Prestatyn and the Irish Sea. Photo shows a wooden post with Offa’s Dyke Path trail markers in a green pasture on a saddle at the crest of a hill. Blurry in the distance are windmills in the sea, and a coastal town with a strip of beach.

Finish line. Photo shows windmills in the sea, Prestatyn, and a green foreground pasture.

Evidence of this week’s windstorm. Remnants of a downed tree no longer blocking a road because it’s been chainsawed into bits. Fresh tear marks and a pile of sawdust indicate this just happened, probably today. Photo shows a forest road with a downed tree, trunk on one side and branches on the other.

End of the Path. I’m standing by the famous begin/end signpost. A carnival behind me! Photo shows me in hiking gear with poles, posed under a sign reading “Cas-Gwent Chepstow 177 miles” with the National Path acorn symbol. The post reads “Start/Finish Offa’s Dyke Path”.

Day 7 on #offasdykepath, Bodfari to Prestatyn. 13 miles, 2700 ft elevation. Finish Line! Chepstow to Knighton last year, and Knighton to Prestatyn now. Beautiful day, plenty of climbs, lovely views all day. A mean trick, though, to put that steep hill right at the end of the Path!

Irish Sea in the far distance. Clywdian Range right to left, my task today and tomorrow. Photo shows broken clouds over a green field, fence line trending down to the right. A range of dark hilltops moves to meet a sliver of sea in the distance.

My favorite landforms on the whole Path are these steep-sided green valleys, scattered groups of trees, sun-mottled pastures. Photo shows all these, with a foreground set of trail steps leading down to the right.

Lunch. A deep Welsh vista with my foot for scale. Photo shows white fluffy clouds over a far green landscape. In the foreground a wooden trail marker signpost, scattered large rocks, and a foot.

These exposed trails on ridge lines were the scene of scary buffeting by high winds all day. Photo shows a deceptively-calm green ridge line under friendly fluffy clouds. Wide green trail in foreground.

Day 6 on #offasdykepath, Llanarmon-yn-Iâl to Bodfari. 16 miles, 3,100 feet elevation. Well into the Clwydian Range and into the teeth of a windstorm. Heavy sustained cold winds all day, with scary gusts. But at least it hailed for 20 minutes. Irish Sea and finish line visible all day!

Scree slopes north of Dinas Bran. Photo shows a well-defined path across a steep, barren hillside with field of loose stone pressing down from above. A bare rock promontory juts out in the distance under cloudy skies.

Paving stones form the Path across open moor on an exposed and windy saddle near Cyrn-y-Brain. A cold and lonely place. Photo shows gray rectangular stones laid to gather forming a straight path with green and brown scrub on either side. Path ends at an overcast white horizon.

The Llandegla Forest. Photo shows a meandering brown path framed by tall trees on both sides nearly touching overhead.

Crossing a high point in ferocious winds. Photo shows green fields, a couple of dirt roads, a partial fence line under cloudy skies. Deceptively peaceful; I was getting blown hard.

Day 5 on #offasdykepath, Llangollen to Llanarmon-yn-Iâl. 14.2 miles, 2900 feet elevation. A diverse day. Contouring scree slopes, hustling across exposed hilltop moorland, a genteel lunch in Llandegla, and rushing to get off the heights before high winds blew me off the trail. Reward: Raven Inn!

View from the Aqueduct. Llangollen canal in foreground, then green fields and distant hills.

Chirk Castle sits on a wooded hill in the distance. Green valley and a foreground slope broken with shrubs and clumpy grass.

Wooden signpost with brightly-painted acorn path-markers stands looking over a sun-mottled landscape of green hills and clumps of tall trees.

Day 4 on #offasdykepath, Trefonen to Llangollen. 18 miles, 2,600 feet elevation. Perfect weather day, sunny and cool. Lots of long vistas from hilltops and sudden descents into steep valleys. A long day brought me to the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, carrying the Llangollen Canal across a gorge.

Mining away a hillside outside Welshpool. The mountain is stripped to bare rock terraces. A processor pours out smoke? Steam?

Miles of embankments, sometimes guarded by trees. Photo shows a trail running straight down the top of an earth wall, surrounded by green plants and scrub trees.

A lock on the Montgomery Canal near Llanymynech. Towpath to the right, the canal itself glassy and still.

A panoramic shot from the top of Y Moelydd. 360° view of Wales and the borderlands. Green grass, a signpost, a monument.

Day Three on #offasdyketrail, Pool Quay to Trefonen. 16 miles, 2,400 feet elevation. The first nine miles, to Llanymynech, were gloriously flat and level, including the Montgomery Canal towpath in stretches. The next seven miles, not so much! Steep climbs to commanding views.

Wooden signpost confidently points walkers onto the Buttington Bridge.

Where the sidewalk immediately ends. It’s a busy, busy road too.

