After a fabulous two night stay with Alice and Jon in Lymm, we drove up to Lancaster on Saturday afternoon for a week’s house-sitting assignment. The house owners, Paul and William were off to Gran Canaria for a break and leaving us in charge of their stunningly stylish Victorian residence and their two wonderful moggies, Monty and Kit. We spent a great evening with Paul and William before they flew out the next morning – a deliciously home-cooked meal and the most perfect company. We’ve fallen in love with Monty and Kit who are 4 years old and brother and sister. They lay cuddling each other for hours each evening and love to wash each other … and they have the odd scrap too!!
Monty and Kit
We spent Sunday settling in and exploring the interesting city of Lancaster. We walked up to the Castle and the Priory and discovered the history of its prisons and the stories of the Pendle Witches. The city is steeped in history and has the most spectacular architecture. There is also a vibrant University student life here so quite a contrast to its Roman and Medieval past. Always great to discover a different city.
Lancaster CastleLancaster Priory
So Monday was our first day of walking and by use of car and bus we made our way to Fleetwood, to walk the Wyre Estuary. If the ferry had been operating we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and effort – it might have been cheating but we were sorely tempted … then the decision was taken out of our hands, it’s in for repair. Treated ourselves to a bacon ‘barm’ and a mug of hot tea in the ferry cafe instead.
Overall not a day to write home about – it was cold, grey and drizzly and estuary walking is never glamorous. The first side of the estuary was 4 miles of busy roadside then a mostly manageable path. One section of it did have a ‘No Access’ sign but apparently that doesn’t apply to us!!!! The ‘health and safety’ aspect of heavy machinery did not worry Steve a jot, especially as no alternatives were provided. So, when we reached the digger, we skirted around it on the soggy mud flats and gave the digger driver a cheeky wave – he didn’t seem perturbed. The path got somewhat wetter between here and Skippool where we had parked the car, but we waded our way through. And, despite there being some stunning properties, it was like a boat graveyard, amazing vessels just seemingly left to rot.
Back at the car we warmed ourselves up from our flask of hot chocolate and tucked into sausage rolls and sarnies, heater full blast. Feeling rejuvenated, we talked ourselves into tackling the other side of the estuary, rather than come back to do it tomorrow. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
In reality it was pretty grim. We were SO cold when we got out and our clothes were so damp. After a small stretch of roadside we hit the worst terrain of the day – ’twas the mud flats – that sinky, boggy sort of rambling that appeals to no-one! But it was just a couple of miles of that and then we were on to lovely country lanes. Later there was a section of very high and incredibly slippery embankment walls – boy I was smug to have my walking pole – it would have got very messy without! Then more country lanes, a golf course and and an easy path into the lovely town of Knotts-End-on-sea.
And we’d racked up 15 Miles – not a bad effort at all. It’s weird though, the colder and wetter it is, the faster Steve walks (and I try my best to keep up) – so it becomes a physical exercise rather than a sightseeing stroll. But it was a section that just needed to be done and hopefully it will get a little more scenic over the next few days, despite the unpromising weather!
The best part about the day though was the buses – the Lancashire buses are fabulously comfortable and warm and the drivers uber friendly. Our timing was perfect to catch both the buses, no waiting. And … I got to use my newly acquired bus pass – so finally I’ve found some benefit to being a golden oldie!!
Saturday 16th November – Wednesday 27th November 2024
So, our chilled days in Benalmadena were transformed into a whirl of running, walking, eating, drinking, partying and a whole load of green, as day by day more and more of our wonderful MK Redway Runners arrived in sunny Torreblanca.
