The humid weather continues, and the BBC forecast predicts thunderstorms arriving at around 1pm this afternoon.
I was planning to walk from Tenby to Freshwater East, but instead I decide to cut today’s walk short. My new plan is to be safely under cover in a pub in Manorbier by lunch time, just before the storm breaks. So, anticipating an easy 8 mile stroll, I set off from Tenby and begin my walk along the magnificent South Beach.
After lunch, I ask the bartender to refill my water bottles. Then I leave the pub and cross the road to walk next to the shore. I’m looking forward to reaching the next village – Amroth – and passing over the border into Pembrokeshire, because this will mean I’m finally joining the famous Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
It comes as a surprise to find a marker plinth and realise I’m already there! So this is the start of the official Pembrokeshire Path? I feel a tingle of excitement. I’d been looking forward to this moment. A photograph is necessary…
… and it’s also time to swap maps. I put away OS 177 and open up OL 36. Hello, new friend! The double-sided OL36 map should see me through almost as far as St Davids, by which time I will be more than 1/2 way along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Continue reading
Last night I moved, by train, from Carmarthen to a B&B in Tenby, and this morning I have to catch the bus back to Pendine. The journey takes an hour, with the bus rocking and rolling along the narrow lanes in a drunken fashion. I’m always surprised so few people travel by bus because it’s a great way to see the countryside. A funeral party gets on and then off somewhere near Amroth, and a couple of walkers a few stops later. By the time the bus reaches Pendine, I am the only passenger left.
I walk along the beach and take some photographs. Straight ahead is Dolwen Point with Gilman Point behind.
What’s so special about Laugharne? The poet, Dylan Thomas, lived here during the last years of his life, and is buried in the churchyard. The rest of the world seems to know this (including many of my fellow coastal walkers), but it was news to me!
Below is a photo of the Boat House, where Dylan and his family stayed. They would have enjoyed the unspoilt and wonderful view across the River Taf. It’s a familiar landscape to me, being the route of my walk yesterday.
I set off from St Clears on a bright and sunny morning, heading down the east side of the River Taf, back towards the sea.
The buildings along the A4066 are somewhat unloved. I pass a dilapidated shop and a closed-down pub. But, further along, a cheerful garden makes me smile. Check out the flowerpot men.
I catch the first bus of the day from Carmarthen to Llansteffan. It’s two weeks since my last walking expedition in Wales, and this time I have left both my husband and my car behind, so I am relying totally on public transport. (Thank goodness for Traveline Cymru – which takes some of the pain out of the planning process.)
Llansteffan is both a seaside resort and an agricultural community. It has an old Norman church and, nearby, a strange white building with a curved front looks like a shop, but is actually the Old Pound; not used for dogs, but for holding stray sheep.
I set off from the church in Llangain, and walk along narrow country lanes, where nature is busily reclaiming the central section of tarmac. The verges are lined by spring flowers and I’m surrounded by the heavy scent of cow parsley.
The town of Carmarthen lies on the west bank of the river Towy. I walk past the station (on the east bank) and over a new-looking pedestrian bridge that arches delicately over the river. From the span of the bridge, I have a good view of the road bridge, further upstream.
I check my map. Today’s walk looks straightforward, and I’m worried it might be boring as it follows tracks and roads up the estuary. But the day turns out to be surprisingly eventful.
It’s a damp and dull morning when I set off from the beach at Ferryside. Across the river the pretty village of Llansteffan seems tantalising close.
I turn off the road just south of Kidwelly and follow the Wales Coast Path over the railway line. At this point, I decide to diverge from the official coast path. A public footpath will take me along the raised bank of the creek and, therefore, much closer to the water, thus obeying my Rule Number Two.
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Incident number 1305Date: 30.08.26Site: Public footpath alongside of Egglestone Abbey near Barnard Castle. County Durham.Bull with cows and calves (Comment: very large brown cattle with small horns.)2 walkers with dog on a lead. Miley’s Report: “We were walking from woods towards grasslands alongside Egglestone Abbey. This was the only route back to the gate onto […]
Incident number 1303Date: 31.5.26Site: Between Lewes and Hamsey on the river footpath BN7I dog, on a lead, 2 walkers Description: “Chased by cows on footpath, not for the first time here but very scary. Our dog froze in panic making getting away from cows near impossible.We reported it to the council who have replied saying […]
Incident number 1301Date: 24.05.26Site: Roughly this: What3words:Punctuate.Otter.Fronted. Near Over Alderley, Hare Hill permissive path. 1 dog on lead, 3 walkers. RH’s report: “We were just walking and suddenly a group of cattle burst out of a field (from nowhere) and moved around us, not charging but getting quite close, agitated and shifting around restlessly with […]
