Walk 9 Carmarthen to Pendine 24th-25th September, 2013

At last we've managed to fit in the next mileage...about another 28 miles down! Strange that it was exactly the same dates as our walk last month! Well the weather was looking good and my sister-in-law, Joanna, offered to taxi us....that made the transfers so much easier! So we left Carmarthen station about 9.15 and set off into the autumn mist!

Crossing the Towy we then walked for quite a way alongside the river - a very still and peaceful morning with misty views...of the town and its castle...

and of the riverside...spiders aplenty and it was our first walk really where it was wet underfoot, we have been spoiled by the lovely summer!

Leaving the river for a while, we had some road walking before we went into a lovely wood with fallen trees, spiders webs, and these toadstools - looking like they came from a fairy world!

At the end of the wood we were met with a field with a bull and its family so decided to leave them all in peace as were not sure as to the character of the bull! We retraced our steps back to the road and walked into the pretty village of Llangain, passing its old Green Castle en route. Further road walking brought us soon enough to the opposite side of the Towy to Ferryside where we had lunched on the previous walk and now we had views too of Llanstephan's castle looking down on us. We lunched by the side of the estuary in Llanstephan and partook of snacks at the Beach Cafe where there was a selection of coal sculptures to be had which seems a very modern use for it!

We then took the path up towards the castle but then went around it into another wood..we have enjoyed some very pleasant wood walks. This wood had been know as "The Sticks" in the '20's when the miners came for seaside holidays and all met up to socialise and enjoy mini Eisteddforddiau there. The ampitheatre and seats are long gone so a lovely seat sculture has been put there as a memory, very fine place!

They would have had super views of the estuary and beyond from here too..

We passed an idyllic little bay, Scotts Bay, where we could see the headland of Wharley Point, a National Trust area which we were heading for next. If the mist hadn't been with us we would have seen the Gower and Worms Head...but then at least we were dry! And in fact it was really warm too.

Around here we saw one or two information boards telling of the history of Carmarthen as a very important Roman seaport and of how busy the shipping lanes were...and of how many shipwrecks there had been, as here is the confluence of the Towy and Taf with much danger at low tides.

The patterns in the sands as we overlooked the meeting of the Towy and Taf at low tide were very pretty although the mist did mean we couldn't see that far away.

We soon followed the east bank of the Taf up towards St Clears now with some views of the Taf  and its marshes.We hadn't really been able to see Laugharne across there though and that is where we would be headed tomorrow!

We followed the lanes until we reached the agreed meeting place with Joanna who was walking towards us - we were very pleased to see the car waiting to take us to the Forge Restaurant and Motel just beside the A40 not too far away - but we were very glad we didn't have to walk as far as that! The motel provided us with very comfortable rooms and a very good evening meal - perfect after a 7 hour walk!

Lots seen again....toadflax, ferns aplenty, campions, cranesbill, honeysuckle and blackberries galore...

even saw some remaining swallows, can't be many left now, and a cormorant and heard oyster catchers.

Day 2 saw us driving into St Clears to start the day after a very hearty breakfast...the British Gas vans seemed to be having a meeting at the motel, maybe to save our world! Set off about 9.45 and enjoyed the walk through to the end of the town, passing several old pumps and the motte of the Norman castle. This had been a very important crossing of the River Taf. There followed a good deal of road walking - some of it was on a purpose built path behind hedgerows but not all of it. We missed a bit where we should have dropped down to the riverside which we had now left below us but managed to find a track leading back to the official path near a lovely place called Delacorse, a private house adjacent to the river which the path passes through. After a short walk through fields we passed through another wood into Laugharne. In the wood just before we came to the town, we passed an old ruin which was really quite romantic in its setting

As we left the wood we had super views, albeit misty ones, across the estuary to Wharley Point and yesterday's walk and of the approaching town.

Really impressed with this lovely place...home of course to Dylan Thomas and his family. We passed the old boathouse where they had lived, now a museum, (you can see it on the right on the 2nd photo below showing the castle and its environs) and we also passed the house, Sea View, now for sale as a hotel, which had also been their home and so we came around to the beach and its marsh with fantastic views of the magnificent castle!

We enjoyed a lunch here in such an idyllic setting before heading off up on the walk which Dylan Thomas had apparently taken on his 30th birthday and written a poem about.

There are various verses shown on information boards as you head up on this walk along the estuary until..

...and you really can see why he was inspired to write a poem here, overlooking the patterned, channelled marsh with its old sea wall to the right and across to Wharley Point and beyond. On a clear day you can see Worms Head from here.

