Details
Walk: Pilgrim’s Causeway
Guide: Julie
Walk leaders: Martin / Ruth
Weather: Sunny and hot
Distance of walk: 9 miles
Wow, we couldn’t have wished for or got better weather for this walk. We were following in the footsteps of the pilgrims who crossed the sands to Holy Island.
Today, we had a small group who all took the opportunity to arrive early, to take advantage of refreshments at the Barn at Beal.
We left our cars at the Barn at Beal (with their permission) and took the footpath to the start of the causeway. There was a handy log which proved a perfect spot for the group photograph.
At the causeway, Martin and the rest of the group crossed the bridge before getting onto the sand. Most of us walked barefoot. Julie and Annabelle decided to get onto the sand quicker and waded through calf deep water. The water was not cold at all.
Regrouping, everyone got into their Nordic walking rhythm, keeping the poles to our right. The sand was a little slippery, cue the first faller. Yes, you guessed it, it was Julie. Ruth and Annabelle took the opportunity to get the all important photographs.
Black smelly mud!
There is one area on the walk which involves walking through smelly black mud (we could have avoided it but that wouldn’t have been as much fun). Ruth (who was wearing wellies) got one of her feet stuck in the black mud, cue the second faller, yes Ruth ended up on the ground. Martin was on hand with his camera this time.
We left the smelly black mud and took a photograph of everyone’s feet. It now looked like we were all wearing wellies.
We found an area of water which gave us the opportunity to wash off the black mud. It just washes off.
Safety refuge boxes
When we reached one of the refuge boxes, used if people get into difficulty by the tide, Martin decided to climb up. He took photographs from the elevated position to get a different picture of the group. We then completed the final mile which is sprinkled with shells.
Holy Island
Once on Holy Island, we made our way to Pilgrims Coffee House, which is our cafe of choice on the island. Lots of fish finger sandwiches, crab sandwiches and cakes were consumed, before everyone (except Julie, Martin and Bob, who took advantage of the warm sunshine) went for a wander on the island as we had some time to spare.
Heading back
After around 1 hour we met up again at the causeway for our journey back. We followed the same route, avoiding the smelly black mud. No fallers on the way back however Annabelle’s “Crocs” had fallen out of her rucksack never to be seen (by us) again.
Once back, we all headed to the Barn at Beal for more tea and cake before heading off home.
Thank you everyone for coming along, I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did. Thank you also to Martin and Ruth for photographs.
I hope to see you all soon.
Julie x
