Distance walked: 21km, Time taken: 6 1/2 hours
Ascents: 785m, Descents: 906m
Today started with a brutally steep, but thankfully short, ascent. Why do all the days start with a climb? According to my B&B host some people cheat and ask to be dropped off at the top of the climb rather than back at Bodfari. Not me, I've walked the whole way, and then some.
Met up with TheQuartet when we all got to Rhualt. The weather up until then had been fine, if overcast, but it started to rain so we all took shelter, put on waterproofs and snacked. It looked like the rain had set in, so we all set off again after a short stop. I walked with them for a while but my pace was faster than theirs, so I pulled again with cheerful promises to meet up again later.
We also came across a man walking on his own (Tony - see Rachael I sometimes do remember names) carrying a huge pack. He'd actually started from Chepstow the day before me but I hadn't encountered him before. He was doing longer stages, with a few rest days added in and was camping - hence the huge pack. In spite of this, he walked faster than me and soon pulled ahead of me.
The rain stopped not long after it had started thankfully and I eventually came to a spot that was not too damp and not too sheep-scented and stopped for a leisurely lunch. I was trying to make today last as long as possible as it is back to real life all too soon. Although the walking today was rather dull. It did go through the last bit of the Clwydian Range but the scenery was nowhere near as spectacular as it had been. Mostly it was fields, with and without cows, although I am now an experienced cow whisperer and they don't give me grief anymore. The only startling parts of today's scenery were the views of the wind farms out to sea off the coast and the motorway leading to Prestatyn. Both impressive in their own way but an all too obvious reminder of the walk coming to an end.
After lunch I got mildly off track. Not lost mind you. I knew where I was. I'd just missed the next bit of the path. TheQuartet had passed me but I pushed myself to catch up with them and walked the rest of the way that day with them. Intellectually I might have wanted to keep walking but my legs had other ideas and their pace suited me just fine.
We were all staying at the same B&B which we passed on the way into Prestatyn. We debated stopping and dropping off our packs but decided to press on. And on. It was about another mile from the B&B to the end point and it felt longer. As we approached the bottom of the main street we met up with Tony the camper who had reached the end point and was heading back up for a celebratory drink. We arranged to meet him later and pressed on. And on. The actual sea shore was a bit further north again. We got to the stone marking the end and took many photos. We then went on - yet again - to put our boots in the sea. The tide was out so this added yet another few hundred metres to the total.
On our way back, we met the OtherCouple (Angela and Richard) who had just arrived at the finishing point. Yet more photos ensued and promises from the OtherCouple to join us before we headed off to the bar and the waiting Tony. At the bar I had a tasting paddle of three ales. In fact, so many of us did they ran out of the proper glasses and I had to drink out of water glasses. The first one I tried was the Cheshire Gap from the Cheshire Brewhouse which was harmless. The second was Shipwreck IPA from the Liverpool Organic Brewery which was horrid. Much too fizzy and citrusy. The final one I tried was Freak Chic by Heavy Industry Brewing which was local and delicious. Shame about the name.
We finally waved good-bye to Tony who was headed home to Cardiff that night and tottered off to our B&B where all 7 of us were staying. I say tottered deliberately as we had all stiffened up by then. I calculate that with all my detours - both planned and unplanned - I had walked 311km (194 miles) in the past 15 days and my legs had had enough.
After a wash and brush up we all went out to the local Italian restaurant, La Ricetta, for dinner as we all agreed that we'd had enough pub grub for now. I started with chicken livers sauted with sherry which were very good - rich and smooth. For main I had spaghetti carbonara. The dish I got was clearly a Welsh interpretation of this Italian classic and wasn't really to my taste. It had a poached egg on top rather than beaten egg to make a silky sauce, leeks rather than spring onions and shredded ham rather than lardons of pancetta. Not bad, just different. For dessert I had limoncello cheesecake which was fabulous. The cheesecake was rich but light and fluffy and the lemon & limoncello made it pleasingly tangy.
After all this we waddled back up to the hill to our B&B and so to bed.
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