Exploring Bangor: the Wales Coastal Trail

In yesterday’s post, I took you along on my first exploratory foray into Bangor. The next day, Friday May 2nd, I decided to explore further afield, and see if I could make it down to the suspension bridge that crosses the Menai Strait and connects the Isle of Anglesey to the mainland.

Now of course, I could just retrace my steps of a few days earlier back to the train station, and then strike out along the motorway. But before I left the US, I’d discovered something called the Wales Coastal Trail. The Wales Coastal Trail (WCT for short) runs along the entire length of the Welsh Coast, and I was curious to see if I could pick up the trail in Bangor, and let it lead me to my destination.

Again, as with  my regular Google maps, I couldn’t search using the WCT app. But it did display the route, and show me where I was in relationship to the route.

In order to get to the WCT, I decided to cut through the University of Bangor campus, which I’d not yet explored, and then pick up the WCT on the west side of Bangor, as it follows the strait.

After a brief stop at the ATM, I hiked up Lover’s Lane, a set of paths that wind up the hill across from the shopping center. This is the first University building I saw at the top of that hike.

University of Bangor

As I was trying to figure out which way to go, I heard oboe music coming from somewhere above me. By following a couple of stairwells and going through a heavy set of doors, I found myself looking out onto a courtyard.

School of Music and Student Center Courtyard, University of Bangor

The oboe music was coming from a closed room just to my left. And as I stood there, gazing out at this courtyard with the oboe music playing, I had an overwhelming sense of being in the perfect movie scene. You know, the kind where the main character is wrestling with a difficult decision – a lost love, a question of loyalty – and she gazes out over the beautiful courtyard hoping for answers while the instrumental track plays in the background.

Unfortunately, the oboist stopped playing a few minutes after I arrived. In walking through the building, I passed a huge banquet hall that was, I think being prepared for a wedding. There was a stage at one end, and lots of white tablecloths with big white lacy bows on the backs of the chairs.

But what I remember most are the smells. You see, I worked food service and catering for nearly all of my time in college, and there’s a certain smell to those sorts of places. And although I couldn’t see the kitchen, I knew one had to be near, because it was the exact. same. smell. After being in my own movie scene just minutes before, smelling something so familiar was very jarring.

And when I passed from the kitchen into the main student center, their student center smelled just like Pearsons, the 100+ year old brick student union that I worked in for many years at college. I guess university buildings are the same as church basements: they have a smell that’s not unpleasant, but particular to each type of building, no matter where they are.

But as much as I felt at home in these buildings, I was still on a mission to pick up the Wales Coastal Path. So with one last deep breath in of old building smell, I headed back out into Bangor.

It took a few minutes to work my way back down the hill towards the strait, but I did eventually pick up the trail. The road dead-ended in someone’s driveway, with a small arrow pointing to the left, through the gate and across a grassy field.

I wasn’t 100% sure that I was in the right place, but I followed the grassy track . . .

A grassy track that I sincerely hope is part of the Wales Coast Trail

. . . until I came to the sign for the Nantporth Nature Reserve, which houses part of the Wales Coastal Trail.

Nantporth Nature Reserve Welcome Sign

The path through the preserve was muddy, but very quiet. It was also very steep, and a fall to the strait below would have hurt. A lot.

After about 15 minutes of following the up and down, steps build into the side of a muddy hill trail, I was ready to get back to a nice, flat grassy path. Luckily for me, this set of stairs appeared to lead me back up to dry ground.

Steep steps leading me out of the Nantporth Reserve and back onto dry, even Wales Coastal Trail ground

At the top of the steep stairs was this old abandoned building.

Mysterious and Abandoned building as seen from the west side, top of the steps

I couldn’t tell what it had been, which made it all the more mysterious. And I couldn’t get in for a closer look, because there was barbed wire separating the walking trail from the field with the abandoned building.

Close up of southeast corner of the abandoned building

It was the same height all the way around, though, and with no doors or windows that I could see on the 2 sides that were visible. It was fairly large, though, so I’m guessing it was perhaps a barn of some sort?

In any case, it was intensely intriguing, and only with reluctance did I continue on my way.

