Wales Coastal Path

Day 134, Llanfarian to Borth 4 July 2023
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Day 134, Llanfarian to Borth 4 July 2023

After yesterday’s adventure, I was surprisingly perky – I haven’t walked much lately, but didn’t suffer any ill effects. My little Airbnb in Machynlleth is fab.  I dropped my car at Borth, and took the train to Aberystwyth – it is a very scenic route along a single track.

Waiting for the train at Borth. © Melita Thomas

Trains go left to Shrewsbury and Birmingham, and right to Aberystwyth.  I got to the latter place, where I met Jane, and we drove up to Llanfarian, about level with where I left the path yesterday.  It was impossible to get back to t he path without going down a horrible narrow lane, so we took a a delightful walk along the old railway track on the south side of the estuary, meeting the path again just to the south of Aberystwyth. 

We walked along the cobbly beach into the town,  where I have never been before. It was a good morning, and we had a really excellent lunch in a Spanish tapas bar, Ultima Comida. It was so good we’ve decided to go back tomorrow to pick up some cheese etc to take home, and get a fresh sandwich for the walk. 

The approach to Aberystwyth © Melita Thomas

Aberystwyth is, of course, very important historically in Wales as the location for the first non-violent protest by Cymdeithas yr Iath Gymraeg (Society for the Welsh Language) in 1963. In the centre of the town, there is also the location of the first bank in Wales. We left Aber about 2pm, and made our way along the front, which has very attractively painted houses. The town is an interesting mix of university prosperity and deep underlying poverty. At the end of the promenade is a steep hill, with a funicular.  We decided to walk up, and the views were fantastic.  For the next couple of hours we had superb weather, with lots of ups and downs and great views. 

The Funicular to the north of Aberystwyth. © Melita Thomas

We came to Morfa Borth and debated whether to climb one final hill, or go around the foot of the cliff on the shore.  I though the tide was going out, Jane thought it was coming in.

High road or low road? The headland south of Borth. © Melita Thomas

We could see fishermen on the rocks and another walker, so we decided to go for it.  It was not that easy, but we got across the rocks onto Borth beach.  The tide was, in fact, coming in, and as we walked along the main beach, it rushed in quite quickly. 

Tide swiftly coming in as we approached Borth. © Melita Thomas

A drink in the Queen Victoria pub in the evening sunshine capped the day nicely – 10.3 miles. Definitely a gold day!

Day 131 Llangrannog to Cei Newydd 26 Oct 2022
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Day 131 Llangrannog to Cei Newydd 26 Oct 2022

We didn’t manage to start at 10 am as planned, but had a leisurely breakfast in our fabulous hotel and admired the gardens before setting out – I really can’t recommend it enough. 

Castell Ceredigion/Cardigan Castle hotel gardens © Melita Thomas

We wound our way down the twisty lane to Llangrannog again, back past the Cofiwych Dryweryn sign then went along the narrowish bay before climbing up a very steep hill onto the cliff top. 

Cofiwch Dryweryn yn Llangrannog © Melita Thomas

There was a good deal of up and down all day. The weather was absolutely superb and we walked in T-shirts all the way in golden sunshine, with the bracken glowing orange on the hillsides.  Sadly, we still weren’t lucky enough to see any dolphins or seals on the very calm seas. 

Climbing the hill out of Cei Newydd/New Quay © Melita Thomas

Nor could we see the Llyn Peninsula, which apparently is lucky, as if you can see it, it is a harbinger of rain.  Looking back, we could see Y Mwnt disappearing into the distance.  We went down another steep hill into a little place called Cwmtydu for a coffee, then there was another series of ups and downs into Cei Newydd.   It was a lovely, uneventful day of glorious weather and scenery, covering a comfortable 8.8 miles. Definitely a gold day!

Day 129 Aberteifi/Cardigan to Y Mwnt 24 Oct 2022
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Day 129 Aberteifi/Cardigan to Y Mwnt 24 Oct 2022

We had to get up bright and early this morning as neither of us had found the carpark for the hotel yesterday and we were both pay and display carparks which charge from 8 am. We then wrapped ourselves around an excellent breakfast before driving to Y Mwnt to leave one car.  It was not immediately obvious how to find the carpark, but eventually we tracked it down – right at the foot of Y Mwnt – which is a pointy hill on the coast, visible from some distance.

