When we sold our home and gave up work and bought a barge, our eldest son expressed concern by asking if it was a mid-life crisis. It might well have been, so what would he call our latest venture, to walk the Wales coast as we approach our 70s? We gave up our floating home and rented part of a farmhouse in Shropshire - as far away from water as its possible to get. It is not called The Midlands for nothing. Why walk around Wales? After all, we don't walk at all, and we have health issues. Who doesn't as they approach their 7th decade! So we bought a map, and a book, bought back-packs, waterproofs, flasks, and planned our 70's. Starting small, we are booked into an hotel in Llandudno - one has to have luxuries, and attacking, albeit slowly, The Great Orme. Our plan, which is mightily flexible, is to walk as much as possible, except in wintertime. Our second foray from Conwy to Bangor, always health-depending, in October, and Anglesey in spring for a week. So, train pass at ...

 This time we thought we'd go back to The Long Mynd.  So, up early and out quick.  It was the weekend and we like to avoid tourists if we can.  Anti-social, I hear your cry. It's the parking! When we arrived, it was foggy, and fog to  hilly types is not a good thing, so we kept to the path/road. Nothing daunted we set out, in full gear yet again.  I wish I could go up hill without losing my breath, because I sound worse than I actually am. However, the slightest incline and off I go - wheeze! The short trip ended up another nine miler and luckily we had packed a picnic and flask (yes, heavy).                  So half way we stop, take out the flask and have a cuppa.  Seemingly out of NOWHERE, wild ponies turned up.  They can smell food  a mile away, or so we think.  We eventually had to run for a fenced off area and a seat.  Five or Six more horses showed up, but not only showed up, ...

 We thought we'd try a different local walk this time, and save petrol. Leaving the house we turned into a farmers property, with the OS map guiding us, we walked into a mud bath. Sheep in various sheds, rotting timber, tyres and other detritus from 100 years of farming lay either side of us; crossing a marked route field, and thinking this would give us a round trip, which is our preferred way. Gates were held together with string as we tried to undo them or climb over.  Following the ancient yellow arrows which told us where the next gate was, we stumbled on. We found ourselves in a gully and found the yellow arrow guide that told us that, yes, were going the right way. I have to say that I had my doubts.  Surely THIS cannot be the way? However, it was! I was only thankful it hadn't rained or the gully would have turned into a mud bath, or stream. Clambering over slippery stiles, that, like us, had seen better days, some broken and some too high for me to climb onto, I ...

 Llandudno = The Land That Time Forgot. The train journey passed without incident. Within our carriage you could say all human life was in it.. I had a man sitting behind me, and like a 2 year old, he kicked my seat all the way. We had another man laughing hysterically for 2 hours, and least of all annoyances, a crying baby. Him I COULD understand and forgive! The train took us from Colwyn Bay into Llandudno along stunning coastline with Big Orme and Lil' Orme in between. The sea looked green and the sky was blue and we found our B&B. Compact & Bijoux, but very clean. The bathroom was so small that Chris had trouble getting into the shower and when he dropped his face cloth he couldn't pick it up! The toilet was squashed in so close to a wall and the shower, that we had to keep the shower doors open in order to use it. Then we looked at The Great Orme (it's proper title). Not called 'great' for nothing, it's huge! Llandudno has stunning architectural hot...

 So, home, via the Climb Down, which tbh hurt more than the climb up, but better by far, for my heart. We ate at a quiet restaurant, recommended to us by two ladies we had met on the train. Sitting outside in a secluded courtyard we had the best steak and ale pie and a glass or two of something very nice, then we walked the rather large and long prom. The weather can only be described as Mediterranean. Promenading couples til gone 10pm and No Coats. Warm, balmy, beautiful evening. After a Very Hot night - windows wide open and getting used to travel noise. Then onwards to our second plan, walk to Deganwy and Conwy, hoping for another paddle at the end of it.  So up early and off, with a Full English inside of us. The coastal path led us into sand dunes which are hard to walk on, and the sun came out and grew hotter. We kept having to stop as it was so hot, and wearing thick socks carrying a day backpack and getting sand in our feet. At last we arrived in Conwy. It's small but ...

 We decided that the best test was to wear everything and carry the rucksacks. Test 1: The Long Mynd. Arriving early to avoid tourists, we set out to "walk a little bit".  The little bit ended up 4 hours long and 9.5 miles. En route passing wild ponies and their foal. We had bought Norwegian walking sticks and I could not get the hang of the darned things, so carried them as well. Test 2: Long Mynd again, in a different direction, 8 miles. Test 3: A local stroll of 7 miles! Things we learned: Always carry a banana. Easy to eat, nutritious and light enough to carry. Don't suck sweets when walking. It's hard enough to walk and talk: sweets make you breathless! Buy chewing gum to keep from getting dry. Do not cross fields that have been cut, as stubble is harder to walk on than sand. Wear better underwear as mine decided to fall off before we had gone a quarter of the way round. The only thing keeping them up were my wet-weather trousers that stuck to my bottom the hotte...

 Setting off at 9.30 a.m. we actually walked around The Orme. There's an Awful Lot of Blackberries: I find it hard to walk passed a Blackberry or two, or three hundred.  So we picked and ate as we went. The weather was perfect with calm grey skies and a light shower. Then as we descended, the sun broke out and it was glorious. For those of you who know about tunnels, the road had markers to let us know how far we had left to walk. 6 kilometres up and down and around the base, we spotted seals coming in with the tide and fishermen in places we thought were dangerously close to the edge and way down below us. The Orme is famous for it's goats. During the first lockdown they trammelled the streets of Llandudno, eating everything in their path. A rather large, fine fellow jumped out infront of us and ran up the road. Chris remarking about the song 'High on a Hill was a Lonely Goatherd' and how the puppeteers had made exact replica's of them for The Sound Of Music. That ...