Thank you for your comments everyone. I had wanted to do OD again, but North to South. However, these days if I can, I try to get at least a couple of days at or near to the start of my trips with my wife, so she gets a little something out of it too, and i need a bit of a rest from my work before the off. Trouble was she's not keen on Prestatyn, for staying over, and Chepstow meant 3 or 4 train changes on the way back home for her, so we settled on Chester. I wanted to leave the car near the finish and it worked out that leaving it at Prestatyn and getting the train to Chepstow would be best, so that's what I did.
That meant alarm at 3am, which had an extra sleep deprivation impact leading to the B&B in Hay on Wye.Being a last minute decision I had no time for foot preparation so set off with a build up of hard skin on both heels. However the paper taping did its job superbly well and I had no foot issues whatsoever.My elbow and especially my backside (after the fall) are now on the mend and I have managed to patch the arm of my Goretex jacket.Next trip, who knows, but this one has given me some confidence that despite my problems I may be able to complete the Cape Wrath Trail and maybe even the Cambrian Way if I allow a bit extra time.