Europe (again) 2014: A few days of relaxation

This travelling can be quite tiring and it has caught up with us a bit so we have decided to have a bit of R&R. This does not mean we have been doing nothing, just less than we may otherwise have attempted.
We have continued our exploration of the Welsh coast and nearby areas.
Welsh is a strange language to the visitor, containing very few vowels, although there are what may be thought of as substitute vowels such as "W" pronounced "oo". I guess if one thinks of W as "double u" then this makes sense. The intriguing thing is the Welsh are regarded by some as the true English, having been driven to the fringes of Britain by the invading Angles and Saxons. This being the case Welsh could now be the English which has become the almost world language. Scary eh. Anyway back on the coast and enough diversions and distractions. The cliffs of St. Govens had spoiled us and we went in search of further such places. It is the goal of the British Government to have a continuous walking track around the coast and Pembrokeshire is the first county to have completed theirs. there is some 200 miles (about 300k) of coastal walkway in Pembrokeshire and we sat and talked with a vicar who was in the process of completing it from end to end. They run a shuttle bus for walkers so they can be ferried to their overnight accommodation. Great system and well patronised by this walk loving country. The B&Bs along the way also do very well out of the walkways. Alas we had picked the best first and the rest of the coast did not quite measure up, although still very acceptable.

Ruins in St. Davids

With a population of just 2,000 St.Davids is the smallest city in Britain by both population and land area and if that is not enough is said to be the burial place of St David, the patron Saint of Wales. It does not seem to have much else going for it, so it was off to St Justians for us. This was more to our liking being a windswept sort of place and home to the Lifeboat for St David. The RNLS do a wonderful job around the coast of Britan and are credited with 360 lives saved since the first boat was stationed there in the mid 19th century. Also from here one can catch a boat out to Ramsey Island, popular with twitchers and ramblers, the first because this is a home to puffin birds and the later because they can. I am not a twitcher, but I have always quite liked the puffins, but pride would not allow me to actually go and see them least I be thought one, a twitcher that is.

The RNLI Staion at St Justinians

A little further up the coast is the pretty little town of Porthgain which once was a thriving Port but now reflects in past glories and serves what are reputably the finest fish and chips in all the Principality. I shall have to take their word for it as my waist line forbids all experiments in this direction.

Some happy Ramblers enjoying an ice cream Pothgain

Boats at rest, low tide at Fishguard

Further north we go and next is Fishguard, a relatively large town but it is the sea once more that grabs our attention. As with all of Britain and France the tides can be fairly significant and this can have positive and negative effects. A negative would have to be that you just cannot go boating at any old time the fancy takes you, but if you want too give your boats bottom a good old doing then what could be easier.

Today, for a complete change in direction we stayed inland and went garden touring. It is obviously not the best of times for gardens being early autumn but still there is enough to make the visits worthwhile.