An hour on the Gower!

Well it was more than an hour but I couldn't resisit Big A's assonance?!

We had very mixed weather while we were staying at the flat, an awful lot of heavy rain showers raced through on a blustery wind, but we did get a couple of nice days.

This was typical - looking out, to see a rain shower rushing up the channel!

A shower on the Gower!

The strong winds also meant there was a big sea running, one day the waves were 12/13ft, wonderful to watch from the protection of the flat!

On the Tuesday afternoon, Bridgie and I heard a horn sound, and the lifeguards got everyone out of the water. Very unusual, this, and we just made out the lifeguard call out that they were closing the beach because of Portuguese-man-o-war, (I think you Aussies know them as blue bottles?). They even got all the surfers out which was quite an achievement (though they went back in during the evening once the lifeguards had finished their duty!).

Next morning saw the lifeguard methodically combing the beach (low tide) and he scooped up something and dropped it in the back of his truck. I had to find out what it was, so went down to have a look, and this is what they'd scraped up...

It is only little, about 5" long, but I was very impressed, I may have seen one before but I don't remember it. I had a long chat with the lifeguard who told me he'd spent time in Aus and there, they just put up a warning and carried on as usual! Not on our little beach! Anyway, it was very exciting, and Tim (Uncle) tells me it even made the South West News, as they had been discovered at several places along the Welsh coast.

Pics of our visit to John and Chris next time :-)>

A wedding

More catching up now... after Meriel's visit it wasn't long before we headed up north ourselves for Chris and Louise's wedding. Chris is Gill's son, (Gill is Keith's sister) and we spent a couple of days staying at Meriel's but Phil couldn't make it because of his course.

The weather stayed fine for most of the day, they managed to get all but a few photo's done before it rained, but it blew away quickly and everyone had a wonderful time :-)

The ceremony was lovely, and the setting was super. The next pic is for the foodies amongst us...

...this starter was delicious... mmm... fig....

During the evening reception, about 10.30pm, they hustled everyone out on to some steps for some fireworks. I am not usually taken with fireworks but they were the most amazing fireworks I have ever seen. I wish I had been able to photograph them - they were awesome! If I can get hold of any pics I'll show you what I mean - but the were fantastic.

We drove home the next day (Wednesday) and packed the car up ready for an early start next morning, for Wales. Bridgie and I were planning to drop Keith off near Hereford (where I was at college - show Bridgie my old stomping grounds) and then he was cycling to Hay-on-Wye (of second hand bookshop fame) and Bridgie and I were going on down to the flat on the Gower where Katy was staying. Katy had just come back from a couple of weeks in Philadelphia/New York and was having a week in the flat before school began.

A gentle knock on my door heralded the news that dear Bridgie had been sick all night and couldn't come :-( She hadn't disturbed us but had been very poorly, so because Keith had B&B bookings all done, he and I headed off guiltily, leaving poorly Bridgie behind. We kept Hereford for another trip but I dropped him off as planned and he cycled off into the sunset...

I went on to the flat. Keith travels well equipped and had no punctures over the next few days, which was great,(I was on standby to rescue as necessary!) and the weather, though very windy at times, was ok for him.
Down at the flat the weather was wetter and windier than Keith's. We had this beautiful rainbow over the beach one afternoon.

Caswell Bay

Bridgie caught the train down on the Saturday and Keith arrived during the aftenoon too so it was then a full house. Katy returned home next morning and Keith, Bridgie and I had the rest of the week in the flat with another visit to John and Chris... more next time :-)

Catching up!

The sun is shining (unusual for this summer!) and the washing is blowing dry on the line. It's been an age since I last blogged, so here goes... though I shall have to do it in stages or you'll give up before you begin!

Phil has successfully completed his TEFL course and is back home now, awaiting final accreditation, and applying for jobs. He's decided against Indonesia for the moment, but is still planning to head out Far East. The course was very intensive and, as he hasn't really had a holiday this year, he's taken up an invite to go to New York with some mates.They are travelling up to Montreal and Back to Boston, and have two weeks altogether. He certainly deserves a good holiday.


Jobs are scarce over here, so Tim has been working in our garden to earn some cash, Bridgie seems to have nurtured her finances a little more shrewdly and has had some to spend. She's applying for some work while at uni which is a great idea... Costa Coffee or the like.


Meriel came to stay for a week in August and we went to visit Boughton House. En route, we stopped at Geddington to see the Eleanor Cross,




this is where the body of Eleanor the wife of Edward I laid on its journey to Westminster Abbey. Wherever they stopped he built a cross - I think there are only a couple left. The village itself was beautiful and had this pretty ford.

the house itself wasn't really my cup of tea, but the gardens were lovely. There was a beautiful walled garden,

with a wonderful sensory section. The garden had many water features, including this...

which if you can enlarge shows what it looked like before it was restored! There was also a raised mound - a bit like a pyramid with the top lopped off, and next to it a modern 'sculpture?' called Orpheus which I loved. We weren't allowed to walk on it as the grass had only just taken, but basically you can walk down the slopes to the pool at the bottom... and look into the Underworld. An amazing space :-)

home

Thought it was time to post again!


