From one Half..............

Custard perhaps!

Red pillar boxes for posting mail are all over the place in Britain. But they are not confined to the UK and there are many parts of the world that were part    of the British Commonwealth which are now independent, and they too had these iconic pillars where you could    post your letters. In countries where they have been retained and are still in use, some are coated in classic pillar box red, e.g. Malta and Gibraltar; elsewhere they've been repainted other colours. In Ireland they all went green   in 1922 and in Cyprus we saw plenty of yellow ones - here you can still see the crown and the letters GR indicating that this was erected in the reign of King George VI. They're not exclusively red 

in the UK though - following the 2012 Olympics pillar boxes in the home towns of the various British gold medal winners were painted gold; we have one near us in Flint to commemorate our local hero Jade Jones who won a Taekwondo gold medal.

I'm still standing!

Some more Roman ruins, this time in central Paphos where successive stages of occupation have been gradually peeled away by archaeologists, this is the place where in the first century AD, St Paul the apostle was tied to a pillar and whipped - a very white marble pillar still stands among these ruins and apparently this is the one he was chained to. The church in the centre of the photo was built in the 13th century on the site of a much larger basilica. All very impressive and only a stone's throw away from the nightclubs and bars.

Every little helps!

I love wandering round supermarkets on our travels. Looking at what the locals buy provides a good indication as to what kinds of produce feature in their diet. Papantoniou's wasn't especially big but their fruit and veg section was rather amazing featuring a wide range of exotic fruit and veg many of which were unfamiliar to me, lots of different types of aubergine too. The fish counter was pretty impressive with lots of octopi (that is the plural isn't it?) and fancy shellfish. On the way out I spotted this sign which puzzled me a bit - I went back in and looked around and found some Sainsbury's tea for sale but that was about it. I guess the signage represents some sort of agreement that benefits the Cypriot shop in terms of attracting British visitors to do their shopping here.

Everyone's a winner!

And here we are, the real reason we came to Cyprus. A bit of a running festival, Vicky did the 5K and I trundled round the half marathon. Don't let the clear sky in the background (behind Paphos Castle) fool you - it was desperately cold, we'd run in sleet and rain and a stiff wind and by the time of the presentation I was well wrapped up, thankful that I'd brought a bag of clothes. 1:41:56 was my time and I was happy with that especially as I was able to stand at the top of the podium with an oversize trophy to wave around. Vicky was 40:19, she would have liked to have broken the 40 minute mark but, as I've said, the conditions were against us.

Vicky's quilted jacket

Roamin' around the ruins.

Having spent the last two years grounded we managed to get away on  a little trip to Cyprus. The warm weather of the eastern Mediterranean was calling us and we took a flight from Manchester to Paphos where holiday hotels stretch along the coast to the north and the south east. We found ourselves in pleasant accommodation about a mile out of town looking out to sea and began to explore.  Cyprus is an archaeologist's dream, grand civilisations of the past have left their mark here and Paphos is home to an extensive archaeological park where remains of several Roman Villas and other significant buildings were uncovered in the 1960's. On our first morning we had to take a look and here's Vicky sashaying past some fine pillars. Note the quilted jacket - the sun was sunny but the air was cold. In fact the weather was even colder than where we'd left it in North Wales. Still it was a holiday - abroad - our first in a long while, so we dug in (not literally!) and enjoyed ourselves.

Into a chapel to pray!

The major archaeological sites in Cyprus that have been discovered are well known and are on the tourist circuit but many other potential excavations have actually been scuppered by the tourist trade - a number of hotels were built before proper historical investigations were allowed to take place. On the outskirts of Paphos, to the south east, we decided to take a peek at a location where a controversial new development is planned. Here's a picture of St Nicholas's Church at Yeroskipou; despite appearing to be an old Greek-style building it was built in 2013 - it's a lovely building though, full of icons and it stands at the gateway to a promontory where an extensive dig is currently taking place. A large hotel complex is due to be built here but it's been put on hold owing to the discovery of the remains of what is reputed to be the site of Aphrodite's Garden. We could see a huge network of old walls and piles of stone but soo far there's nothing to indicate what might have been there. 