The Half Marathon crew, all looking so fresh and excited!Simon and Steve, taking the half marathon in their strideAt the start of the Benalmadena Race – Holiday World On the terrace of Holiday World after the Benalmadena Race, enjoying our free paella!We’d all just collected our race packs … proudly showing off our T-shirtsDave and Steve … in trainingSteve, Fiona, Simon, Steve and Michaela with their reward beer!Me and my chum MelSteve holding on to Simon’s chips! … this one is for you Jim Nesbitt xxMichaela, David, Fiona, Steve, Jackie and Annie – waiting for Simon to ‘spend a penny.’Steve, David and GlenisSteve’s posse and me!My running pals – Judith, me, Sue, Mel, Chrissieand the two Sheilas .. and Phil xAli, Mel and Sue …looking so good coming up yet another hillLaura, Mary and Ellie who walked the 5k and carried our club flag proudly
Martin, Karen, Bernie and Kate were the first to arrive and of course Annie, Steve and I were already here, so we were officially the advance party. The 9.30am morning runs in Torreblanca commenced always followed by coffee and chat, we got the routine underway. But of course the evening frivolities kicked off too. And in true first night of the holiday together style, we got stuck into drinks on the Torreblanca terrace. Martin and Karen had kindly squirrelled some of the Redway Runners’ celebratory cake into their hand luggage for us all to share, such a kind thought. This was to celebrate the club recently receiving the prestigious King’s Award for Voluntary Service. After the great catch up and celebration drinks we headed out to eat and, as you do, more alcohol was consumed. This may or may not have contributed to the ‘interesting’ train ride home, when (1) certain members of the party missed their stops, (2) Steve and Martin got their hands stuck in the train door as they tried to unsuccessfully keep the doors open and (3) we ended up at a bunch of different stations! Lots of nervous hysterical laughter took place but we eventually managed to reunite all parties and all was well.
Bernie, me, Annie, Martin, Karen and Kate …. the advance party
Over the next few days, more and more of more of our lovely friends arrived. Walking along the strip from Torreblanca to Fuengirola was like being in Milton Keynes … you found yourself stopping every five minutes to chat. The morning runs grew larger – the town didn’t know what hit it … it was just our training runs but I think the locals thought there was an event on each day – there were approximately 65 of us in total. Each evening we would meet in Fibbers Irish Bar for a beer or two (large enough to accommodate us all) and then branch off into different parties to find restaurants to eat – so much choice. Our evening dining this week consisted of:
Thursday 21st – we took train to Fuengirola with Annie, David, Jackie, Colin and Ali – tapas meal in old town followed by drinks in the Panda Bar
Friday 22nd – ate in Fibbers Bar as late back from collecting race packs,
Saturday 23rd – Simon, Michaela, Fiona, Jackie, David and us – tapas in Tanit restaurant
Sunday 24th – after race day – Indi Mex – accommodated 60 of us … quite incredible but a tad slow, understandably. A great club evening with speeches and bar mat awards.
Monday 25th – after a daytime trip out to Benalmadena Pueblo … a quiet evening pizza in our local – Lorenzo’s, Torremuelle.
Tuesday 26th – Santorini – a wonderful greek restaurant with Sheila, John, Sarah and Steve + us
Gathered for post run coffeeSheila, Steve, me, Steve, Sarah and John – enjoying dinner in Santorini
On Saturday we had a club walk from Benalmadena to Montemar – a leisurely stroll with a huge amount of chitter chatter. Fabulous to see the Paloma gardens and the Marina in its full splendour.
Phil straddling the zebra on our RR outingThe luxurious Benalmadena Marina
Sunday was race day – the Benalmadena Half Marathon with 10k and 5k races too. Whichever race you had entered, we were all so proud to be there as the Redway Runners club and wore our ‘green’ shirts proudly. Our club colour has had to change to a brighter shade recently as we were no longer able to acquire material of the original shade. Now we know why – Benalmadena Half Marathon shirts were that exact shade of green … they’d clearly pinched all the available fabric. So, whilst we normally stand out in a crowd, this time we well and truly blended in. A sea of green.
To say it was hot and to say it was hilly honestly is no exaggeration … everybody agreed it was tough. But we all made it and were a large presence in cheering every one of our runners in. A fantastic effort, especially our soon to be Octogenerian Bernie, who completed this arduous Half Marathon in great style – our super hero!
Our super hero, Bernie
And we swept up on awards … Chrissie, Kate and Bridget for 5k winners in their age category and Karen, Glenis and Ruth for Half Marathon winners in their age category. All girls!!… just saying!!!
Our Redway Runners worthy award winners – Bridget, Chrissie, Glenis, Karen, Kate and Ruth
To cap it all off nicely, we won the award for largest running club attendance … we’re all about awards these days. This was celebrated with great cheers, beers and some dodgy dad dancing!!
Our illustrious leader, Martin Lawrence, with our award certificate – largest running club attendanceGlenis and some well dodgy Dad dancer!!