Today was Phil's final day at Lincroft and the students and staff gave him some lovely things. Some took such time and care... this cake was made by one of the girls he taught...

He is starting a 'Teaching English as a Foreign Language' course in two weeks, which lasts all of August. He's then hoping to go abroad - probably Indonesia, to work.

Some of you know about The Ashes tour...

...well the women play too, and Katy and I went to watch their fourth one day match which was very exciting. England won on the last ball of the match! :-) I will say no more!

Thought you maight like to see the progress in Katy's garden too...

She is very pleased with it - it is looking really lovely.

Port Isaac to Padstow 24th March

We were again given a good breakfast before being delivered back to Port Isaac to continue the walk. This was more familiar ground and again we were blessed with wonderful weather... sun and wind :-)

This walk talk us via Port Quin



... The Rumps and Pentire Point through Polzeath and on round to the ferry at Rock.

We watched the dredger taking sand out of the estuary,

and later saw it being offloaded at Padstow pier.

We found a good place to eat, and a willing pair of hands to take a photo to mark the end of Stage One.

We decided to stop here for the summer, Tim caught a bus back home, I stayed in another B&B and then caught the train back the next day.

It has been wonderful - we have walked about 160 miles and climbed about 30,000 feet (36,974 apparently!). The weather has been amazing, from snow to blazing sun, the scenery could not be bettered and the company perfect.

Roll on September/October when we can continue...

Tintagel to Port Isaac March 23rd

To complete the first stage... along the edge of one path huge slates had been stood on end as a boundary,

natural flaws in them had left holes... I couldn't resist experimenting!

The path took us on to Port Gaverne (not pronounced with a hard 'a' as we had always said it as children, but with a soft 'a' as in 'gave') and round to Port Isaac which, with its narrow streets was as charming as ever, but would be a nightmare in the summer!

We found a little cafe for some more sustainance... pity this wasn't real!

Our B&B was some way out of Port Isaac so we were picked up in the car park and whisked off to our final, for Tim, overnight stay.

Here is a little look back at one of the 7 valleys we crossed between Trebarwith Strand and Port Gaverne to give you a taste of the size of the valleys and the type of path, although the steepness is lost as you look down to Tim and follow the path back up to my feet!

Our final day's walk took us on mostly familiar ground from Port Isaac to Padstow - it was beautiful, sunny and very windy.

Tintagel to Port Isaac March 23rd

Our Bed and Breakfast in Tintagel was lovely, and we were treated to another scrumptious breakfast, from Julie and Keith - another place we'd happily recommend :-)





I have to mention the fudge shop again because it was so gorgeous! The pic below is dark, but worth including to see the guy, Tim, working on the fudge on his marble slab

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kjS0aIH9U0 try this link to see him in action... it's a pity you can't smell it because it is wonderful!

We walked on along the cliff, by the youth hostel (closed again - as have been most of them - we were too early in the year!) and along the slate cliffs which have been quarried leaving fascinating shapes and sometimes dangerous paths to walk on.

We descended into Trebarwith Strand which we visited a lot one summer when we rented a cottage nearby and it was our nearest beach.

From Trebarwith you climb the cliff path to about 300' and drop back down to sea level almost imediately - there were 6 more of these to do before we'd finish the day!

These descents into gullies with little streams tumbling into the sea were wonderful and felt completely away from it all. Places you want to explore with a rug and hamper to help!

The guide books repeatedly warned how dangerous these paths can be, especially in the wet, so were were very lucky to have such fabulous weather and be dry underfoot on the slate/shale. It was easy to see how tricky this path might be but we navigated our way safely.

This was one spot I stopped at for some time, just watching the sea.

Boscatle to Tintagel March 22nd

I have Wimbledon on the tele, it is blisteringly hot, and have done nothing all day, so, guilt prompted, I've decided I really should finish writing about the last stages of our Coast Path walk!


So come with me back to Margaret's at Crackington Haven. She had offered us such a haven of rest - I loved the bed I slept on - a futon that seemed to wrap its arms around me so cosily, so after a good sleep and another good breakfast, Margaret took us back to Boscastle to continue our walk. We will definitely come back to Margaret's, we feel like she's part of our family.

We set off along the cliff path at Boscastle in beautiful sunshine,

Blowhole at Boscastle.

the blowhole was very active and we had glorious views to see and colours to enjoy.


We took it at a very leisurely pace, and had a lovely walk via Ladies window

and valley of the rocks where a stream tumbles down a narrow valley and crashes into the sea.

We walked on to Tintagel where we had more delicious soup at Tintagel castle, (celery and apple) another cream tea :-) and some wonderful fudge from Granny Wobbly's Shop...definitely worth a visit.

At home

Since I got back from Wales I've thrown myself into the gardening, I took this picture a while back but you can see what's going on... and I've begun digging next to the fence because I have no room for the runner beans otherwise!

Mangetout, red onions, potatoes,leeks and sweetcorn seem to be doing well :-).