Tickled pink!

In the heart of Paphos by the marina lies a promenade thronged with competing restaurants - it had been suggested to us that we look out for the Pink Pelican, a popular seafood restaurant. It was a bit early in the day for us but already fine assortments of fish were on display and passers-by were being exhorted to come in and eat. Some restaurants have their own unique selling points (or sales personnel!) We've seen white pelicans in Australia but never a pink one! This chappie waddled around the open air tables seeming perfectly at home. Maybe he gets a colourist treatment at the local hair salon. This was our third day in town - you can see Vicky's still wearing her jacket as the air was still cool - frankly it was quite surprising that the pelican decided to venture outdoors at all!!

Shoemaking in the Midlands

Cheese!

In between the various stages of my pilgrimage, parkruns are still on the menu for us; the latest also serving as a get together in Daventry of some of the athletic members of Vicky's family. This photo is of us, three of Vicky's sisters, a sister in law, four nieces plus one husband and a small boy, plus Skip, all of whom completed the course! Having just had a 'significant' birthday at the end of January I gave it hell for leather and managed to break the over 70 record with a time of 21:48. It was a cold damp day but there was singing all the way as the rest of the gang followed round the attractive route through a country park circling the Daventry Reservoir. This fairly large body of water was built in 1805 to feed the Grand Union Canal. At the north end of the reservoir we ran over the dam below which are the Balancing Ponds - no time to find out how they work but we did manage breakfast in the Reservoir Cafe, an old building that was presumably something to do with the management of the reservoir. The girls then got on with the real business of the day - a hen party down in Buckingham. I found alternative amusement and walked some dogs.

Who said anything about a dog?

The night before the run we stayed just up the road in Southam, Warwickshire. I'd never heard of Southam but it's a pleasant little town with a bit of history. First off we thought we'd try to find a dog-friendly pub so - here's the Black Dog, a down to earth local with lovely beer but, shame, no dogs please. So Skip had to be content with a snooze back at the AirBnb for an hour or so. We sat in the darts room enjoying our Butty Bach not realising that ten-times world champion darts player Trina Gulliver must have played here many a time. Not that I'm particularly a darts fan but I did spot a bench round the corner the following morning dedicated to the lovely Trina who was brought up in the town. 

Slips off the tongue doesn't it!

The pleasant town itself was originally just one main highway running north to south with odd little alleyways running off to the side - here's one called Chickabiddy Lane! The town's north side was also bisected by an old drover's road called Welsh Road, this was one of the long distance routes along which livestock were driven from North Wales to the markets of London. In years gone by Southam was home to an Eye and Ear Infirmary founded by the 'mad doctor of Southam' Henry Lillee-Smith in 1818, apparently the patients were successfully treated using water from a nearby holy well. What is particularly notable about this establishment was that treatment was free! A forerunner of the NHS perhaps!

The Crown - a cosy pub with interesting ales!

A second evening in Southam found us in the 400 year old Crown Inn which was comfortable and welcoming. We headed straight for the bar stools opposite the front door and were gently sipping our first ales when a burst of mellifluous Italian caused me to turn around to see a young man chatting to his small children - I responded with some suitable Italian phrases which prompted him to chat to us also. He was giving his wife a break from the children in a most sensible manner which involved a visit to the pub and he was delighted to have a conversation with us. He left and, after saying our ciaos and arrivedercis, we finished our drinks and ordered another. To our surprise the barmaid said we didn't owe anything as our new friend had bought us the round. What a nice man!

Final morning in the Midlands - Skip needed a good walk so I set about trying to find the Holy Well. We tramped through some muddy fields and there it was a very nicely laid out well with a nicely carved bench and handy steps down to the healing spring to assist those seeking a cure for their opthalmic problems. Skip took a look and decided to slug back some of the ice cold water - hopefully this will improve his sight as nowadays he seems to want to chase after any tall runner that he sees assuming it's me. On our return for breakfast I thought I'd try that shortcut that I'd spotted a couple of days previously - yes it's that very handy thoroughfare Chickabiddy Lane home to the town cobblers!

