Log No 197. Thu 5th Dec 2013 - Prestatyn to Colwyn Bay, 16 miles (3040 miles walked)

When I had got to Prestatyn yesterday I had found where I could park the camper for the day but had decided to stay in Shotton for the night, that meant an early start to make sure there would still be a parking space available.

I got here with a good half hour to wait before it was light enough to start walking at 07.45.

The wind had picked up through the night and was blowing gale force from the west, it was going to be a head wind all day, at least it was dry.

I got to the promenade where the long distance footpath 'Offas Dyke' starts/finishes and set off into the weather.

It was hard enough walking into the wind without having to contend with sand being whipped into my face so it wasn't long before I came inland to walk on the roads.

At Rhyl I got back to the promenade to take a photo then came back to the road. I crossed over the River Clwyd and stayed on the A548 going through Kinmel Bay and Towyn.

At Abergele the road joined the A55 and I thought about getting back onto the cycleway next to the shore but decided to stick to the road.

This stretch of the A55 was dual carriageway and was very busy but it did have a bit of a hard shoulder to walk on.

The wind had gotten stronger and it had now started to rain, it wasn't much fun struggling with my head down and trying to watch the traffic.

After half an hour a road maintenance vehicle with it's lights flashing stopped in front of me to suggest that I shouldn't be walking on the road and they would give me a lift back to Abergele to the cycleway.

I wasn't breaking any laws so I told them no thanks and I would carry on.

Just up ahead I could see a bridge over the road which connected to a bridge over the railway which would get me back to the cycleway. It was no fun on the road so I climbed the embankment to get onto the bridge.

The cycleway was very close to the sea and with the high tide and strong wind spray was coming onto the path.

It got much worse a bit further on with the waves starting to come over the rocks which served as a small wall for the path, I thought I was in more danger of being swept away than knocked down by a car.


As I was near an underpass for the railway and the A55 I was able to get onto the A547 which had a pavement alongside.

The photo was taken from the safety of a car park as the actual cycleway is the other side of the posts.

I had planned on getting as far as Llandudno today but the going had been slow so I was calling it a day when I reached Colwyn Bay.

The road went uphill through Llanddulas and into Old Colwyn and gave me some good views looking down.

The road meandered about quite a lot and I thought about using the minor roads to shorten the distance but with the driving rain it was easier to stick to the main road rather than trying to study a map.

At the roundabouts road signs said the promenade was closed, these were flip down signs so it must happen quite a bit in bad weather.

I got into Colwyn Bay for 13.00 which seems a good time for the 16 miles but I hadn't stopped to take any breaks.

At the railway station I was told all the trains had been cancelled due to trees and the like being blown onto the tracks.

The rain had just about stopped so I had my lunch and then got a bus back to Prestatyn.

I hadn't found anywhere suitable to park in Colwyn Bay so I'm staying in Prestatyn for the night and I'll find somewhere in the morning.