Jeremy and I are once again on the Wales Coast Path, this time determined to bivvy, (one down from camping. It would be Carolynn’s worst nightmare)! If you remember last time our wild camp ended up being a camp with beer on tap, live football and a bed with an en-suite bathroom! What’s commonly known as a pub with b&b! Well for Jeremy that is roughing it. So this time our middle point is literally in the middle on nowhere, the nearest accommodation is 8km one way and the same the other. So this time there is no escaping a wild camp.

We started the walk at The Harbourmaster Hotel in Aberaeron with the understanding from the weather gods that the sun would appear after lunch with the promise of no rain and unusually the weather gods, were good to their word. I can’t in any shape or form write an interesting account of our first few kilometres. It was the walk Carolynn expected the South West Coast Path to be… flat, with the sound of the surf breaking repeatedly on the stone beach.

I was a tad worried that after just 100 metres into the walk Jeremy spent 10 minutes talking to a complete stranger, if this was what lay in store then we wouldn’t reach our goal until well after dark! Fortunately the next person he approached, a fisherman, gave him short thrift, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the day!

In fact it wasn’t until after we’d spent lunch at a petrol station (no better place, I say) that he got his mojo back. We needed water for our wild bivvy and as we passed one of the many large static caravan parks we sidled in to surreptitiously steal water, but no need, Jeremy charmed a couple in letting us use their standpipe to fill up our water bottles… the subsequent intercourse between Jeremy and the couple gave me chance to have 40 winks!

I’m ashamed to say that for the first time ever, whilst wild camping I was moved on. We found a place to bivvy, flat, sheltered and with a perfect view. Unfortunately we were a little too close to what looked like a holiday cottage. Can I say in my defence the cottage was literally in the middle of nowhere. We looked it up on the internet and found it was for sale, being the nosey old buggers that we are and the fact that it looked empty we decided to take a look. Big mistake after looking in a couple of windows, Jeremy came eyeball to eyeball with, I would think a very startled man! But what a recovery, Jeremy asked the startled owner, very politely if we could bivvy in the place we had picked. Understandably, the owner, after being subjected to a man pressing his face up to his window and giving him the fright of his life, was very reluctant, even though he didn’t own the land we were on! But we thought it would be prudent to move, anyway, as we could both understand him being a little anxious about two complete strangers who’d probably frightened him somewhat. It meant that the perfect bivvy was replaced with a sloping field, surrounded by sheep that appeared never to go to sleep!

After a fitful nights sleep, and a bivvy I don’t necessarily want to repeat, the sun eventually rose out of the hills behind us. The golden morning light it brought, raced down the hill towards the sea, bringing a beautiful yellow tint to everything as it passed. The flowers came alive, the grass glowed, but more importantly it brought two listless human beings to life! Breakfast was very similar to the evening meal, rehydrated porridge and blueberries… what can I say about it, well it was hot and to be honest, reasonably tasty, more importantly we had our first cup of tea… life just becomes worthwhile after that!

Today was somewhat more undulating than the previous day, the cliffs were steeper and the path more preciptous until we suddenly descended into the University town of Aberystwyth. A town I thought would be buzzing with students, but somehow seemed flat and muted, even grey and little dirty! The grandeur of the university buildings and sea front did not shine through and as we walked through even the sunlight couldn’t light up those old majestic buildings. We were in two minds whether to take the funicular railway up to Constitutional Hill, which mind won…??? The afternoon blurred into, what has become synonymous with coast paths… Nepali Flat! We walked into Borth mid afternoon. Wikipedia says that Borth is a village and seaside resort, I’m inclined to believe that it’s neither. It was, however at the end of our two day walk, and another section of the Wales Coast Path completed. The majority of these two days walk was along stunning clifftops, with beautiful hidden coves and beaches, but the major town and the walks end were disappointing, places that needed pride injecting back into their hearts. Borth especially was a village lost, with its linear seafront looking old and dejected. With its only redeeming feature being the 6km golden beach.

One thing you might be wondering is why did I call the post ‘Fry’s Chocolate Mint Cream’… well I bought a Fry’s Chocolate Cream and a Fry’s Chocolate Mint Cream. The Chocolate Cream was meant for Jeremy and the Mint Cream for myself, I’ll let you guess who ate the ‘Mint Cream’, but let me say now it wasn’t me! Not that I hold a grudge!