Walking

[Fester]

I salute them all, and you Jack for making the effort to mark the occasion.   

[Hugo]

Yesterday was such a nice day that I thought that I'd have a walk from the West Shore to the old gunsite  walking along the shoreline.  After the recent storms I had expected to see a lot of debris scattered along the shore together with more erosion but I was pleasantly surprised to see hardly any debris on this part of the shore.  It must all have gone on to the West Shore instead.
The expensive properties had various types of sea defences but they are fighting a losing battle as the erosion not only comes from the sea but from the Orme itself and the westerly winds that cause the cliffs to dry out and then crack.  Frank Tyldesley's old boathouse was a victim of the erosion with landslips behind the retaining wall causing the wooden bridge that linked the boathouse to the garden to collapse but that happened years ago and has got worse since.
After the last property in Llys Helig Drive there are no sea defences and the erosion has escalated quite alarmingly.   At the second lookout buildings that I passed the three of them have all subsided and are looking at the shoreline rather than looking out to sea.  At one time concrete steps went up the slope from these buildings but the botton steps have long since been eroded. I climbed up the remaining steps and noticed in many places cracks appearing in the ground which are an obvious sign of further erosion to come.   After huffing and puffing up the track I went up the grass track above Hornby Cove and then headed for the café where I enjoyed another nice latte and piece of coffee cake.  The place was really busy with many people making the most of the Winter sunshine.   I came back to the West shore via the concrete road and the sheep track past Ffynnon  Gogarth and stopped to watch the goats feeding on the edge of the cliffs before descending past Ogof Arth above the old Penmorfa Hotel.  The tide was low so I finished off the walk by going on the shore and looking at the shipwreck of a wooden boat that lies on the beach opposite the car park.

[Hugo]

Llandudno Gunsite

[Hugo]

Great Orme walk

[Jack]

Great walk and photos Hugo; the concrete steps down to the second group of three gun emplacements collapsed about four years ago and as you say it won't be long before those three structures are in the sea.  The other 3 and the generator room (Angie's special place!) are still in remarkable condition after 70 years.

Is the shipwreck the 'Flying Foam'? The timbers of this ship were used in the building that is now the Cottage Loaf but have never been sure where the ship actually floundered.

[Cordyline]

Thanks for the article and photos Hugo; very impressive !!

[Merddin Emrys]

Yes very good Hugo, if only you had put this up before your quiz question!  :twoface:

[Hugo]

You're correct Jack with the name of the shipwreck

The building of the pub.....
flying foam schooner
The “Flying Foam” was a coal-carrying schooner that was wrecked of Llandudno’s West Shore on 21st January 1936. The vessel itself was abandoned, but much of the decking and the main masts were salvaged.  Dunphy's bakery and warehouse was made up of the timbers from the wrecked schooner.  Many of these timbers were saved during the demolishion of the warehouse in 1980 and reused in the building of the Cottage Loaf.

[norman08]

i was close then i thought it was the gunsites , my 1st job was at franks house as gardener with mr thomas .

[Hugo]

I couldn't remember whether you lived at the Gunsite or not Norman but I knew that your parents lived there.   Our cousin Peggy Whittle lived there with her husband Harry and left the Gunsite to go to Canada.
Did you ever go into the Boathouse when you worked for Frank?    It was a shame to see the wooden bridge by the side of the building but the building itself appeared to be in a good state despite the elements.

[mull]

Well done Hugo, a good report and photos. Looks like you had a fine sunny day.
Amazing the amount of damage caused by this winters storms.
I spent Saturday and up to midday yesterday repairing and strengthening my fence on the south side of the garden. Just got it finished as the weather closed in again and we had heavy rain and a south eastery gale until midnight.
This must be the worse winter since we came here in 1995 and I have not had much chance to get out walking for a few weeks .
Never mind spring is on the way.
Thanks for the walking reports, keep them coming.

[Hugo]

You're correct Jack with the name of the shipwreck

The building of the pub.....
flying foam schooner
The “Flying Foam” was a coal-carrying schooner that was wrecked of Llandudno’s West Shore on 21st January 1936. The vessel itself was abandoned, but much of the decking and the main masts were salvaged.  Dunphy's bakery and warehouse was made up of the timbers from the wrecked schooner.  Many of these timbers were saved during the demolishion of the warehouse in 1980 and reused in the building of the Cottage Loaf.

I was talking to my brother the other night and mentioned this shipwreck to him.   The boat must have been laden with coal when it was wrecked because he can remember our mother telling him that as a young girl she went out to the wreck to gather coal from it for the family fire!     

[Hugo]

I watched Weatherman Walking on TV this week and Derek Brockway did a walk on the Great Orme.    It was a nice day when he did the walk and the photography was really good.
The walk was 6 miles long and must have been a good advert for the town

[Jack]

Thanks for the extra information Hugo regarding the Flying Foam
Weatherman Walking was certainly a great advert for the town and I'm not sure when it was filmed but they were certainly lucky with the weather. 

[Fester]

Thanks for the extra information Hugo regarding the Flying Foam
Weatherman Walking was certainly a great advert for the town and I'm not sure when it was filmed but they were certainly lucky with the weather. 

The Derek Brockway programme was great, and I saw my house... twice!

Given that the cable car was running, yet there was refurb work underway at the Pier Head, this suggests it must have been September at the latest.