Coast path walk

This morning we walked a circular route, first up to the village of Moylegrove, then following the track down the wooded valley alongside the stream that flows out into Ceibwr Bay. From there we climbed up to the coast path and followed it for a mile to Devil's Cauldron, a spectacular feature in the coastal landscape. A gigantic sea cave has collapsed at some time in the distant past leaving a crater in the steep hillside. The rock above the former cave entrance remains however, providing a bridge across which coast path walkers must tread. The sea flows underneath it and into the crater, which contains its own pebble beach. A mountain stream descends steeply in a narrow valley adjacent to the crater, cutting a narrow ravine in its final approach to the sea, undercutting the path and making a small wooden bridge necessary. The path rises steeply back up to the cliff top, and a few hundred yards further on, it branches, with a path inland returning to the back road linking Moyelgrove with Newport.

Altogether it's an energetic walk of two hours, delightful for the variety of its terrain, the wildflowers and remarkable numbers of butterflies and months. I was pleased with the photographs I took using my Sony Alpha DSLR for the first time this holiday - pretty effective snapping insects in closeup. We were both suprised by how tired we were, took a siesta after lunch. Late afternoon I became aware of a helicopter in the vicinity. There'd been one howevering over Ceibwr beach in the morning, one of the kind that's based in Anglesey. Was it on a training or coast observation mission I wondered? The second helicopter had a different, heavier engine noise, so I walked down the lane to look, and soon spotted a big yellow RAF Sea King from Yeovilton circling over the sea and cliffs south of Ceibwr Bay this time.

I watched it for about half an hour, and towards the end, it disappeared from sight below cliff top level, and stayed there for about five minutes before rising into the sky and flying off.

A cliff or shore rescue? Or another training mission I wondered. Maybe tomorrow's news will give the answer.

We cooked supper together - Spanish omlette, plus kidney beans cooked with bacon and green kidney beans and roasted vegetables - a right feast, and finished the day listening to choirs performing at the National Eisteddfod up in Denbigh.