There was more reminiscing as we started our walk from St Asaph to Llansannan: there’s the street where we grew up; the shop where we bought lollies and the cottage where our grandparents lived etc etc. Gradually, memories gave way to new territory and we were continually surprised at the density of tracks and lanes that we never knew existed. The landscape on today’s stretch featured: farmland fields in steep-sided valleys dotted with trees and the occasional patch of purple heather; swathes of lush emerald pasture grass that hides the ankle-wrenching holes pugged by heavy-hoofed livestock; darkly-shadowed and secretive paths that connect different worlds and hint of ancient ways; rows of neat cottages primly posed to gaze on secluded valleys; and the Afon Aled that flowed fast and was coloured chocolate with the soil load of the previous day’s heavy rainfall. The day’s tally in regard to the weather was countless scudding clouds, several bouts of strong wind but only one serious downpour. This type of weather offers a bonus and there is always a moment of joy when the greyness of the sky opens up and permits a shaft of light to momentarily illuminate some small portion of an otherwise muted landscape. As I write the blog, the rain is battering on the windows and each drop sounds like the amount carried by a cup: large, heavy and plentiful, these drops will puddle the surface of the already saturated ground and I know that tomorrow our feet will quickly be as sodden as the field.