After sweating it out during the night i was feeling considerably better in the morning. After devouring a bacon sarnie and bowl of weetabix prepared by darryls wife i got packed up and dropped off at the station to meet more of the crew, some current but mostly retired. Alex and callum arrived later and after another photo op on the beach we each headed off in our seperate directions, alex headed east and i west.
It was nearing lunch time by the time i eventually got under way. It was going to be a great day for hiking, slightly cloudy, dry with a little breeze and well unusually flat for most of the day. Leaving the boathouse I set off to follow the promenade to Llandudno, the first of many welsh settlements i would have trouble pronouncing.
Arriving at Colwyn Bay my days journey began to get a little more interesting, ok so I'd passed a few caravan parks and seaside arcades. I'd even passed a very impressive and overwhelmingly large castle up in the hills, a little too far to explore, but now i was entering an historically significant part of the welsh coast.
With information boards spread out along the foreshore boasting inventions such as fixed winged aircraft before the wright brothers had built theirs and discoveries of america some 300 years before columbus all made for interesting reading. I even passed a tiny and slightly out of place church. When i say tiny i mean miniscule. With only enough room for 6 or as i discovered when i went in, four knelt sisters, the curious church is apparently the smallest in the British Isles.
Aheadof me now was what was left of an old quarry on a headland known as the little orme, I'd be tackling its bigger brother after stopping in Llandudno. Leaving the easy hiking promenade i headed up to more familiar and comfortable terrain. With no feasible way of hiking at sea level round i stayed as close to the edge as safely possible. The skies were almost completely clear now and reaching the highest point on the eastern side i took a few moments out to take in the views, looking back where I'd stopped in Rhyl the night before.
Sheer cliff faces were now determining my path around this obstacle. Veering slightly off the designated footpaths i kept as close to the cliff tops as safely possible. On the far side i headed up to the trig point to get a panoramic view and to assess potential ways back down. The sun was lowering in the sky as i gazed ahead looking down over the town i would be spending the night.
Spotting what i thought would be a potential route i began my descent, picking up a sheep trail. I was able to get so far, carefully lowering myself on the rocks but at all times concieuous that one false move could be my last.
As i gradually descended i was able to adapt my plan but my route down would soon be obstructed by densely overgrown shrubs and bushes. These I'd have to circumnavigate by traversing the sheer faces and rocky outcrops. It was now that i wished I'd had an abseil rope with me, the drop down would have been awesome.
Reaching the bottom i began to walk away and towards Llandudnos promenade. A few hundred yards along i stopped to look back. I'll be honest it looked bigger from the bottom looking up. Continuing on i was soon captured by the fantastic victorian architecture that stretched along the promenade before me.
Nearing the town center i noticed a sole plaque embedded in the tarmac, follow the white rabbit, it said. A little further on i came upon a sculpture of the mad hatter, was this wonderland?
With the sun beginning to set behind the big orme, another rocky headland, i headed off to seek out the local rnli station where i was to be stopping the night. The station is quite uniquely positioned in the middle of the town. This is so that depending on weather, tide and other conditions the boat can be launched from either the north shore or the west shore of the peninsula.
Arriving at the boathouse i was surprised to be greeted by a group of crew members whom applauded my arrival in fantastic form. They hadn't come to see me though, it was Monday night and for the crew of Llandudno it meant training evening.
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