Tag: Gwynedd Coast Path
Wales Coast Path, day 60: Harlech to Porthmadog
Five gather at Porthmadog station: C, H, me, and two guests, M-A and J. Sunshine beams through the roof of the elegant platform, and the three-carriage train arrives to take us to Harlech. Its manager is as friendly as we’ve come to expect on the Cambrian Coast. Is it daily experience of working on the […]
Wales Coast Path, day 61: Porthmadog to Cricieth
Dusk on Saturday. We’re in Cricieth, two days after UKIP’s ‘Independence Day’. Explosions sound outside the eccentric seaside apartment we’ve rented for the week (it features a very public bath in the front bedroom window, and an impudent fish, Billy Bass, who turns to face you and sings, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ when you open […]
Wales Coast Path, day 59: Tal-y-bont to Harlech
Back to Penhelig station, for the last time. C and I are on our own today. We’re planning, as the climax of the week, to make a grand ceremonial advance on Harlech, in pale imitation of Owain Glyn Dŵr’s successful assault on the Edwardian castle there in 1404. Fortunately the wind has veered overnight. It’s […]
Wales Coast Path, day 58: Fairbourne from Tal-y-bont
Another strong contingent, with MH joining L and M at Penhelig station. We’re heading to Tal-y-bont, up the coast. The north wind still blows, so we plan a southerly walk to Fairbourne today. It’s not just windy, it’s cold, and we can see snow on the mountain tops. Tal-y-bont turns out to be disappointing – […]
Wales Coast Path, day 55: Machynlleth to Aberdyfi
Here we are, back on the platform at Penhelig, with two new guestwalkers, L and M. This morning we’re not alone. A small group of urban children sit on the ground. They look out of their element, and it’s soon obvious that they’re staying with Outward Bound. The Trust’s very first school was set up […]
Wales Coast Path, day 57: Tywyn from Fairbourne
Penhelig is the best hidden of railway stations. A poorly signed flight of steps takes us to a platform high above the road, the single track line leading to a tunnel at each end. Facing us a curving Victorian terrace blocks the sea view; it has its gardens at the front, each bisected by a […]
Wales Coast Path, day 56: Aberdyfi from Tywyn
It’s early afternoon. The Lloyds Coaches bus from Aberdyfi lets us off in a lay-by, near a school on the outskirts of Tywyn. We’re on Neptune Road. Somewhere ‘over there’ is the town centre, and ‘over here’ is the sea. We head for the latter, past the terminus of the Tal-y-llyn railway and some low, […]