The only problem I've had is with the raspberry canes... only 5 have sprouted, I need to talk to them at the garden centre as that's poor return on 20 canes!

Other than the garden, I've been playing a lot of golf, still nowhere near my old handicap but it's lovely to be playing.

Also helped Katy with her back garden, she had a weird gravel 'patio-square' that was just awful so we took it out...

.. there was masses of small gravel, then a barrier matting underneath.The ground beneath was as smooth as concrete. We began filling up a huge builder's bag with the pebbles - then realised we wouldn't be able to shift it! Instead we used little bags to transfer it to the pathway at the side of the house and laid it along the edge of the path and around the herbs.

Laying the turf was great fun as more helpers were on hand - Paula and Alan offered to help - not sure they realised quite what was in store! Alan dug over the 'concrete' soil, we all picked out stones...

then came the turf laying...

... only to find that someone hadn't done their Maths correctly(!!!!) and we were one turf short.

Anyway - we put that right the following day. I'll put in a pic of the completed grass at some point.

However, all the golf and gardening has taken its toll, I began to feel extra tired at the beginning of half-term week, and by this Thursday was aching all over again. So I've spent the last two days resting completely in the hope that I can catch it before it gets too bad.

... just one more...

I have to add just one more...

... the wind was so strong i fought to keep the camera still... didn't quite succeed but they make me smile.

The last of the Gower...

Here is my last blog about the Gower... for the moment!

On the Thursday, Tim and I went out to Rhossili at low tide so that Tim could walk out on Worms Head and I could go to the far end of the beach in search of Bluepool and walk on Burry Holms.

Worms Head

The weather was wonderful - sunny and quite windy, with a rain storm coming in later as it did when Meriel and I were there.

Tim enjoyed his clamber over the rocks to the Worm and got right out on to the end.

I sped across the 3 mile beach watching fishermen and surfers, but got side-tracked three-quarters of the way along - I spotted this...




... I thought it was a surfer about to catch a wave. It was very difficult to get close to, and the wind and sun were so strong that it made your eyes water. I walked as close as I could and eventually decided it must be a sculpture because it was bigger than lifesize and simply didn't move.I wondered at the concept - someone casting a surfer catching a wave and then carting it here at low tide, erecting it, then waiting for peoples reactions - only visible at low tides :-). Amazing!

But something niggled at me... could that really be the explanation?

I finished the walk across the beach and walked out on my headland, Burry Holms and also along the cliff path with views across the bay to Pembrey, but didn't find the Bluepool.

As I retraced my steps across the beach... literally at times, I hunted for my 'surfer' but he had disappeared; the tide had come in enough to hide him.

I talked to Tim and showed him the pictures; I was bemused and hooked. The elusive Bluepool and 'Surfer' had got under my skin and I determined I must go back the next day to try and find them again.

The flat we were staying in is Katy's, so I spoke to her and her Mum on the phone that evening and asked them about my Llangennith surfer - but they knew nothing of him.

Tim was returning to Cornwall the next day so the next morning saw us enjoying lattes at Verdi's (and a delicious custard slice for me!), then he set off to walk along the bay to Swansea to catch the train, and I headed for Rhossili again.

The weather had turned very windy with squally showers being whipped in across the sea. I parked in the little Church car park at Rhossili and headed up on to the spine which runs parallel to the beach. It was so windy at the top of the ridge that I had to walk on the leeward side - it knocked me over otherwise. I'm putting in a video for you to see how rough it was.

It turned out that it was almost impossible to see in the wind and my 'surfer' was more elusive then before, although I did find him eventually!

I also found Bluepool which is an amazing natural pool cut in the rocks - although it reflected green rather than blue on that stormy day! I would like to see it on a summer's day.

When I got back to Rhossili, I was a bit in need of refreshment and decided to test out Joe's icecream - I'm not usually one for icecream but decided to give it a go and get it from the National Trust shop. Whilst I was there I asked about my sculpture ... no they knew nothing of one... but then the girl disappeared and, after a few minutes, returned holding a book open to a picture...

... and all was revealed.

What I had spotted (though from a different angle) was part of the wreck of The City of Bristol, a paddle steamer which had gone down in 1840, 22 crew and 7 passengers with only two survivors. The wreck, which is now more deeply buried in the sand, is only visible at the lowest of tides. I was pleased to have my mystery resolved, but saddened that it marked the loss of so much life.

Needless to say I bought the book...

and Joe's ice cream was delicious.

Even more of the week by the sea!

Meriel and I also had glimpses of Three Cliffs Bay,


and had such dramatic weather at Rhossili. As we stood out on the headland we could look inland and see the rain falling on the hills!

Even more of the week by the sea!

Here are some more pictures from the week Meriel and I had at the Gower. The flowers were so beautiful, and when Tim and I returned to Clyne Gardens the following week, after it had rained, the scent from the flowers was gorgeous.


This was one of my favourites and had a particularly lovely, scent.

As we walked around the gardens we came across three wooden animals for the children to play on - Meriel couldn't resist!



Returning to Caswell Beach, we explored the wonderful rock formations and caves including this wonderful little area where the rocks were so smooth.