Cobblers!

North Wales Pilgrims' Way - Stage 6 (Llanfairfechan to Bangor)

Let's try again Skip!

Well what a disaster, so I thought; I got out of the car at Llanfairfechan to set off on our latest leg of the Pilgrims' Way and realised that we'd left Skip's lead at home. The only thing for it was for me to set off solo up and over the tops and down to Abergwyngregyn (fortunately this was part of the prescribed route). Vicky managed to nip into Bangor and buy a new collar and lead for the boy. This she did with aplomb and thus, an hour later, I set off again with Skip in tow (or was he towing me?) It had been curiously lonely running without Skip for the first time on our trek.

Where's the whisky>

Off we trundled up to the Aber Falls, which in the rainy season (much of the year up here I think) is quite spectacular and my photo of the main drop doesn't really do it justice. A torrent of water hurtles down the steep cliff - where were the thousands of visitors come to watch this force of nature?We did however come across a lady at the foot of the waterfall who seemed to be simultaneously taking a video and chatting in an Asian language; she was apparently unaware that she was missing the chance to interview a champion international mountain runner and his dog. Gosh we could have been featured on Japanese prime time TV! We didn't see the Aber Falls Whisky Distillery which according to the website "sits at the foot of the famous waterfalls" - it's actually back in the village on the north side of the A55, after being a slate works the distillery was a margarine factory for many years! It all adds to the taste. That's a slightly unfair comment because we haven't tasted Aber Falls whisky yet - but if anyone wants to buy us a bottle...!

I'm not jumping over one of those!

Much of today's route was into a fierce wind, at some points I seemed to be running on the spot against a howling gale. But we gradually made progress and the going was good - much of it was on what was clearly an ancient track on the mountain running parallel to the A55 which we could see far below us. Puffin Island was off in the far distance! There wasn't much else to see up here but as we headed down on the last leg there was more to entertain us. Having been a part time dry stone waller in several locations over the years, I'm always interested in the different techniques that wallers use from place to place. This is generally dependent on the materials at hand, I've built walls with limestone and gritstone in the Derbyshire Dales and I've marvelled at wonderful durable walls made of stone but no mortar in various parts of the UK, Ireland, Tasmania and the North East US. Snowdonia wallers over the years have come up with innovative fencing solutions using local slate - this photo taken a couple of miles above Bangor says it all!

Nice pick-up, didn't have those in 1465!

On the tracks heading downhill to our end of run rendezvous, I spotted what appeared to be an ancient converted church. Having not seen much in the way of churches today I thought I'd take a photo and investigate when we got home. It turns out that this wasn't a church at all but a medieval manor house dating from the 15th century called Llys Hynafol Cochwillan. It's recorded that this was originally the home of the sheriff of Caernarfonshire and was subsequently owned by a number of notables including the Duke of York! It then fell into decay and was being used as a hay barn in the 1960's before being restored - it now looks to be quite a nifty upmarket dwelling!

So that's another stage completed - in an ideal world we'd have finished at Bangor Cathedral to round things off nicely. But it was after lunch, I'd not made any butties to pack in my rucksack and I was glad to finish at Llandegai just short of Bangor to meet Vicky who very kindly met me with a  tasty sausage sandwich. Very prosaically she had parked by a good sized industrial estate and she'd guessed that she might find a reliable cafe; and indeed she found one staffed by a couple of middle aged local ladies who, just after 2 pm, owned up to still being open for her. 

North Wales Pilgrims' Way - Stage 5 (Eglwysbach to Llanfairfechan)

I'm waiting!

So the forecast was for a dry bright morning. As we drove along the A55 the rain intensified, our windscreen wipers flashing across the window at top speed. We revised the day's plan, from Eglwysbach I would run as far as Rowen and have a rain check there! At least we would have crossed the Afon Conwy which would feel like a significant achievement. Skip didn't seem worried one way or the other as we set off down a watery track spotting a large piece of slate perched on some rocks with an interesting handrail. What could this have been? A bus stop? On our return to Eglwysbach sometime this summer - to go and have a pint in the Bee Inn of course - we must ask if any of the locals know what this was for. We slogged onwards towards Rowen, the rain showing no sign of abating.