Bridge over Afon Teifi, looking from the north. © Melita Thomas

I decided that we did not need to go back to Poppit Sands, as the walk from there is down the estuary, rather than along the coast, and is a narrow, tarmac’d road – unpleasant and dangerous to walk along, and not part of the coast.  Consequently, we started again from Cardigan Castle, right on the bridge over the Teifi. 

Aberteifi/Cardigan is a pleasant town (allowing for the fact that Welsh towns are not generally as pretty as English ones, although the surrounding countryside is nearly always fabulous). In the paving on the main road there is a slab with the words of the well-known hymn, Calon Lân, (Pure Heart) engraved.

The chorus of Calon Lân. © Melita Thomas

I am not sure why – perhaps it was written by a local bard? The castle was first built by a Norman invader, Gilbert de Clare, presumably as part of his assault across the Irish Sea on Ireland. It was taken for the Welsh in 1165 by Rhys ap Gruffydd (usually known as the Lord Rhys), the mightiest Welsh prince of the late twelfth century. He rebuilt the castle in stone, and some of his works remain extant.  

The weather was bright and breezy, with squalls to begin with, but we made good time along the north side of the estuary – there was a fair amount of road walking to start, but the views of the southern bank were good, and it is always nice to see the boats bobbing (or not bobbing) on the water. We passed some apple trees that were dangling temptingly over the path, so Jane clambered up the five-bar gate to supplement our lunch.

Bobbing and not-bobbing boats on the Teifi Estuary. © Melita Thomas

Turning off the road, we walked through beet fields, with Ynys Aberteifi/Cardigan Island ahead of us – it is known for its colonies of grey seals, but we did not see any there. In fact, the whole day, despite having our eyes peeled for dolphins, which are regular visitors to this part of the coast we only saw one seal. Eventually, the point of Y Mwnt came into view.  The sun had come out by this point, so we sat above the little inlet, where lots of people were enjoying themselves – some hardy souls were even swimming.  I decided that I was not brave enough for full immersion, but I did paddle – it was eye-wateringly cold, but exhilarating. My feet tingled for ages afterward.

Paddling at the foot of Y Mwnt. © Melita Thomas
Holy Cross Church, Y Mwnt. © Melita Thomas

We then climbed up to the top of Y Mwnt, great views in all directions, before visiting the lovely little church of Holy Cross at the foot. It has been there, time-out-of-mind, for the benefit of pilgrims and the tiny local community. It was a very tranquil space, moving in its quiet simplicity.

Another gold day, covering a modest eight miles.  

Day 126 – Abergwaun to Pwll Gwaelod 1st August 2021
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Day 126 – Abergwaun to Pwll Gwaelod 1st August 2021

Today was a logistical failure. I had carefully, or so I thought, checked the bus timetable from Trefdraeth/Newport and decided that the 11.25 bus would be fine. We got to the bus stop at about 10.45 and glancing at the timetable were disappointed to see that we had missed one at 10.25. We decided to walk around the little village, and found a café after talking to nice woman with a cat. Cats are on my mind, as last night Rachel was encouraging me to look on the Cats’ Protection League cat homing page and so I submitted an enquiry for a sibling pair – one black and white, and one tabby and white. We got back to bus stop and amused ourselves with thinking of cat names.  We then looked at timetable and realised that the Sunday bus was 12.25. So back to the cafe for another coffee and a cat name discussion. Chairman Miaow, Franz Katka, and Advocat are strong favourites, along with Bramble and basil, Treacle and Pudding, and Rasputin.

The Monthly Tutor’s Cottage, Abergwaun

12.25 came and went. No bus. After 15 minutes, I looked on line and it appeared that there are no Sunday buses, despite timetable. We decided to drive back to Fishguard, walk out and then back again. The route was pleasant, down a steep hill to the lower town, past the charmingly named ‘The Monthly Tutor’s Cottage’, then up past the harbour to the old fort at the headland where we took turns to pose on a canon.

Looking fab on a canon!

It was overcast. We met a man with an enormous pack that made us glad to be travelling light. We passed through a campsite with lots of people, and got to the hill just above Pwll Gwaelod. It was getting late, and we were concerned about being back before dark. We had heard rumours that there were dolphins playing off the coast, but we did not see any. The sun came out at last, giving us lovely views – it’s always quite different covering the same ground in the opposite direction. Hopefully, the bus arrangements for tomorrow will work! Only 5 miles covered – my shortest day, so far, I think. A silver day today.