The celebrations reconvened later in the evening when all 60 of us gathered for an Indi Mex meal and beer mat award ceremony for funny trip stories (what happens on tour stays on tour)!! But Steve got one for his dodgy Strava recording of his first run here which showed him not only running a 5 minute mile but running on water too!!
Fiona, Jackie, David, Steve, Simon, me and Michaela – post race fun
Then on Monday (not too early a start) we had offered to show whoever fancied it, how to get up to the Benalmadena Pueblo (a white village) by public transport (it’s at the top of a humungous hill) and a walk back down. When we met at the station we were expecting up to 20 … but 36 keen RR travellers had rolled up for the expedition. So the bus was a tad busy, friendly as we like to say. Luckily we got on at the very first stop so we all did get on although half were standing – then as the journey continued and more and more passengers boarded we were squeezed tighter. But it was an adventure and I think everyone enjoyed their few hours in the Pueblo, visiting the shops and restaurants and enjoying the views, before the mega steep walk down hill. It was magical to be able to share what is a special place for us with those that had not been before.
Didn’t we have a lovely day – the day we went to the Pueblo!!Underneath the Christmas tree in Benalmadena PuebloTucking into tapasColin, me, Sheila, John and the wonderful selfie taker Ali
Over the next few days our running friends gradually returned to the UK … but there were a few ‘last nights’ to enjoy. We’re back to the original advance party now but Steve and I are trying to spend some quieter time to finish off our Spanish vacation. Let’s see!
And before Benalmadena/Torreblanca/Fuengirola turned green we had another little celebration – the milestone of me becoming an Old Age Pensioner. It was strange not being with Tom and Alice but I had lots of phone calls and messages from family and friends and felt thoroughly spoilt. Steve treated me to an afternoon/evening in Malaga, including lunch, a wine-tasting, walk around the sites of the City and a wonderful steak dinner in another favourite restaurant of ours – El Pimpi. Brilliant day. And when I get back home my bus pass should be waiting for me and my first OAP payment is in early December – so exciting!
Met some new friends doing the wine tasting – Mary and MatthewMalaga CathedralEl Pimpi restaurant, Malaga
An incredible 12 days – so blessed to have sunshine and friends. In the words of Barbara Streisand and ‘A Star is Born’ … we are “Ageless and Evergreen.”
It was a little scary for 24 hours, particularly in light of what happened in Valencia so recently. I think the authorities reacted strongly because of that, sending out alerts with loud alarms to Spanish phones, advising no travel and listing closures. Trouble was, being holidaymakers we didn’t get the alerts and the severity of it all only really hit home as we were traveling by train to Malaga – our thought process being that we might as well spend a wet day dodging in and out of museums, galleries and cafes. We thought the train was pretty quiet and the streets of Malaga too, then we discovered most things were closed down. So it was an incredibly brief visit … as the volume of rain started to increase it dawned on us that perhaps our apartment was the safest bet. We must have got what was one of the last trains back to Benalmadena before the train service shut down for 24 hours – lucky us! And so it was an afternoon indoors, listening to the crashes of thunder and lightening … and the volume of rain was quite phenomenal.
There’ve been piles of bamboo washed up on the shoreline since we arrived 2 weeks ago – we were initially mystified but found out that it had been washed down the rivers from the mountains in last month’s storms. It’s been joyous seeing the kids using it to construct wigwams and beach houses – all shapes and sizes – quite a competition, makes a change from sandcastles! Last week there was a massive clean up campaign and the beaches tidied. But now, it’s all back … at least the kids will be delighted.
On Sunday we took part in the Feungirola 5k race, whilst others chose to do a half marathon! Although it was hot it was a relatively flat course so quite enjoyable. Particularly enjoyable as the course came up short … 4.3k … such a wonderful surprise to stumble upon the Finish Line when you least expect it!!
I’m famous – made it to the official site
The rest of the week has been fairly leisurely although Steve has been training for the Benalmadena Half Marathon on 24th. I’ve settled for speed walking. On Saturday, while Steve, basking in the glory of Wycombe Wanderers being top of the league, watched their match, I took myself off for a long walk along the Benalmadena coastline … 5 jaunty miles in total with a little swim in between. Some stunning and secluded beaches along this stretch and the sea is wonderfully clear.
Beautiful Benalmadena
We’ve met up with Julie, Martin and Annie (& friends) a few times – for runs and coffee. Lovely to have some local expertise out here.
