Toughie No 3573 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
S’mae a chroeso i Ddydd Mawrth! Today finds The Present Lady Whybird and I in the North Wales village of Dolgarrog to celebrate a couple of anniversaries, notably our Wooden anniversary. As well as being the site of the world’s first man-made surf lagoon (sadly not currently operational) Dolgarrog has a poignant memorial garden commemorating the worst dam disaster in Wales, which includes some of the massive boulders washed down the hillside by the torrent almost hundred years ago to the day. On a less sombre note, the autumn colours in Bodnant garden are spectacular, although the hawfinches in Caerhun churchyard are as elusive as ever…
Chalicea has given us a very enjoyable, and (with one exception) not too tricky puzzle to start the Toughie week, so many thanks to her. Parsing 20a, and then having to use one of my lifelines to confirm my suspicions, has necessitated the extra half-star for difficulty. My favourites today are 22a and 15a, with the latter being my overall winner, even as a non-golfer.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.