WALKING OFFA'S DYKE, STAGE 3, ELEVEN MILES, Wales

23 May 2012: Jan, Stuart, Thom and Sheila set out to walk their third stage of Offa's Dyke. Offa, King of Mercia from the year 757 to 796, built a barrier (dyke) along an ancient border that approximates what is now the border of England and Wales. He built it in order to keep the Celts (Welsh) out of his domain. The path starts on the north Wales coast in Prestatyn, and goes 182 miles to Chepstow in the south, over hills and through dales. No, over hills and over more hills. We started the eleven mile walk from Clwyd Gate to Bodfari (we did this stage of the walk from south to north) at 1 pm and finished at 8:10 pm. Note how light it is even then; light till 10 pm or later here at this time of year.

We walked the first two stages of the Offa's Dyke path previously.
The path's northern most point is Sheila's hometown Prestatyn. Wales is the first and only country in the world to have a coastal path all around its shores, which links up to the N and S ends of the Offa's Dyke walk to make a path that goes around the whole country.

Stuart, Jan, Sheila and Thom start from Clwyd Gate at 1 pm, walking north.

Sheila and Jan on the second hill

Jan climbs over a style. Farmers use styles rather than gates, since they cannot be left open for their sheep to roam through.

We took a break each hour to rest and have an energy snack!

Putting on a good face after realizing we have to walk up that hill ahead of us. There were seven "Moel" or hill summits that we had to go over or shoulder. Some were the sites of ancient Iron Age forts.

Sheila and Thom happy to be on top of the hills of Wales on a glorious sunny day.

Thom, enjoying retirement. We were due to fly back to the USA today, but what's the rush?

Dry rock walls are everywhere in Wales.

It began to be as hard going downhill as it was uphill!

"In Wales, there are jewel to gather, but with the eye only..." R.S.Thomas

These are the Offa's Dyke path signs we followed for 11 miles!

Sometimes we hoped we were taking the low road rather than the high road!

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Jubilee Tower, dating back to the jubilee of George III in 1810.

An hour later the Jubilee Tower is behind us.

Towards the end of our walk, the weather rolled in.

Stuart begins what we thought was our final descent, but no, one more hill. Seven hills altogether.

We cannot see the base of the BBC aerial that we have had a glimpse of for almost all of our walk north.

There are 11 million sheep in Wales.

Make that 11,000,001. This is a new born that the sheep was licking clean.

We see civilization in the distance - our final destination of Bodfari.

Stuart, Jan, Sheila and Thom at the break in Offa's Dyke path in Bodfari, close to the Downing Arms. We walked the challenging, rugged 11 miles in 7 hours and 10 minutes.

THE TORTOISES AND THE HORSE, Wales

17- 18 May 2012: Housekeeping tasks after a great holiday in Spain. Went to the market, finished laundry (quite the job as you have seen), wrote postcards, cooked and baked, Thom went for a bike ride with Stuart, and sketched. Janet has four tortoises that she has had from infants - they are now 13 years old and are presently chasing each other around the garden, so Janet will be on the look out for eggs. They laid eggs last year for the first time, and took her by surprise but now she is ready. I sketched Eos.

Sheila in the Williams's garden

13-year-old tortoises Eos, Hypnos, Helios, and Selina

Sheila's sketch of Eos, though none of them were standing still long!

19 May 2012: We enjoyed take out Chinese and catching up with our friends the Murray Family. Wilf and Ruth have four daughters and are lucky enough to have three of them close by with their families.

Ruth and Wilf Murray, Chloe and Tom Williams with their mother Sarah (Wilf & Ruth's daughter), Sheila and Thom (missing from picture is Sarah's son Sam, age 19, who is leaving shortly to serve a two year mission in New Zealand for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

20 May 2012: THE WEATHER CHANGED FOR THE GOOD TODAY! GLORIOUS!

Sheila's brother Steve King and his wife, Cola, came to visit - a wonderful time to have home made scones with butter, home-made jam and Devonshire clotted cream, and catch up with each other.  

Sheila has had a hankering to ride a horse for some time, and since Stuart's nephew Stephen works at a nearby stables, she jumped at the chance! Thom was out on another bike ride with Daniel; they rode to Holywell and back, about 40 miles.