We’ve continued to explore some local areas – love the old town of Fuengirola with its pretty squares, churches, bars, cafes and restaurants. Definitely worth diving into these streets off the main beach area.
Fuengirola old town
Yesterday we took a bus ride up the winding steep hill to Benalmadena Pueblo – this is a favourite spot of ours from a previous visit. Absolutely love it here. Tucked into tapas and wine and soaked up the atmosphere of this white village, with stunning views over Benalmadena. Then, rather than use our return bus ticket, we took a long, leisurely, steep walk downhill back to our apartment.
Benalmadena PuebloStunning views over Benalmadena
Which brings us to today. Steve was up early to fit in a 10 mile run … achieved! Weather seemed a little iffy again but we headed out for a beach day anyway. It was warm enough but the sea was ferocious – only surfers braving the crashing waves. The bamboo is well and truly back.
An early night is called for tonight as tomorrow I reach the milestone that is “Old Age Pensioner!!” Wish me luck!! x
A bit of a contrast to our wet, wild and windy adventures on the UK coastline – this time we’re on the glorious Costa Del Sol where we’ve spent the last 5 days settling into the Southern Spanish way of life. Our accommodation in Benalmadena is neatly tucked away from the crowds, giving us the opportunity to explore local life, practice our limited Spanish and use their marvellous train service to explore all there is between Malaga and Fuengirola. There are some superb walking stretches here as long as you stick to the beach strip … either direction from us we can walk for miles and miles on wonderful promenades. If you venture off you go steeply uphill into the mountains – not for the faint hearted. We’re using our ‘Rambling Roses coastal path walkers’ as an excuse to keep to the flat. To be honest a few hills in this moderate November temperature will not be so bad so I’m sure we’ll wend our way up a hill/mountain or two before too long … but there’s no rush!!
We arrived on Sunday night, two hours later than planned due to flight delay. This had the knock on affect of a slight situation at check in … the supermarket, where our keys were waiting for us, had shut. After a number of phone call attempts we finally made contact with our airbnb host to explain – the outcome was we took refuge at the pizza parlour until a young lad appeared on a motorbike an hour later with spare keys. This wait forced us to consume wine!!! Our bijou apartment is lovely and all we need for our budget self-catering 4 weeks sunshine break. And plenty close enough to where many of our running friends will be located when they come out later in the month, just a couple of train stops away. Sea views too, over stunning white Spanish architecture – just perfect.
Stunning views from our apartment
So, this first week we have been finding our feet in terms of:
The best beaches
Selection of walks
How to negotiate Spanish train ticket machines
The ins and outs of the bargain 10 euro train ticket
Exploring all the stops on the Malaga – Fuengirola train line
Importantly, which stations are lower down i.e. how to avoid long uphill walks after a day out!! **
Cheapest supermarkets
Bargain yet delicious Spanish wine
Spanish restaurants
** would recommend Fuengirola, Torreblanca, Carvajal and Los Alamos for beaches that are nearer to train stations. Montemar Alto and Torremolinos are great places but be prepared for a strenuous walk uphill from the promenade if you end your walk in either of these areas.
It’s definitely been hotter some days than others and generally warmer than we had expected. We’ve had a couple of beach days already so plenty of chilling. I’ve got to swim a few times so I’m a happy bunny – the sea is not cold, honestly – not quite a bath but easily doable and refreshing.
Come and join me … it’s so warm!
On Wednesday evening we ventured into Feungirola where we enjoyed a seafood paella at ‘San Pe’, a pretty Spanish restaurant tucked away in the side streets of this vibrant town. On our way home, we bumped into our running friend Julie Bousfield, and her husband Martin – they have an apartment in Torreblanca and had been enjoying a meal out too … so we shared a ‘merry’ train ride home. We met up with Julie again this morning for coffee and a lovely stroll and she shared many handy tips to help us during our stay here.
Scrumptious seafood paellaSteve, me and Julie
Walks so far this week:
Around Benalmadena
Benalmadena – Carvajal
Montemar Alto – Los Alamos
Carvajal – Fuengirola
Trying to get in at least 5 miles of walking each day whilst Steve is trying to build up his running mileage in preparation for the Benalmadena Half Marathon later in the month – he’s wondering why he signed up!! Suffice to say we are very happy to be here. Sunny weather and blue skies certainly energise you and create positivity. After a crazily busy year, we’re relishing spending some chilled time together and intend to take it easy as well as make the most of our Spanish time. And we could wax lyrical about the bargain that is the 10 euro train ticket – we can use it for all our trips for the whole month we’re here and there’s still plenty for us to see and do on the Costa Del Sol.
