Day 13: Rest Day

Good Friday: In view of the fact that we had walked now for 12 consecutive days we decided we needed to have a rest day today. I slept right through until 8am and I hadn't realised how tired I was. The boys went off crabbing down in the village of Dale before an early lunch. We then all went to Mass for Good Friday in the church 1/2 an hour away in Haverfordwest. Then it was back for tea. While Andy cooked, I had a look at how we could revise the timetable to take account of our rest day and the change to our schedule. With the first stretch from Whitesands being steep in places Daniel has again agreed to do some of the walking for Pat so that she can join us on the latter stretch where it should be flatter and less rocky. The revised schedule is still being looked at as I type this report. Watch this space!

Day 12: St. Non's to Whitesands, 9miles

Maundy Thursday, 5th April: Another beautiful day of wall to wall sunshine so we donned our shorts and T Shirts for this one.(Made a mistake as the T Shirt was collarless and I forgot to put high factor sunscreen on my neck. Consequence was it got burnt. Whoops!) We didn't start walking til nearly 10.30am as the car journey is an hour. This is because as we have now walked all round the St Brides bay area, so we have to drive around the bay as there are no shorter direct routes, except by water. There were alot of people and families enjoying the sun and this stretch of the path. We tried a short cut by Treginnis to avoid the rocky headland and save Pats ankle which was causing her some difficulty. Unfortunately I only had my guidebook as I had lent Andy the ordinance survey map for finding his way by car to the next rendez-vous. It meant that the short cut might have added an extra mile and not saved us much of the headland as we came out just by the south end of Ramsey Island.There were still rocky bits of path and in one or two places we had to scrabble over rocks. As we had done a fair bit of walking Pat and I stopped for lunch by a pond just off the coast path and had our lunch sitting on a stile. We find these do provide useful seating as well as being a way to cross fences. However, we also like the gates when we are tired as they save our legs! We met Andy and the boys at St Justinians at about 2.30pm where they welcomed us once again with flasks of coffee or hot chocolate and some of my mother-in-laws wonderful chocolate wafer cake. Suitably refreshed Pat and I set off to do another hour of walking around another headland to Whitesands Bay. We found the boys there playing cricket on the beach which was still in glorious sunshine. This meant that we had to queue for awhile before we could get our italian ice cream from the van. A welcome refreshment as it had been a long day for Pat & I. This is now our 12th day of walking.

Day 11: Newgale to St Non's Chapel, 10.5 miles

Once again the most fantastic weather with bright sunshine from dawn to dusk. Unfortunately Pat's weak ankle had worsened after the poor paths from Newgale to Nolton Haven and it was agreed that she really needed to rest it before she did any long term damage. Instead my 13 year old son Daniel agreed to do the walk with me from Newgale to Caerfai as he would be able to cope better with the steep ups and downs on this stretch of the path just out of Newgale. We started out about 10am and had a very successful mornings walk. We arrived at Solva just after 12am and had a relaxed lunch break with Pat, Andy and my other son Nathan. At 1.15 we all set off for the coast path out of Solva. Once we got up on the headland above the village the others returned to the car whilst Dan and I carried on. The views were spectacular as today there was no heat haze and we could see all the islands across St Brides Bay clearly. It seemed incredible to me that all that I was looking at I had walked in the previous 10 days. The path was much better from Solva to Caerfai. I lost some time as the end of one of my walking sticks had fallen off and I didn't notice for 20 mins.(Thank you Sue & Bis for the loan of your sticks without which I would never have managed. I am looking after them!). When I did notice I had to go back and look as the path was wide and firm, so the tip should be clearly visible and Dan thought he knew where it had happened. We found the tip and then retraced our steps getting to Caerfai at around 3.30pm. Pat felt that she wanted to walk a bit more so that her foot wouldn't stiffen up so she and I walked onto St Non's chapel which was just around the next headland. It is a most beautiful spot and the chapel was very peaceful. Pat and I walked down to the Holy well where we bathed our feet in the cool waters, as the waters are supposed to help infirmities. It was such a wonderful afternoon we all sat on the slate bench outside the retreat house, out of he cold north easterly wind and just enjoyed the beauty around us.
Whether it is the cold waters of the Holy well, my feet are not throbbing for the first time in days!

