived at Aberafon campsite around 4pm, pitched, had a shower and since it's right at the water I'll take a walk in a bit and maybe catch the sunset if I can stay awake long enough :)

Easy Start

Arg. Had to write all of this again since he blogger app hung up at publishing. So this is going to bea bit shorter. Sorry.

Had a nice breakfast at my B&B and only one thing to settle. Where park my car for the next two weeks? I just asked the owners if they knew a good spot and they offered to just leave it at one of their lots. Yeah, once again asking politely had the best possible outcome! I knew this practice from my Ireland trip last year. Still I was most grateful, handed over the keys just in case the car had to be moved and set off to have a closer look at Conwy castle. It's impressive height and size is even more impressive when you stand in the inner courtyard and look up to those massive towers. Felt a bit like standing in the middle of half a dozen skyscrapers. What must it have been like for the people of the 13th century? Intimidating to say the least.
The weather was absolutely fantastic. I wore nothing but shorts and a tank top. That's a first time on the British Isles!
Just before midday I took the bus to Bangor but somehow missed the castle which is a bit outside. Thought it was nearer to the town itself and thus didn't get of the bus when a castle was announced.
Walked around the city centre of Bangor but it was only shops and boring so after a coffee break I took the next bus to Caernarfon. What a difference! Again that impressive massive castle looming over the town. Edward I surely knew how to intimidate the Welsh.
Headed for those walls straight away and spent a long time inside. In liu with my mood the weather had changed from bright and sunny in Conwy to cloudy colder in Bangor, to sunny and warm in Caernarfon again. Haha.
I climbed all of the half a dozen towers and the view towards the first hills of Snowdonia was breathtaking!  I could almost feel tears of joy dwelling in my eyes. Had a break in the bright early afternoon sun since climbing all those towers gave me a good taste of what is was going to be like heaving my backpack over the highest Welsh mountains ina few days time.
Went over to the campsite,  pitched my tent and back to the Castle Square to have a plate of fish & chips outside. As I was watching people pass by I realized that indeed people up here speak Welsh. Even the very young ones. I really loved it! Listening to an alien tongue knowing that people preserve their culture even after centuries of occupation and oppression.
Walked around for a bit and just sat down at the waterfront for a long time enjoying the early evening sun befor heading over to Black Boy Inn for a pint or two.
This pub/B&B ranks high on any kind of travel guide or internet portal so I had to give it a go. Indeed very nice. Had two pints so not really able to have a say about the kitchen but I liked the atmosphere although the premise is quite big and a bit hectic. They serve breakfast from 8am so his will be my first stop tomorrow morning getting some bacon, egg and sausage into my body to see me through the day.

Holidays! Finally!

After a tough first 6 months at work with just loooads of stuff to do, the day my probation period ended came and went without so much as a piece of paper dropped on my desk to sign. But inside I had been loking forward to this day for a long time as it ment I could finally go on my planned two week holiday.
The week in Bristol has been absolutely fantastic weather-wise with sunshine and temperatures above 20. It felt like summer! The forecast for the first week of my hike looked really good as well. I was checking every day. First time ever I packed sun block, haha.

Left work at 15:30, raced home on my bicycle, grabbed my stuff and set off to a 4.5hr drive all the way north to Conwy. The motorway was quite packed but I ran into no serious congestion and arrived at Colwyn Bay in the light of approaching dusk. The broad A-road runs just along the coastline here and I was finally in holiday mode after a strenuous drive. Not long after I took the exit to Conwy. The approach to the town was breathtaking with that massive castle looming over it in the setting sun and the water with countless boats on it to my right. Absolutely amazing.
Checked in at my B&B, grabbed my camera and raced back to the bridge I had crossed to take some pictures in that perfect light. Stunning! Apart from the noise of a few pubs the town was almost deserted and I enjoyed just wandering around. Thought of having a pint in one of them, but it was almost 10:30 now and as the stress and tension of the past week slowly retreated and I relaxed more I realized how tired I was.
Went home, watched the telly for a bit and fell asleep not long after.