But there's no one here!

The sky seemed a little less grey by now and descending into Rowen village things looked slightly more positive. At the rendezvous with our wonderful driver Vicky, we decided to press on. Of course half a mile out of the village the heavens reopened, there was nothing to it but to crack on upwards onto the hills. At the top of a particularly steep climb (about 200m in 1.5K) we came across the remarkable ancient church of St Celynnin. Apart from one property a few hundred yards away there's not much else around here as far as human habitation goes so there's no regular worship taking place. However the church is still in use, what's more a female priest was ordained here fairly recently by the Bishop of Bangor. Apparently Bangor Cathedral was unavailable due to COVID restrictions so Bishop and novitiate together with one or two guests hiked up the mountain to perform the relevant ceremony. I nipped inside to say a prayer and sign the visitor book on behalf of Skip and myself and returned outside to find that the rain had disappeared!

Wind and rain outside - peace and quiet inside.

Where are they all going?

We started to make good headway across the tops, I knew some of these tracks from the various fell races that take place over these hills. The Tal y Fan race from Rowen and the Penmaenmawr Fell Race in particular are known for runners misdirecting themselves, in the low mists that are common up here it's easy to go wrong and I have been slightly guilty of this myself in the past. With map and compass at the ready I was well prepared - but the air was clear, the sky was blue by now and we found our way. The photo is evidence of the criss crossing pathways up here, several of which converge near the Penmaenmawr Stone Circle one of many prehistoric ceremonial and burial sites which litter the hillside. (Why did so many folk live up here at that time? Perhaps it was warmer back then!) So on this way-marker post we can see advertised the North Wales Pilgrims' Way, the North Wales Way, a Conwy Trail and the Wales Coastal Path, although we are well away from the coast right here. I won't ask any more questions.

Our day's ramble finished with a steep descent to the Nant y Coed Nature Reserve at Llanfairfechan. Closed at the moment due to fallen trees blocking access it nevertheless looks a pretty spot and has been appreciated by visitors for over a century with its waterfalls and stepping stones and varied wildlife. It's known in particular for its population of sessile oak trees. This are just like regular oaks but the acorns are not on stalks, rather they are attached directly to twigs - this picture shows how it's done (it's not my photo, wrong time of year!) At the entrance to the nature reserve was an informative signboard in Welsh and English, I was puzzled however by the comment that overhead "you may hear the mewing of the vulture-like buzzard"! I suppose that this means that most of today's visitors are more familiar with vultures rather than buzzards - too much TV perhaps?

North Wales Pilgrims' Way - Stage 4 (Gwytherin to Eglwysbach)

Been stuck here for days - help!

A brighter morning to start with and we had a pleasant climb out of Gwytherin up a lovely path in a wooded valley, all good so far. Skip and I encountered a couple of fallen trees which we spent a bit of time skirting round. Then, as we crested the top of the hill the heavens opened - we got wet....and muddy. Tramping over a moorland plateau I realised I'd been wise to pack dry socks. A quick downhill and a short road section saw us onto some very wet fields. I keep Skip on the lead when there are sheep around but let him off otherwise - and there we were, in a flourishing green field with no sign of grazing animals, I spotted movement in a hedge. A young but large lamb was standing in a big muddy puddle with its head stuck in fencewire; its backwards facing horns were preventing any escape. I extricated it with some difficulty and it bleated at me with gratitude, its backs legs sank to the ground and it started munching on a big tuft of grass. Clearly it had been there for some time - we were nowhere near a farmhouse so I had to leave it to fend for itself. Having kept sheep in the past I was confident that it would recover and retain a memory of that gallant pilgrim who had saved its life.

Pandy Tudur - anyone here called Andy?

