Day 14 - Llangollen to Clwyd Gate

Beer drunk: 1 pint
Distance walked: 23km, Time taken: 6 1/2 hours
Ascents: 821m, Descents: 726m

The beer tonight was the Wolf Rock IPA by Sharp's Brewery in Cornwall. It seems to count as a local brewery by the locals here as the Cornish are celts too.

Llangollen is pronounced something like "lan-goth-ellen" and Clwyd is "clue-wed". The Welsh are nice people but their spelling is crazy.

I got a lift to the foot of the climb to Castell Dinas Bran this morning so I could rejoin the path without having to climb all the way up from Llangollen. I don't think this counts as cheating as I'm here to walk the trail not extra bits (necessarily). My taxi driver had already dropped off the brother+sister+spice quartet (Pete, Judy, Mark and Trish - just for you Rachael). At the time I arrived the OtherCouple (Richard + Angela - again for you Rachael) were also being dropped off. We all fussed over our gear to allow the other groups to head off separately so we weren't imposing our company on each other. All very proper and quite funny.

The first bit of the path contoured along some spectacular hill sides, with dramatic cliffs looming up on the right and equally dramatic drops down to the valley below. I've attempted to take photos of it but they just don't show how impressive it really was. I know I keep using superlatives like superb, spectacular and amazing but the scenery around here really does deserve all those words. I'm very pleased I decided to do this walk.

The weather was good today with clear blue skies but there was a very brisk wind. I had to wear the fleecy vest and the beanie and keep moving to stay warm. After the cliff paths, the trail went across moorlands before dropping down through a forest. I decided to stop for lunch in a sheltered spot just at the forest edge as the forest itself was rather gloomy. This proved to be a mistake because I cooled down while I was eating and walking through the forest was bloody cold without any direct sunlight.

Not long after the forest I came to the village of Llandegla. Its claim to fame is the church of St Tecla. I don't know what she is the saint of but the local priest/reverend/church wardens put on free coffee, tea, biscuits and chocolates for passing walkers. Best of all, they've put a free loo in the vestry. Heavenly. I met up with the OtherCouple and the Quartet there, all taking advantage of the facilities.

At the church I also met up with a group of about half a dozen walkers (whose names I was never told so I can't forget them) who are walking the trail in segments. They do it about 1/3 at a time, basing themselves in one place. Each day they all pile into cars and drive to the end point for the day, leaving half their cars there. They then pile into the remainder and drive to the start. At the end of the day they repeat the process. While it does save them from having to pack and unpack every day, it does seem at the expense of a great deal more mucking about.

All of us - the HalfDozen, the Quartet and the OtherCouple and me - ended up at Clwyd Gate at much the same time. There is nothing there now but a defunct pub but it has a big car park so it is a popular finishing point. The HalfDozen piled into their cars while the rest of us waited for our B&B hosts to pick us up. We were all staying in different villages in the neighbourhood so just waved good-bye to each other.

My B&B was in a small town called Ruthin. The owners were very stylish and modern which made me feel rather awkward in my muddy, smelly hiking gear, but they were very friendly and welcoming. My room was enormous - easily twice the size of my London hotel room. The bed was king-sized which is just ridiculously large for one person. The room was big enough that it looked in proportion though.

I made the mistake of asking my host for advice on where to eat. He recommended a place called On The Hill and made a reservation for me. It turned out to be a very upmarket place. I lowered the tone by demanding a pint of beer with my meal rather than wine. This turned out to be a good thing as a young couple were soon seated next to me. They were clearly on a date and this was a special occasion restaurant for them, rather than their usual sort of place. The wine list clearly intimidated them and they were very relieved to see me drinking beer and quickly ordered some for themselves.

For my meal I started with the pate which was clearly made in-house with lots of cream and other tasty goodness. It was delicious. For main I had the Welsh pork dish - which was a trio of pork belly, char-grilled tenderloin and crispy fried pulled shoulder. It was all very tasty but I would have preferred less of the pork belly and more of the shoulder as that was the highlight of the dish. I skipped dessert, as while the restaurant might be upmarket, its servings weren't upmarket in size. Instead, they were distinctly generous and I couldn't fit another mouthful in. I'm slipping in my old age.

After this I tottered home to bed, only to lie awake listening to a neighbour doing his drum practice.