We hope the sun keeps shining … except on the two race days!!
We had saved this wonderful stretch for our very last day of walking for this trip as it involved a gentle stroll along the Swansea promenade, into the Mumbles then up and over the hill into Langland Bay. Easy peasy! I felt so recovered after my day off yesterday and a sunny amble was the perfect finale to what has been a terrific walking holiday with lovely friends.
Steve, Ros and I caught the bus into Swansea, sitting on the back seat like excited schoolchildren. And there was excitement too when squeezing along narrow roads in Mumbles, due to parked cars on either side, a speedy JCB managed to scrape the side of the bus. This caused delay while an investigation took place … and gave the local passengers a great opportunity to moan about parking in the area … “Mumbles is just like one big car park.”
We finally disembarked and found our way from the bus station to the promenade – the sun was out, blue skies, just perfect. Less than two miles in the rain came to join us so we used it as an excuse to dive into a cafe for coffee. Fabulous seafront cafe called ‘The Secret’ which we subsequently realised is the starting point for our parkrun on Saturday.
The three survivors!Swansea beach
By the time we emerged the rain had stopped and then held off all day. So a fabulous walk along the miles of Swansea promenade and then into the Mumbles … and it had to be a Greggs sausage roll for lunch. We stuck to the seafront coastal path and were impressed by the Coastal Protection Project – it’s going to look so smart although I’m sure it’s causing quite an upheaval.
Apart from some steps and a few manageable inclines, the coastal path gave us a day of flat pleasure. Ros and I even got propositioned … a sweet elderly gentleman asked us if we would like to go clubbing tonight. I asked him if he’d like to sign my dance card which made him chuckle and he assured us that he would get the drinks in. We’ve still got it!!
The picturesque Langland Bay
The drop down into Langland Bay was just stunning – we really have hit on a magical place to stay. Opposite our apartment is ‘Langlands Brasserie’ where we toasted our rambling achievement with beers. And it all ended in sunshine.
Cheers!
8 miles walking today.
110 miles in total for this walking trip – not bad for a group of jolly sexagenarians! See you soon.
It’s a case of the disappearing cast members from our random rambling group, the missing names all beginning with ‘D’. Firstly we had David J leaving with the excuse of an odd thing called work! Followed by David R who is returning to Milton Keynes for a funeral. However this morning the missing ramblers were joined by ‘Blog Editor’ Dee having decided that the previous day’s exhausting route was just too much, and fair to say a reasonable decision!
However the wonderful nature of our English weather meant that all rainy weather had disappeared to be replaced by glorious sun and stunning views.
The other replacement today is the ol’ fella standing in as blog substitute as Dee is on a day off .. happy days eh?
So in numbers today, two of us walked some 10+ miles in four hours with 1200 feet of climbing involved, it can be hilly along this stretch! The hills and cliff tops provide amazing scenery, with views across the channel and the various bays as we travelled along and each time you’re left thinking ‘that’s the best you’ve seen’!
Our day started with David R kindly dropping us at Oxwich for a return walk to our lodgings in Langland Bay. Pleased to say that most of the day we had a rather keen wind blowing us along from behind which makes for slightly speedier progress. The coastal path signs today left a little to be desired and we made a couple of errors, fortunately only short distances involved so easy to correct ourselves.
Lunch today was prepared by Ros and we found a lovely spot by a stream to sit in the sunshine with an egg sandwich along with a chicken and avocado sandwich, very trendy I think. The real treat though was in Caswell Bay where we tucked into ice cream before discovering that the final twenty minute walk to Langland Bay was all on a concrete cliff top path …. a luxury I can assure you, particularly as it was also pretty flat!
Without doubt, one of the toughest days of walking we have done in some time.
We started off fully positive after yesterday’s wonderful stroll, looking forward to more of this absolutely spectacular Gower coastline. It was incredibly windy – we were being battered and blown around by the elements, which makes moving even more tiring. Not far in we turned a corner and at least the wind was on our backs, which was a huge benefit. And at least it was dry.
Very close to the edge clifftop walking – at times it was just best not to look down. But amazing sea views, the waves crashing dramatically against the rocks. Some more wild Welsh ponies dotted around the grassy sections too, all very beautiful.