We headed onwards through a small village going by the name of Pandy Tudur, the word Pandy referring to the fact that there was a pre industrial woollen mill here. At this point the rain stopped and the village was bathed in sunlight. The largest building seen here is the Bethania Calvinist Methodist Chapel. Unlike Amglican and Catholic churches, which are generally named after saints, Methodist chapels are named after biblical locations and Bethania or Bethany is just a couple of miles outside Jerusalem - it's where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Out of Pandy Tudur we climbed along past a farm on the outskirts of the village and were serenaded by half a dozen collies who raced backwards and forwards on the other side of a fence clearly trying get a rise out of Skip, but to no avail, Skip ignored them and we carried on up and over the hill.

Anyone at home?

I had seen that the map indicated an old vicarage was coming up on our right. So by a vicarage you'd expect a church and indeed here is a church,  but it's a church no longer. I've been unable to find out much about it apart from the fact that it was built in 1867, which leads me to wonder who built it and who were the congregation, seeing as this was sited well away from the village. By the front gate is a wooden sign with St David's Lodge written on it so presumably that was to whom the church was dedicated. Next door is a large ruined vicarage which functioned as a nursing home until 2019 when it burnt down. The local fire brigade did well to get all the residents out without any major casualties!

Bring me chainsaw next time!

We'd been making fair progress at this point but our hopes of keeping going at a fair lick were dashed as we negotiated a woodland riverside path by the grounds of Hafodunos Hall. The hall, one of the most majestic residential buildings in Wales, was burnt down in 2004 but is currently being rebuilt; we'll have to go and take a look when it's completed. We trotted along comfortably on a well defined path, turned a corner and came face to face with this - a mass of trees had fallen directly across our way. We tried going up and round with no success, Skip getting snarled up in the tangled undergrowth. Eventually we backtracked to a fordable crossing point through the river and made our way round. This whole episode had cost us nearly half an hour.

Back on the trail we picked up our heels and to help us on our way we were pointed in the right direction by a kindly old woodman:

It's this way buddy!

Gurgle!

Heading into Llangernew we tracked the river further downhill and were rewarded with a pleasant amble through mature woodland spotting a gushing waterfall to our right. We passed the old hall gatehouse and trotted down the road. I had already realised that there was a lot to see in Llangernw, including the North Wales Pilgrims' Way Hub, and St Digian's Church with a 4000 year old yew tree in its graveyard. With little time to spare I decided to consign all this to a future visit and we stuck to the Pilgrims' route and galloped up the hill just before the village. At the top of a short climb a big metal gate barred the way forward. It wasn't padlocked but it might as well have been. A tightly knotted rope secured gate to post and no amount of teasing could unravel the contorted tangle. So for maybe the fourth time today I lifted Skip up and heaved him over.

St Martin was here!

From the final peaks of the day we could see Snowdonia in the distant west, on a clearer day this would have been a magnificent sight as we descended down the steep tracks and roads into Eglwysbach. We passed Coed Annie (no idea who Annie is or was) and along the Afon Hiraethlyn onto our final rendezvous outside the Bee Inn, a fine looking pub. It's now the only pub in town but a hundred years ago there were plenty - in 1909 there was an objection to the renewal of the licence for the Bodnod Arms next door on the grounds that there was currently one pub for every 185 inhabitants, the pub failed to have its licence renewed but it then became the Aberconway Institute for use by the community, courtesy of the owner Lady Aberconway. I finished the day outside St Martin's church close to the Bee Inn. No dogs allowed inside the pub though - maybe we can come back in summer and have a pint in the beer garden, the beer should be good - each week the locals select a guest ale of their own choosing to sit on the bar next to the Bee Inn Bitter.

North Wales Pilgrims' Way - Stage 3 (St Asaph to Eglwysbach)

The cathedral on a somewhat sunnier day

As I've mentioned before the cathedral in St Asaph was founded by the scottish saint Kentigern (who is also known as St Mungo, the founder of Glasgow Cathedral). The Welsh name for St Asaph is Llanelwy which means 'the church on the River Elwy'. St Asaph only appeared on the scene when St Kentigern/Mungo returned to Scotland and he appointed one of his disciples, Asaph, as Bishop of the cathedral. So just to complicate matters there is another church a couple of hundred yards down the road called St Asaph and St Kentigern, this is the local parish church and dates from the 13th century. And to round things off nicely the Catholic church in St Asaph is dedicated to St Winefride (who else!) You may think that I'm harking on a bit about all these saints but then this is a pilgrimage. 

