Beaumaris to Pentraeth 5/3/26

 

Hiya!  It is what people here in Wales say when they greet you on the streets.

It was pretty foggy when I started out this morning.  In reading today’s guide, they used the dreaded word CLIMB. Plus, I have to worry about the tide.  I consulted a tide chart, and there was a 23-foot difference between the high and the low. That is a lot.  I wrote directions for each spot that might be a problem.  As it turned out, my online map took me around each area.

Looking back towards Beaumaris Castle, the "greatest castle never built” circa the late 1200s.

I thought these were going to be caves, but they were just washed-out areas of the rocks. And I had to stumble over all these rocks or choose the very soft sand for about a half mile.

Another one of these spots that had I tried the original route, it was sink or swim.

I have never come across one of these before.  I did once accidentally walk into a pop-up brothel in Spain. There, I was looking for a Diet Coke.  I didn’t find one.

This are mountains through the mist.

Penmon Priory

"These buildings originally formed the south range of the Priory Cloister. They date from the 8th century and were probably built at the time the old Celtic monastery was reorganized as an Augustinian Priory. The refectory (dining Rau)was on the first floor, with a cellar below and the

dormitory above. The kitchen and warming house at the east end were added in the late 16th century.”(copied from the sign) 

On the right side is a small church.

More beautiful stained glass.

This is the  Penman Davecot built around 1600.  There is a stone pillar inside that supports a ladder giving access to the nests. A dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves, which were once a significant source of food.

There is an old lighthouse to the left.

Woohoo!  A place to have a Diet Coke and a real bathroom.  

I couldn’t resist ordering a scop of cherry, “Gold Medal Winning Luxury Welsh Dairy Ice Cream.”  After all, I have to write about something.  It is all your fault. 

It totally hit the spot. Very creamy and rich. And that Diet Coke tasted just jim-dandy.

I recently learned these are called kissing gates. Popular in rural Britain, it gets its name because the gate merely touches or "kisses" the sides of the enclosure. More romantically, the nature of the gate means that as one person goes through, they tend to turn and hold it for the next person, bringing them face-to-face. An old kissing game based on going through the gates meant that the first person to go through could 'demand' a kiss before letting the other person through. 

The climb was not as bad as I had envisioned.  I was thinking of the Alps. There was quite a bit of uphill, and I am finally starting to see big cliffs.

These yellow flowers were abundant on the higher levels.

The trail had been rerouted, and I couldn’t figure out how to get where I needed to be.  These two local gentlemen (and Finn) were so very nice. They walked me down to the start of the new trail and explained where I needed to go. One of them laughed and said that if I couldn’t find it, I could tell stores about how these two Welshmen misdirected me.  I told them I was going to make up a much better story about them. I’ll never tell.

My last hurdle was this long bridge, over a swamp-like area.  I have never seen a footbridge anywhere near this long. Another mile or so on the beach, and I finally reached the sand parking lot where my driver met me and drove me to my hotel.  He will pick me up in the morning and take me back to resume the trail.

So it is late, and after 18.5 miles, I am tired.

Good Night and God Bless.