What wasn’t so lovely was the number of ascents and the steepness of the ascents and then the inevitable descents. It’s impossible to describe how exhausting the climbs were and even worse when I took a tumble, face-planting on to the rocks I was scrabbling over – luckily my left knee took the impact rather than my face. The severity of the terrain really slowed our walking down so it was about 6 hours on our feet today.
We stopped off for lunch at Port Eynon, after 8 miles of walking, where we treated ourselves to hot drinks and a shared bowl of chips to lift our spirits – before tucking into our sandwiches. It was at this time that the rain started, adding to the still blustery weather … and it just got wetter and wetter. We’d all had quite enough by this stage but we soldiered on, keeping fingers crossed for an easier path. No such luck – it only got worse!
The last headland was the headland that kept giving, it was endless. It took us through a nature reserve woodland and although it was beautiful with trees, plants and birdsong, it was just outright cruel in the number of steps up and the number of steps down … repeat. My knee was causing me pain by now and I just could have sat and cried. Steve also was experiencing some muscle pain in his leg so David and Ros were like mountain goats in comparison.
Massive relief when we reached Oxwich and in our dripping wet and exhausted state we slumped into the car for the journey home. We had minimum time to recover as we had to shower, eat and head off to Mumbles to meet up with lovely friends, David and Bethan. David R came too as he was meeting up with some University chums that he hadn’t seen for 42 years! We all met up together in The Pilot pub and had a fabulously fun evening, including a great Welsh sing song. Such a perfect tonic after a truly tough day.
Steve, Bethan, Me, David Williams, David Rose and Coops
I was reminded today that I should know my limits – as tomorrow’s planned walk appears to be similar to today, it is highly likely that I will be taking a day off.
Well, what a difference a day makes. Today was the most fabulous day of coastal walking and completely dry. We decided to jump up the coast a bit while we had the use of two cars (David R has to leave us on Wednesday). Aiming to cover a couple of sections that have limited public transport, before David goes. So, two cars it was and a lot of narrow country road driving. Lots of splashes on the vehicles but no bumps.
We set off from Landimore, embracing the dryness, although there was definitely a nip in the air. We soon hit an area of marshland that was easy enough to cross but came a little unstuck at some rather sunken stepping stones … not to mention a bull like creature peering at us from the field opposite. We beat a hasty retreat and found an alternative.
The precarious stepping stones … and the water was deep so we gave them a swerve!
The alternative was a muddy climb and guess who forgot her walking pole … AGAIN!!! It was still a wise choice though especially as just 3 miles in we stumbled across a wonderful cafe/post office in Llanmadoc, run by community volunteers. The coffee and cakes were first class. We got chatting to Anne, the former post-mistress and now volunteer who gave us an insight into the village activities. A superbly friendly establishment and well stocked with all sorts of delicious goodies – I would highly recommend. A pretty area too with cute sheep just wandering around the roads.
Stopped at the Llanmadoc Community Cafe for refreshment – fab
From here there was some road walking but, unlike yesterday, they were perfectly peaceful country lanes. In fact we had a whole collection of walking terrain today – sand dunes, beautiful beach strolling, paths thick with wet mud, cliff edges and hills, many hills. One hill was so steep that if I’d been the last one going up, I’d probably still be there now. Half way up with each step I kept falling backwards – luckily my gallant friend, David Rose, was on hand to give me a shove up.
And my lovely friend Ros with a helpful hand on the beach
We met many a sheep on the path today but also some horses with young foals – not at all phased by us walking by.
A beautiful day all in all – the climbs were worth it for the stunning views of the numerous amazing beaches along this bit of coastline, just glorious. Even the wind died down and the sun came out to play – blue sky makes the world of difference to the rambling experience.
Worm’s Head
9.5 miles covered today. Home and recovered and now about to brave the Langland Bay sea – just can’t get enough of this place.
And then there were four. Our lovely David Jockel had to leave us yesterday to return to something they call ‘work’ … sounds like a swear word to me!!
And then the Famous Five became four!
Sadly, yet another day of setting off in the rain. Drove to Swansea, train to Port Talbot and hot footed it down to the promenade to commence our stroll back to the car – a mere 12 miles or so. Despite the evident wetness, we were uplifted by the wonderful stretch of Swansea Bay beach and envied the groups of kayakers enjoying their Sunday morning activities.