Buttington Bridge should definitely not be on the Path. It’s the very busy A458, it’s narrow as heck, and there’s no sidewalk. A definite No from me; I retreated and called a taxi into Welshpool.

Goats on a green grassy conical mound with the top cut off flat, and now you know everything I do about it.

Lunch break. My shoe, a green grassy field, and manicured trees. Blue skies with fluffy white clouds above.

It took some coaxing to get these two resting adult sheep to let me through this metal stile into their pasture beyond.

A happy sight. Welshpool down below in the distance. A green grassy hillside in foreground, and rows of hills stretching behind the town to infinity.

Day Two on #offasdykepath. Brompton to Buttington today: 15 miles, 2,300 feet elevation. The first half is busy working farms, lots of tractors (lots of mud as a result) broken by nice green hillsides. A steepish climb at the end up to Beacon Ring Iron Age hillfort. A complaint in first comment:

AllTrails summary shows a map view and data on my hike. 14.7 miles, 4,032 vertical feet, and they mean vertical.

Halfway point of the whole Path, near Newcastle. Photo shows me with my chin strap holding that cap; very high winds all day.

A look back, showing a section of the Dyke itself. The ditch and berms meander up a green hillside.

Some of the lambs are only a day old. Photo shows a mother sheep suckling a lamb and looking at me suspiciously. Also they’re blocking the Path.

Day One of returning to #offasdykepath to do the northern half, Knighton to Prestatyn. Knighton to Brompton is widely said to be the toughest day on the whole Path, and no argument from me. 15 miles and over 4,000 vertical feet, more than half crammed into the last 5 miles. Very high winds today.

A 3 X 3 tiled image, each tile showing the sun dipping lower toward the horizon and finally disappearing. Oranges, purples, and blues paint the clouds. In the foreground a tree and the southern slope of Mt. Davidson.

Just a colorful #sunset sequence from my roof on Mt. Davidson, #sanfrancisco . 84 minutes from first frame to last. Current pics, gallery, and overnight videos etc. at paulclanon.com/cameras .

City lights, trees, and buildings along the bottom of this nighttime shot labeled 9:11 pm. Against a black sky two things are labeled: "Altair" appears as a bright dot, and "Meteor" is a near-vertical bright line punctuated with a thick bright section that tails messily off into darkness.

Unlabeled version of the same shot.

Meteor flashing over Mount Davidson in San Francisco last night. Pic taken from my roof looking due west. Current views from this camera, and summaries of the night past, are at paulclanon.com/cameras .

#astrophotography #meteors #sanfrancisco

First visit to Battle Abbey - absolutely fascinating and beautiful place.

A painting in a wooden frame. A small boat and a few men are tossed by waves in a night scene, the moon shining brightly through clouds and spotlighting the scene.

A selfie. Me and the painting at the Tate Britain, London.

Information card on the painting. “Fishermen at Sea”, 1796, JMW Turner. At the Tate Britain in London.

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one whose pics are ruined by the Moon. I bet JMW Turner was almost done, putting the finishing touches on, getting the boat and the waves and the fishermen just right, when BAM the moon came out and ruined the whole painting. #tatebritain #astrophotography

Me sitting on a rare bench along the path. Green foliage behind.

Several sections of the Dyke itself right along the path. In this shot a cluster of trees and a ditch with a low wall to the left and higher to the right.

Dyke section, hills in distance.

Not a good omen. Dead sheep lies white against the green grass. Trees and rolling hills, and an overcast sky.

Kington to Knighton on #offasdykepath. 14 miles, 2,800 feet elevation. Noticeably cooler day, which was great for the three climbs to ridgetops. Some steep climbs, but also a lot of gradual pastures up hillsides. Several visible Dyke sections. Steep descent into Knighton.

Black cattle forage in green brush on a backdrop of trees and distant hills.

A mysterious stone and an isolated group of trees, both out of place on Hergest Ridge.

Green pastures, cloud-shadowed and rolling up and down under a cloudy sky.

Distant hills.

Hay-on-Wye to Kington on #offasdyketrail. 15.7 miles on a warm day (eventually clear) first along the Wye River, then up a series of three ridgeline steps culminating in a pretty glorious Hergest Ridge, then a steep drop to Kington. Broad green paths on sunny flat ridge-tops, sheep and horses.

Green grassy path with long views in the distance. An unreadable stone marker.

Unexpected sight: Parasailers at the far northern tip of the ridge, above Hay-on-Wye. Brown, barren ridge top with cloudy sky in the background. Tiny figures on the horizon, and a lone flyer in the sky.

Brown barren ridgetop.

Stopping to put another layer on at an unreadable marker. Me with bugeye sunglasses and baseball cap, stone marker and long views of pastures far below.

Views of the ridgeline walk, windy and exposed. Lonely too; ran into three walkers the whole day up there.

Black Mountains; the day ahead. Cloudy blue sky, road and fence (with stile marked as a footpath), and a long, flat, high ridgeline with steep sides.

