My usual route to Abergele would have taken me straight down the M56/A55 but this was abandoned in favour of the A548 as I wanted to make a stop at a little place on the River Dee estuary. A post on Ruth's blog had prompted me to visit Greenfield Dock last year but with no road signs for it I'd been unable to find it at the time; subsequent research on Google Maps and Street View had shown me exactly where it was so I was now on a mission.
A short lane took me from the main road to the coast where the dock lay ahead of me; there was nothing much there other than a little tidal creek with a handful of small fishing boats beached on the deep mud banks and a parking area on each side but it looked a pleasant enough place to have a break from driving. The Wales Coast Path ran at each side of the dock and on one corner was a small grassy area with a bench overlooking the estuary and a large shell sculpture on a stone plinth. Had I been on my own I could have walked the dogs for quite a distance along the path in each direction, but mindful of my son with his broken ankle I stayed close to the dock itself and got enough photos to make it worth the stop.
Although I'd originally intended to make a second stop at Talacre beach further along the coast I'd also arranged to meet my blogging friend Eileen at 11am, but the later-than-planned start to the journey meant I was running out of time so that idea was put on hold for another time and I just drove straight to the harbour where we were to meet. It was lovely to see Eileen and her little dog Annie again and a very pleasant couple of hours were spent having a good chat over a coffee, followed by a walk round the boardwalk where Sophie found an apple in the sand and carried it all the way round until we got back to the cafe, when she promptly abandoned it in favour of a much-needed drink of water from the bowl provided.
After eventually saying goodbye to Eileen and Annie I drove the last four miles to Manorafon, found my pre-booked pitch and with limited help from my son the tent was soon put up and the inside sorted out. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the sun then later on we made a trip to the Asda store to get some supplies, followed by a wander round the harbour area and the boardwalk to get some evening photos.
Back at the tent we spent a couple of hours watching tv then I took Sophie and Poppie for their last walk before we all retired to bed for an early night, my son in the tent and me and the dogs in the van. It had been an enjoyable though long day but the weather had been good, and as I settled down in bed I kept my fingers crossed for more of the same the following day - if it turned out to be just as nice then my planned expedition should be a success.