Sheila on Candy, with Stephen Williams to look after them.
Thank you Stephen!

A sketch of Candy.

21 May 2012: Thom and Stuart rode their bikes to Colwyn Bay today, a distance of 31 miles. Our friends Jay and Gran Masters came from Amlwych to join Thom, Sheila, Jan, Stuart and Daniel for dinner at The Carvery. This is a company that takes over existing restaurants and serves gammon (ham), turkey and beef (served by a carver) and then you help yourself to all-you-can eat Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, corn, cauliflower, peas or other seasonal vegetables, filling, gravies (including cranberry gravy), mint sauce, cranberry sauce, etc. In other words, Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner, for the wonderful price of $5.00 each.

Home cooking without the cooking; at The Carvery

22 May 2012: We worked at the Gronant Institute today. This is a 1900 building in the next village, Gronant, that was built for the residents as a community center by a villager who "made good" as a merchant in Liverpool. Stuart has been instrumental in reviving interest in its use, and has acquired grants to make repairs and improvements. It still needs work, and Thom was happy to help today.

Gronant Institute

Stuart and Thom at work at the Gronant Institute

 At lunchtime, we met friends and family for a meal at Table Table in Rhuddlan.

Sheila's niece Justine and her son Oscar

Nancy Williams, Sarah Williams, Thom, Stuart, Justine and Oscar

 In the afternoon, Thom and Sheila went for a bike ride along the sea front.

Thom and Sheila at Central Beach, Prestatyn, Wales.
There are scores of wind turbines off the coast.

The layers of clothes come off as Thom soaks up the sunshine.

The minister's house in Gronant is soaking up the rays also, at last!
We did not expect to see solar panels here, but they're around. In the distance, in silted up areas off the coast, you may be able to see there are wind turbine farms in the Irish Sea.

LAYERS OF CLOTHES TO KEEP OUT THE CHILL

Each layer should hide the layer underneath

What to Wear on a Visit to Britain from Florida:
1. Don't LOOK bundled up. Everyone else is in shirt sleeves.
2. Dress in layers so that each layer hides the one underneath it.
3. Each layer should look like it was picked out to go with whatever else you have on.
4. One layer, usually the bottom one, should be long enough to keep your lower back warm. It will need to be tucked in, otherwise your layering technique will be revealed.
5. Preferably, one layer should have a decorative though actually functional hood.
6. Don't wear an insulated undershirt; there may be the odd occasion you have to peel down to that layer.
7. Three layers should be worn indoors, four or five outdoors (four by June, hopefully).

Each layer should match whatever else you are wearing,
just in case it warms up and one or even two layers are removed.

Invest in a white long sleeve T-shirt as the basic layer of your UK wardrobe

Please do not drop clotted cream off your scone onto your clothing, since it will then need to be laundered. This is a not an easy task in Britain, where resources of water and energy are taken more seriously than in the USA. Front loading washing machines use very little water, and dryers (if owned) are used only when absolutely necessary. The usual drying methods are:

1. On the line outside:

2. On the rack inside

Often both methods are used, since even a chilly day can take some of the moisture out of the clothes on the outside line, and they can finish drying indoors. As a child, I remember bringing in "the wash" and it was frozen enough that I could stand the trousers up on the kitchen floor.

The downside to either or both of these methods is that the clothes are crispy fresh and EVERYTHING HAS TO BE IRONED! Ironing also helps finish the drying process.  After being ironed, clothes are sometimes placed over a "horse" (wooden frame) to air before being put away. Linens and towels are often stored in an "airing cupboard" or small closet that houses the hot water heater and consequently has some occasional warmth.

So next time you do laundry - no complaining!!

SHOPPING IN EUROPE

Liverpool, England

Your purchases have to be put in your own bag you have brought with you, or it will be 7 or 8 cents for each plastic bag.

 When you can pull it!

 Why carry the basket....

Do you see the candy fried eggs and frogs?

Fruit market in Barcelona

Going nuts in Spain

Port Meirion, Wales

Prestatyn's High Street (main shopping street) goes uphill, so you get to the top to this shop!