The Wales Coastal Path led me away from the building and alongside a cow pasture

This grassy path led me alongside a couple of cow pastures, and then dropped me onto the A5 motorway right next to the Bangor stadium.

Although I was now close to the bridge, it was getting late, and I was tired from all that up and down stairs stuff. So instead of continuing on to the bridge, I decided to cut through the neighborhoods in east Bangor and head home.

The neighborhoods in east Bangor are more what you’d expect from suburbia: actual houses instead of flats, fancy cars parked out front, even some with gardens.

The colors on this bush caught my eye, particularly because it was a grey afternoon.

Eye-catching bush in east Bangor neighborhood. Love the reds and oranges!

There are lots of lilac trees in bloom, which surprised me the first time I saw them – I had not expected to see lilacs in the UK. But I am delighted they are here – lilacs are one of my favorite flowers, and I think the cool climate here means that they’re slower to bloom and slower to die.

As I was turning down out of the neighborhoods towards the train station, this view across the hills caught my eye . . .

Welsh hills to the east of Bangor

. . .  as did these beautiful flowers.

Arresting red and yellow flowers. And a pretty good photo, if I do say so myself! 🙂

They are a bush, I think, and the bush next to it had plain yellow flowers. But they were not as striking as these.

After I passed the train station, I had two choices: retrace my steps along the A5 to my B & B, or explore this end of High Street, which I had not yet seen.

I chose to explore High Street, and spent a lovely half hour ambling down the street, looking at all the shops. It’s easier to do this when all the shops are closed, as they were at 6:30 at night. I have always suspected that I’m a small-town girl, and so it was great fun to look at all the shops along the way.

My favorite was the City Leisure Amusements arcade.

City Leisure Amusements on upper High Street, Bangor

There was also a Domino’s pizza, several hair salons, a dentist, a couple of real estate agents, and a Methodist church.

My last stop along the way was into a sort of Qwik Mart, even though I’m sure that’s not what it was called. Although I had dinner aplenty back in my room (granola bars,  cashews, and fixings for PB & J sandwiches), I was in the mood for a treat.

And there, in the yogurt aisle, was exactly what I’d been looking for.

Gooseberry and banana yogurt. Delicious!

Yogurt is a special weakness of mine, and of the several flavors available for 89 pence, gooseberry and banana were the two flavors that we don’t have here in America. I bought one of each, along with a bottle of cherry-flavored cider.

Cherry British Cider. For the price, you can’t beat the taste!

Not a bad way to spend an evening, eh?

For the record, both the yogurts and the cider were delicious. The gooseberry yogurt was green (as the package implies), and the berries were chewier than I had imagined. More the texture of cherries than of blackberries. But they tasted like generic berry.

The banana yogurt was simply delicious, as was the cider.

And best of all, I’d stopped and had a lovely conversation with a gentleman and his dog on the way home from the market, and later his wife joined us as well. Lance (the older gentleman) was very excited to hear that I was from America.  He and his wife are going to Cancun in five weeks. He’s from the Isle of Anglesey originally, but back when they were both young, a nightclub called The Garden in Lladudno was the place to hang out. Free buses ran from Bangor to Lladudno, and they met on the dance floor all those years ago. They were a lovely couple.

My landlord also stopped me to talk for a bit when I came in. To my great surprise, I found out that Les used to be a professional boxer. There are pictures all over the wall of the tiny office, of him in various arenas. He coached the Welsh men’s team for a while, and still referees on occasion, though he’s about 60 now and not as active as he used to be.

He also taught me my first Welsh words. Bore da (bo-reh-da) means good morning, and diolch (deelhuh – the huh is this weird aspiration in the back of your throat that is softer than a chuh) is thanks. We ended the conversation with him showing me the reservation for the Foo Fighters, who will be staying here in 3 or 4 weeks’ time.

All in all, I was feeling pretty great when I went to bed that Friday night. A week’s worth of client work successfully completed, administrative crises in terms of internet and converter averted, and I’d gotten in some lovely walks and sightseeing. Plus, I had a whole weekend ahead of me to get out and explore . . .

Until next time,

~ Felicity