Well this was now definitely the last walk of the year...sad to say, but the snow may be coming in now! As in a quote Chris found today....."there is a fine line between hobby and mental illness"! I will begin though with giving the fundraising site as a reminder of why we are doing this....
www.justgiving.com/Pamela-Mallpress
I know it has been a busy giving time with Children in Need and now the awful disaster in the Phillipines, there is so much we all would like to help with.
So we set off in the dark and minus temperature last Wednesday morning, arriving in Milford Haven at our chosen hotel, the Belhaven House, by 8.30 where we were picked up by the Call a Cab taxi and returned to Pembroke Castle, scene of our last completed walk!
It was by now a lovely morning and off we set with lovely views all around the mighty Pembroke castle. We followed the north of the Pembroke river through fields and then on a road into Pembroke Quay - quicker to write than to achieve! This part of the Pembrokeshire coastal path - from Angle to Sandy Haven past South Hook which we won't pass til tomorrow - is one that apparently lots of people miss out when walking the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path because of its industrialisation. But really they are missing out so much! There is so much to see. Pembroke Dock is full of information. The Dock really sprang up in the early 1800's to house the Navy and defend us from the French! We passed one of its Martello Towers close to Front Street - the first street to be built in the town to house the dockworkers.
On the wall next to the tower are plaques commemoratuing the history of the town, from its beginnings through to the Second World War when many bombs were aimed here and a Wellington crashed into the sea further downstream on its way home. Having had a good look around and enjoyed a coffee at K's Cafe, we set off to the Cleddau Bridge to cross the Abergleddau estuary. There is a further walk going further around the Haven, another 12 miles, which will wait for another time. It isn't part of the official coastal path.
The bridge was opened in 1976 (or thereabouts...) and is now the second bridge we've crossed so far, the first being on the A48 to Swansea - we're more used to going under them! But the view was terrific..At the other side of the bridge was the berth where HMS Warrior used to be moored.
We soon dropped down to the estuary side again and on losing the direction of the path at one point, we came across Brunel Quay just as we were entering Neyland. It was amazing to find that Brunel really created Neyland intending it to be the main dock for transatlantic ships. There had been a hotel here where many notable people had stayed, a railway leading to it, customs house and so on. The buildings have all gone as the dream never quite came true... although it is of course a leading ferry port for Ireland just across the water at Pembroke Dock. Interestingly, the Brunel ship, the Great Eastern, was docked in the estuary to undergo repair work - and that ship was almost as huge as the modern gas ships!
And today there is an Irish ferry in dock..
From Neyland we walked through the small and pretty settlements of Llanstadwell and Hazelbeach and then following the water as ever (at least here we were really never far from the water either which was excellent!), we climbed into fields above the estuary, still with good views and the light on the water was sometimes so stunning, as here looking across to where the river Pembroke joins the Abergleddau..
And here where a strange light hung over the newly opened (and much discussed) gas power station across the water!
We soon had to negotiate our way around the oil collection point and the new refinery which necessitated crossing some particularly scarey bridges! Trust me I was VERY brave to go across 2 like this!
It was all so interesting to watch the river traffic - as here where a tug was going out to sea, and maybe the harbour master in the lead alongside the terminal jetty - the Valero refinery in the background, it's been on our horizon for so many walks now! Shame there was no ship in dock today!
And yet on the right of the picture in the fields was the home of Hywel Dda...a long forgotten Welsh king...people have held the Haven for some time! We were soon heading away from the river a little to find our way into Milford Haven. Crossing one field of cows was fine ...until we exited the gate at the other side...
Phew! It's a risky business this coastal path walking!
We soon came round to Castle Pill at Black Bridge which is a lovely setting - we avoided road walking here and were helped with directions by a man walking his dogs who has walked the Pembrokeshire path 10 times!
And so Milford Haven was reached along the promenade, The Rath with its great views and its elegant houses and statues...here one is dedicated to the fishermen of the Haven and the other modern one asking the spectator to remember to look for reflections, quite inspiring!