Day 10: Newgale - Little Haven 7.5 miles

Tuesday started sunny but colder than yesterday and we decided to do the walk in reverse to ensure we had the wind at our backs. The way along the path between Newgale and Druidston was very hard, walking along a very loose and tricky path was a bit of a strain on Pat's weak foot. We walked along the beach between Broad Haven and Little Haven. We stopped at the Mariner's Inn for water (honest!) but it was such a gloomy place we were glad to get out of there! The fantastic views along the whole of St Bride's Bay made up for the gloom. We finished at 3pm today as we were very tired after walking continuously for 10 days and covering over 100 miles. We have been truly blessed and when things have got hard, our prayers have always been answered. We are very grateful for all the support and extremely pleased that donations are continuing to flood in. We were on BBC Hereford & Worcester this morning, plugging the walk and this blog. There are some tough days ahead so please continue your prayers for us - best wishes, Liz, Pat and the support team.

Day 9: Marloes Sands - Little Haven, 11.6 miles

This was a bright, sunny, Monday morning - we have been blessed with the weather and we set off round the deer park towards Martin's Haven. Just as we left we had sight of the Dale Princess coming into the bay. Dan walked with us today. It was hard going from Martin's Haven to St Brides but the journey was broken for lunch which we shared with Andy and Nathan who brought hot chocolate and coffee which was much appreciated! We all continued together to Mill Haven where Andy and Nathan went off to collect the car. Pat, Daniel and I continued to Little Haven accompanied by a very cold wind but on our arrival we enjoyed a delicious home-made cream tea at the castle. There, sheltered from the wind, it was warm and sunny we took time to admire a cloudless blue sky.

Day 8: April Fools Day, Lindsway Bay to Marloes Sands, 12.5 miles

Palm Sunday and a 9.15 start - that's a 15 minute lie in! The first challenge involved dodging the tides beffore crossing Little Bridge at the Gann and into Dale Village, arriving for toast and cake at 11am. We pressed onto St Anne's Head with a few ups and downs in and out of the bays. The wind strengthened throughout the day. Then came a text from the boys who said they had forgotten the dog and had gone back to Hereford to collect it. At 1pm we arrived at the house for lunch only to find the boys were still there shouting APRIL FOOL!! We had lunch with the boys and feeling refreshed we went from St Anne's towards West Dale accompanied by Nathan and then onto the old airfield at Marloes Sands. We met Dan and Andy at the Youth Hostel for the lift home at the end of our the day - we would really have appreciated a donkey ride had one been available!

Day 7: Neyland to Lindsway, 13 miles

Due to a technical hitch the blog has got a bit behind, but after a phone call from Liz tonight, here is the update - all errors and spelling mistakes are my own work! Shric

Saturday started early with a lift from John Reynolds of the Dale Sailing Company, down to Neyland Marina for a 9am start. We were offered a lift in the Dale Princess but Andy said it wouldn't have counted, which was a shame because we would have completed this stage in a fraction of the time with very little effort! Tea and toast were taken at the marina on a beautiful morning and it was a lovely walk despite the presence of the oil refineries. Pat had a close shave with a speeding car on the bend near Black Bridge. We stopped for lunch at Milford Haven whilst sitting on the Rath enjoying the views overlooking the haven. After lunch we pressed hard on to Sandy Haven before the tide came in and covered the stepping stones - we got there with just half an hour to spare! After a welcome cup of tea we continued walking to St Ishmaels where we arrived at 4pm with tired feet and a cold wind. There Di Ferris picked us up in the car and drove us home.