Sign hung on stile reads “Cattle attack dogs do not put your dogs on a lead with cattle”. Green pasture beyond.

Two sheep watch me pass. They’re standing on a green, grassy ledge with trees and low scrub up the steep hillside.

Rainbow in a cloudy-blue sky. Green pasture, with sharp promontory in the distance.

Longtown to Hay-on-Wye on #offasdykepath, 16 miles and a whopping 3,770 ft elevation. That’s because it’s a steep climb to the ridgeline in the Black Mountains, then all day gradually rising to the 2,300 ft high point and then down to Hay. Windy, cold, exposed all day, with flashes of long views.

A sheepish day.

Cows hanging out, trees in the background, overcast sky.

That’s my climb tomorrow. Flat pasture, prominent hill, cloudy sky.

Nearing the end of the day! Signpost showing Monmouth and Pandy.

Interior of St. Michael’s church. Very welcoming to hikers, with snacks, electricity outlets, and a place to sit down.

Monmouth to Pandy today on #offasdykepath. Cool but dry, occasional breeze, perfect walking weather. A day of sheep pastures for most of the route. 18.1 miles.

Sheep cluster near a gate, their pals in middle distance grazing in a green pasture.

The view upriver to Monmouth in the distance. Still an 800-foot climb before reaching it.

Just a lovely green pasture partly in shadow, blue sky above.

Tintern Abbey, a view from above. River Wye behind the Abbey, with trees and the houses of the town filling the frame.

White arched bridge over the Wye. Blue sky above and muddy water below.

Horses graze in a green pasture. Trees in the distance, blue sky above.

First full day on #offasdykepath, from Chepstow to Monmouth mostly contouring the ridges above the Wye. Just under 20 miles including getting to the trail itself, and over 3,200 feet of elevation gain, Including that 800-ft climb just before Monmouth, which about did me in. Beautiful sunny day.

Chepstow Castle under a cloudy blue sky. A sunbeam shines through a top battlement.

The Three Tuns Inn. A long white building with black trim. Where I’m staying tonight.

Chepstow Station. Got here via London Paddington and Newport. Put the pack on and set off. A stonefront , Classic rail station.

Chepstow Castle from the river bridge. Brightly-colored houses in foreground.

Stone monument in Welsh and English marking the beginning of Offa’s Dyke Path.

Me in the foreground, and behind the Severn Bridge and scudding dark clouds. Foliage hides the cliff behind me.

Path cuts straight atop a green dyke. Rolling hills and copses in the background, beneath a blue and cloudy sky.

Against a blue sky a marker post, showing “Offa’s Dyke Path” and a stylized acorn, the symbol of UK national paths.

Tagged the beginning of #offasdykepath near Chepstow today and heading northbound tomorrow. Warm and breezy; a great start.

Shallow ditch and bank crossing a sheep field near the mountains

Not quite a hillfort, more a long ditch and bank; the confidence of Offa’s Dyke lies deep within the landscape. #HillfortsWednesday

It’s a good time to pop up to Castell Dinas Bran above Llangollen this week to see the excavations by @henebtwa.bsky.social Cadw and Chester University on the 13th century castle gateway and across the Iron Age hillfort defences. Interesting detail coming up on the quite elaborate castle entrance.

Animated version.

Night sky view. Many bright dotted paths of airplanes against a background of stars and planets moving through the sky.

Finally some clear skies as #sanfrancisco summer arrives. This #astrophotography star trails image is cluttered by zillions of airplanes from SFO airport, against a background of stars and planets. See how it's made in the animated version below. These cameras at paulclanon.com/cameras

Current photos at paulclanon.com/cameras . #mtdavidson #sanfrancisco #sunset

30 photos tiled. In each, at bottom a hillside, and in the sky the sun pokes through an evolving complex cloudscape. The sky itself is a deep blue above and a light blue below.

The San Francisco summer has been especially San Francisco-ey this year; my sky cameras have gone weeks at a time without glimpsing a star through the clouds. During the days I sometimes get treated to beautiful clouds themselves, though. Here's 30 minutes of shots looking west.

Blue-ish predawn sky with planets (Venus and Saturn) and stars (Vega, Deneb, Altair) labeled. A faint glow from the rising sun at bottom left, and a bright yellow streetlight at bottom right.

Venus and Saturn just barely making it into the last possible frames before it got too light this morning; you can see the predawn glow behind my neighbors' house on the left. Streetlight at bottom right. Current photos from this camera at paulclanon.com/cameras . #sanfrancisco #astrophotography

The midday sun throws a bright halo in the sky from behind a dark cloud. Scattered blue patches and more white clouds. Each corner of the image is dark, where the fisheye lens can't see.

I call this one "When the Doublebass Solo Starts". Fisheye lens looking straight up this afternoon in San Francisco. Current pics from this camera at paulclanon.com/cameras . #RaspberryPi #astrophotography #sanfrancisco