There's a church on a hill

Our saintly visit to a very small city was over and we set off on the back road to Cefn Meiradog 5 miles away and the interesting looking St Mary's Church in a prominent position overlooking the tiny hamlet. I thought that it looked a bit grand for such a small location so I wasn't surprised when I found that, despite it's apparent antiquity, the church was built in the late 19th century to an Early English design funded by a local benefactor. Perhaps coonected to this is the fact that there is a St Mary's Well and ruined chapel down by the river that was a popular place of pilgrimage centuries ago. Sadly the well and chapel ruins are overgrown, the site doesn't appear to be visited any more and it's on private land - so we didn't go there!! 

Nice bit of wrought iron!

We crossed the old bridge at Bont Newydd (which is Welsh for 'new bridge' of course) and set off onwards and upwards on the other side of the valley clambering over fallen trees which following the recent storms were blocking the footpath - slow progress we were making! And it was beginning to occur to me that those helpful Pilgrims Way roundels on signposts and gates seemed to be far and few between today.  We managed to find our way over an undulating landscape of fields, some full of sheep some not, but all quite muddy until eventually we dropped down to the vale of the Afon Aled and a pretty little bridge in the hamlet of Bryn Rhyd Yr Arian. We were then able to make up a bit of time along a deserted track alongside the river - steady running all the way to Llansannan.

She's a mystery girl!

Here's a photo of the Little Girl memorial in the centre of Llansannan. Above her is a list of some of the famous townspeople including William Rees, a renowned Calvinist minister who was invited to travel internationally to deliver his sermons - sounds like a forthright character! The identity of the girl is a mystery, was she related to the chap who commissioned the sculpture, or the artist himself Sir William Goscombe John; or maybe she was a local girl, nobody seems to know. Goscombe John was a prolific Welsh sculptor whose works are more likely to be found in place like Cathays Park Cardiff

The name Llansannan derives from the church of St Sannan, another foreign bishop who roamed Wales in the medieval era leaving his mark here in the 6th century. Not much known about him but he was apparently a buddy of St David, patron saint of Wales, and also has churches named for him in Anglesey and South Wales. (In researching for and writing this blog I learn something new every day. Maybe this is widely known but I was unaware until today that the sailor's term Davy Jones's Locker is a reference to St David. Although I did, as a student, have an after hours drink or two - i.e. a 'lock-in' at the Davy Jones' Locker pub in Morecambe!) Rather than posting a picture of St Sannan's (I forgot to take a shot of it) I thought I should spread the good news around and give the fine Capel Coffa Henry Rees a mention for the non-conformists, of which there are many in Wales. From Llansannan we had a choice of routes and we took the road to Gwytherin as we were in danger of being seriously late for our rendezvous. 

I've been a bit top heavy with this leg regarding saints and churches and here's the final church at Gwytherin; surprise surprise it's called St Winifred's (note the slight change in spelling) but it's the same person who gave her name to the well in Holywell which we encountered on the first day of our meanderings. This building is no longer in use as a church but it's well looked after for posterity by a local group called the Gwenfrewi Project. The church was built in the 7th century on what is considered to be an ancient burial mound, the impressive yew trees in the graveyard are dated as being over 2000 years old and ceremonies may have taken place here as long ago as the Bronze Age

There was I waiting at the church!

Most medieval churches are sited on a west-east axis, generally the congregation will face the altar at the east end of the building. Is this because the second coming of Jesus Christ will be from the east, or was an earlier tradition of worshipping the rising sun a factor? Maybe it's a bit of both! And of the churches we've encountered thus far they all seem to be roughly facing east. Maybe they used a compass here in Gwytherin during the church's construction because it's not far off being exactly east facing - but then compasses weren't invented until the 11th century.  Do we have all the answers? No we don't!