Swansea Bay
It was soon a choice between heavy going sand dune walking and the easier coastal path route of roadside – rightly or wrongly we chose the roads … BUSY roads!! Unfortunately we had to endure about 7 miles of that, in the rain, struggling to find ourselves an acceptable picnic spot. We finally turned off the main road into the village of Jersey Marine and pounced upon the first bench, despite the continuing drizzle, to devour our sandwiches. It was way beyond lunchtime and we were ravenous. To any passers by we must have looked hilarious.
Picnic time
From this point we had a two mile amble along the riverbank. The path started off a little narrow and uneven, as well as wet and muddy underfoot. The river was unnervingly high and flowing fast as we fought our way through overgrown bulrushes and ferns plus the inevitable brambles and stinging nettles – we could have been in the Amazon jungle. Half way along it morphed into a tarmac surface, and comfortably wider. In our damp state we uttered those immortal words .. “just a parkrun to go.”
The final stretch was back to busy and noisy traffic in the city of Swansea, as we trudged our way back to the station car park. It had been a day of contrasts, it had been a day of downpour, it had been one of those days that just had to be done to complete the coastal path. David suggested the word ‘perfunctory’ which I thought was a great word – checking the dictionary later I would agree with ‘carried out without real interest’ but I would challenge the ‘without effort’ part. But I don’t like to disagree with teachers … it’s not respectful.
The Rambling Roses … doing what they do
Now we’re back, showered, dry and warm and Steve has a roast chicken dinner on the go. Our grey day is now positively glowing.
When I first looked out of our bedroom window this morning, this is what I saw – so it’s not all grey
At this morning’s initial planning discussion, Steve suggested that we had a choice between the high road or the low road on leaving Port Talbot. Of course, we immediately burst into song with Ros giving us a wonderfully melodic rendition of this old Scottish song … whilst laying the breakfast table I might add.
We had the same taxi driver as yesterday take us to Port Talbot so the day started off with some fine banter – what a jolly chap! He dropped us off at the train station and the choice had been made to take the ‘low road.’ Seeing the hills towering over us we felt we had made the right decision but the low road did involve 5 miles of industrial grimness (steel works and power station) plus walking alongside a busy road, including lorries, with no coastline visible!
The steel works, due to close!
These are the hills we avoided by taking the ‘low road.’
Plus it was literally pouring with rain … one of those days when you really think `’why?? what’s wrong with us!!??’
But, lo and behold, it got better and better. We eventually took a countryside path that led us to sand dunes. Not always my favourite terrain but sand means that the beach is getting nearer and industrial gloom and busy roads are being left behind. The rain eased up too. After 6.5 miles of walking we found the perfect spot to sit and dangle our legs in the dunes, with sea views, for today’s yummy picnic. And the rain had completely vanished.
The sand dunes gradually became grass covered so positively luxurious to walk on and then we were treated to a long stretch of boardwalk – they’re making life so easy for us in these parts. Finally we reached the promenade that led us to our destination in Porthcawl.
Having been deprived of any coffee stops all day (not a cafe in sight), we had an ice-cream on the prom, a cream tea when we got home and takeaway fish and chips for dinner. As Mr. Punch says “that’s the way to do it.”
12 more miles in the bag.
Saturday 7th September 2024
Started the day with a run and ended the day with a swim …can’t be bad!
After a night of heavy rain, thunder and lightening, this morning was dry … the five of us set off eagerly to join the Porthcawl parkrun – a pleasant 5k out and back along the promenade. An arranged late check out enabled us to go back and shower before moving on to our new destination. A beautiful drive along the coast, through Swansea and the Mumbles to reach our swanky sea view apartment in Langland Bay. And the sea was definitely calling … well for some of us anyway … a fabulous swim and it’s like a bath!!
And the good new is that my recent blogs seem to have been reinstated on Facebook. I’ve been forgiven for whatever it was I did. If the ‘sensitive information’ I allegedly gathered was Ros and David’s kissing gate embrace, I can assure you that I had full permission … and I captured only one of several incidents of this each walking day! Or as my son Tom said, possibly I could be arrested for ‘being old fashioned’ – referring to my description of tucking into our picnic lunch on Day 1.
Who knows? – quoting Toyah Wilcox .. “it’s a mystery”.