And so to Hamilton Terrace and the Belhaven House, originally built as the home of a surgeon of the Milford whaling ships! And now it's the home of Bruce and his wife. Very friendly, and Bruce is a keen Arthurian devotee with lots to tell us about the legend! The place where Gawain died by the way was apparently Walwyn's Castle, near Sandy Haven close to where we will walk tomorrow, NOT St Govan's Head which we thought last time!
Day 2 - Thursday 14th November set off quite windy. Not as bad as the last walk though! Call a Cab led us to Dale to leave the car and drove us back to Milford Haven so we set off by 9.30. Not a lot of town left to walk through, having passed the harbour...complete with lock gate...and the famous torch theatre....
....we did see a few fishing boats alongside the marina and soon found our way to Gelliswick Bay, looking across once more to our old friend the Valero refinery at Rhoscrowther.
The Napoleonic forts keep appearing, there was one on the headland overlooking the Bay here on the left and then a huge one further along our walk near the South Hook terminal. And of course the forts on the rocks in the estuary - Thorn Island which we passed last time near west Angle Bay and Stack Rock fort just near South Hook on this bank...quite striking, the ancient and modern!
We soon began to leave the industrial parts behind as we came to Sandy Haven inlet where we knew we could get over the stepping tones as low tide had been at 10 this morning, otherwise we would have had about a 3 mile detour!
And much as I had discovered in Ogmore that stepping stones aren't necessarily my favourite things, I preferred them to a longer walk! To bravely go!!!!
We were indeed now back to the beautiful cliffs with their many shapes and hues and soon we saw the next ferry arriving.
It was now a lovely day and we saw so many little coves and beaches. It's so hard to remember all their names!
Very soon we came to Monkshaven - the Bay where St Ishmael is said to have come ashore from Ireland as so many did bringing Christianity with them.
It is a stunning little bay and we had a chat with a local man who gave us the potted history. He told us that it wasn't so long ago that the waves crashed over the top of the wall that had been built across the bay..
We soon came around then into the Dale bay - at Musselwick and walked alongside the water on the rocky beach where we saw - and heard - a flock of oyster catchers.We knew that there was a plank bridge crossing here at the stone bank where the water meets the beach and seawater meets freshwater and that we were unlikely to have made it in time.....
...so near and yet too far - for me anyway! So a 2 and a half mile detour was made!! Sob Sob! In fact we had read that it is only a 2 and a half hour window each side of low tide to make it whereas in fact it was now 4 and a half hours since low tide..had we known we would have walked faster I'm sure! Never mind, we soon arrived in Dale - and very lovely it is too!
The only downside that night was that the pub was shut - for the whole of November so we had to drive to the Lobster Pot in Marloes, not too far and a very tasty meal was had!
Day 3 - Friday 15th November. Allenbrook, our B and b for the night had been probably the best so far. Very lovely, huge, old house of the 17th and 19th centuries, homely and comfortable, providing a much needed good rest!
It was a lovely and still morning as we set off to get around the Dale peninsula - just hadn't realised how many peninsulas there are down here! As we got to Dale Point we were looking across to the Angle peninsula, scene of our last, windy walk and the light was once again spectacular! Sheep Island is there on the right with Freshwater West Bay and Castlemartin beyond.
We followed the coast around to Watwick Bay and Point and again could see West Blockhouse which had originally been Henry VIII's fort to protect the Haven (informed by his father no doubt....) but which had later been regenerated first as a Napoleonic fort and then as second World War fortifications. Next we came to Mill Bay - where Henry VII came ashore in August 1485 (his main army disembarked in Dale it seems).
It was fascinating to go down to the beach, not only to think about its importance to us all in Britain, a new king, but also to see a wrecked submarine! A German one that had broken up when it was being towed into harbour for dismantling!
We climbed out of the Bay with fine views and rounded St Anne's Head. There had once been quite a large estate up here it seemed, could still see the wallled garden. There are also 2 old lighthouses - one now a ruin and the newer one now a private house - old-fashioned technology now radar is used. It was then just a lovely walk around the peninsula with the lovely views, great light on the sea and watching yet another ferry appear beyond Skokholm island ahead of us.
