WB 13/14/15: Trails up the West of Wales

Progress

Progress has been good over the last 3 weeks, and  I am still on schedule. I have travelled from Carmarthen, Wales to Aberdaron, Wales covering 390 miles.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Hardships

I have had a lot of issues with signal over the passed 3 weeks, especially in Pembrokeshire. This has created a few issues. Firstly it has made it very hard to publish and keep up to date with diaries, and weekly blogs. The diaries are up to date, and I am doing this tri-weekly blog to get up to date with the weekly blogs which gets emailed out. Secondly it has at times made it hard to plan the following day, for example checking routes, ascents, tides and locations of shops/cafes. Thirdly it has made it hard for me to keep in contact with any people/places that I am heading/meeting, and also keeping in contact with friends/families.

On my rest day in St David's with my brother and Emily, I went annoyingly into a low. I am not sure what caused this, maybe being behind admin due to signal, maybe not being as set up for the next week due to signal and slightly slow planning, maybe for no reason at all. But it ended up getting me really stressed and not relaxing at all, I tried to hide this at first from my brother/Emily as I was only with them for one day. But by the evening I was really stressed and becoming very low, so just went to bed about 8pm without even having dinner. In effect I was already behind on planning due to signal, but with the low I ended up doing almost no planning meaning I went into the next week a little blind (the reality is my spreadsheet made before the walk started is detailed enough to get me through most of the time, which is why I made it in case I had any lows on the walk.) In fact the following week turned out really well, and by the next morning my mood was back to normal again.

It may sound stupid but the shops over the last 3 weeks have been quite an issue. Either because there are few on the ground, or they stock very little useful stuff, and charge a stupid amount for it. In fact it can be cheaper to eat in a cafe than stock up in these small (Londis, Premier, Spar) shops. 

Essentially a mixture of the above has meant I got behind on admin, but think as of today I am back on track.

General

Youth Hostels

I have stayed in 4 YHA hostels in the last 3 weeks, these are great as they have everything I could need, drying room, bed, showers, laundry facilities and relatively cheap. Unfortunately not many are on the coast so even though I have used 4 in the last 3 weeks, I will probably only use another 2 in the next 30 weeks.

Guests & babies

I have had several guests; friends, families & a random join the walk in the last 3 weeks which has been great. This has included 2 babies which were great to see.

North Wales

When I started the walk at least 4 people said they knew people in the North of Wales, and would let me know nearer the time. I am shortly to hit North Wales so if anyone has any friends/family who may be able to help either with a pitch location, bed or meal let me know. Thanks

Daily Diary 

Please click links below to find out more detail about each specific day:

Thank You

Specific thank yous:

Brook Farm– thank you for letting me pitch for free for the night.

Jen, Rob & RJ - thank you for meeting me on the walk, both in Pembroke and Broad Haven, as well as treating me to accommodation, food and a giant birthday cake.

Claude, Emily & Arty - thank you for walking with me, putting me up and fattening me up with food.

Rachel, Newport YHA - thank you for kindly paying for my night's stay.

Hendre Hall Campsite - thank you for letting me pitch for free for the night.

Amy Johnson - thanks for joining the walk for a few hours and kindly treating me to lunch.

Afonwen Farm - thank you for providing me with a cottage for free for the night.

The Ship Hotel, Aberdaron - thank you for providing me with a free room and breakfast for the 2 nights of my rest day.

 

Also thank you to everyone who donated last week, and all the kind messages that I received. 

 

The walk can be followed on Facebook and Instagram and any donations are greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

charles compton