We soon came round to West Dale beach and it was amazing how narrow the peninsula is here - just a half mile walk to Dale!
And here was another of the iron age hill forts which had mainly fallen into the sea again...
Just one lonely surfer was playing in the waves as we passed by - and were they puffin holes we saw in the cliffs? Certainly Skomer Island is renowned for its puffin population in the spring. We passed the old airfields which we could see the edges of and there were many walls made of broken up brick and concrete obviously from buildings long gone on the airstrips. These were the home of the aeroplanes protecting the shipping lanes in the war. But alongside them is the magnificent Marloes Sands.
Such high cliffs that you can only safely get down towards the end of the bay, near Gateholm Island, where a stream has carved a way down. We did have lunch here. It is such a wonderful place with islands all around - Skokholm is just lurking there at the left and Skomer is just beyond Gateholm on the right. And all the edge of the sea is full of rocks - here all like pyramids. We followed the bay around and then looked down on Albion Bay (so named after a ship that wrecked here carrying pigs apparently! All were saved but the prop shaft can still be seen at low tide it seems) and Gateholm. It is the time of year to see seal pups - but none were in evidence for us today.
So we were approaching Martins Haven now - a National Trust centre. We could see the next hill fort - supposedly the most well defended in Pembrokeshire I understand but I don't understand how they know that when so many, as we have seen, have fallen into the sea. And we also now had view of St Bride's Bay sweeping round to St David's ahead of us! In the bay were 6 huge tankers - holding out for an increase in price? Perhaps! We were also soon overtaken by a skein of geese heading noisily for the island.
And here are some more of those weirdly shaped rocks, not concrete honest!
We first passed Jack Sound - the narrow strip of sea between the mainland and Skomer which is very turbulent and dangerous.
And then at Martins Haven is a 5th century cross which was found here in 1984.
There had been a seal pup on the beach here a notice said but he wasn't apparent to us as we climbed out of the bay for a bit of a trudge around to Musselwick Sands - where our path would then lead us to Marloes a little way inland - the good thing was the amazing colour of the sea.
So Marloes was reached - we passed the Lobster Pot, scene of last night's meal..
....and luckily found the shop open with a coffee to go - truly a lifesaver (Chris's life that is!!). WE headed for Dale road and were soon retracing our steps of the previous day around the Pickleridge or Gann where land meets sea near the stepping stones. As we arrived into Dale at 5pm, it was dropping dark giving us our last view of our friend, Valero across the waters of the Abergleddau!
.Our hostess of the night before had been about to send out search parties as we got to the car!! It had been a long but thoroughly enjoyable day.
The walks of the last 6 days around the Angle and Dale peninsulas, reaching out into the ocean like fingers, protecting the Abergleddau with its many coves and inlets and its settlements including Milford Haven and Pembroke, deep inside it, has been so fascinating. The Dale peninsula in particular is so different on each of its sides. the eastern side, in shelter, with its banks rolling quite gently to the waters' edge whilst the western side is wild and fierce with its high cliffs, some like concrete, and its jagged rocks and islands facing ferociously all that the Atlantic cares to throw at it. We have marvelled over the last 6 days' walking, perhaps even more than in the earlier walks, at what a power and force nature provided to form the spectacular rock formations, some twisted, contorted and folded beyond belief. And then we have seen, particularly down this mighty estuary, how Man has imposed himself on this landscape he has inherited. Right from the early iron age forts to the ancient kingdom headquarters and the coming of Christianity to these shores. And then to the mighty castles - like Pembroke - that were viewed as necessary, to the fortifications of Henry VIIIth through to the defences of the Napoleonic era and so too those of World War II. Now modern man is using this landscape with its deep, natural harbour, to provide the power - gas and oil - needed to sustain the 21st century way of life. Such stories!!
We now look forward to the remaining miles and the stories we can discover. 40 miles completed these 3 days so the total now behind us is 328! Only 542 miles to go!!
Thank you again for your support and encouragement and will speak again soon!