Dropping down again to walk between the marsh and steep, limestone cliffs, we passed a little garden and pond and wondered who had cultivated this here...could it have been the cockle pickers or those who had built the sea wall?

We continued then away from the water once more and going uphill from the old Coygen quarry, followed the road into Pendine. We couldn't follow the beach and its dunes here as it is all owned by the MOD...what a waste for us all. The signage for Pendine is that of the sloping track of Brooklands which is where J G Parry-Thomas had worked for some time before taking up his quest for land speed records here. He crashed his car "Babs" in the sands in the 1920's and was killed. He and Malcolm Campbell each tried to better each other. Babs though was left in the sand until the 1960's when it was refound and is now in the museum here.

The beach with the tide out is something to behold - a 7 mile expanse and the sea only on the horizon..

After a much enjoyed coffee, home beckoned, until the next time!

If you have time and would like to see how the fundraising is going, have a look at: www.justgiving.com/Pamela-Mallpress

Walk 8 Llanelli to Carmarthen 24th-25th August, 2013

Lovely surprise on this leg was that we were joined by Julia, our youngest daughter, and her partner, Richard! Left home at 6.30 to get to Kidwelly station for the 8.45 train to Llanelli...pretty pictures in the station waiting shelter by the scout group in 2010. It was great fun waving the train down to stop for us!

So we set off back down Copperworks Road from Llanelli station and on past the North dock and all its history and then past the Discovery Centre, visitor centre for the Millennium Park which apparently is modelled on a cross channel type ferry...

It was a lovely walk along the promenade on the side of the estuary here - if a little windy to start. The tide was in - apparently last night was one of the highest tides of the year around here at least. We had stunning views across to Llanrhidian, Whiteford Point and then Burry Holms - the scene of our previous walk along the Loughor estuary. We were following cycle route number 4, a seemingly coastal route, running parallel here with the railway. Apparently the National Cycle Network now has 10,000 miles of cycle tracks in the UK provided by 54 million of Lottery money. This path is particularly wide and splendid and a joy to walk too! The Llanelli Scarlets were celebrated in a park we passed.

And soon after we passed a nature reserve where we spotted herons and white egrets in the trees (Julia saw them really) - a phenomenon I've not seen before!

Just near a village called Pwll, there is a memorial plaque to Amelia Earhart who landed in the estuary here on her first cross Atlantic flight. Lots more wild parsnip, scabious, meadowsweet, clover, vetches and a little sea lavender.

We watched a dredger setting off as we rounded the headland going towards Burry Port. Very pretty views as we headed into pretty Burry Port both back to Llanelli...

..and on into Burry Port.. which must look so different now as a smart marina as opposed to the coal port it used to be. The coal mine owner who built the port to be free of taxes from Llanelli, died soon after the port here was finished! Across from the harbour is a lovely little lighthouse and over the estuary you can see Whiteford Point and its lighthouse.

It was near here where we met Tony who stopped from his cycling and had a chat and gave a lovely donation - thank you, Tony! More about Tony later too. Further donation here too so it was a good day all round! After light refreshments at the Lighthouse Cafe, we continued along more dunes to the right of us again and then the marshy estuary to our left. By now the sun was blazing down too! Soon after we had to turn into Pembrey Forest as the beach further on is owned by the RAF for bombing practice, not today luckily! But we had seen and heard the bombers when we were approaching Worms Head a couple of walks ago. It was then a long trail through the woods...

...which was OK and Chris found a well-placed log for our lunch...enabled us to spot interesting things...lovely pines,

more willow herb and grey willow herb, orchids, ragwort, hemp agrimony, silverweed...so much...common blues..

We did lose our way a little really but never mind..we emerged close to Pembrey racing circuit and airport. Although we'd heard the racing engines we didn't actually see any racing but decided it sounded like bikes this week. The airport was a bombing station in the War and apparently Guy Gibson was here and we wondered if Richard's Grandad had been here too as he was a Dambuster, who was also Welsh!

We trudged on bravely through a field of bullocks, good practice for what came the next day as it turned out! Final lap into Kidwelly was alongside a road and then on to Kamlas Ceymer canal, the oldest in Wales built for coal transport in 1768! The canal ending at Kidwelly Quay - now a pretty ruin.

Arrived back at station and the CAR! Into the town for a drink..Chris tried a bottle of Tomas Watkins, Blodwen and although it looked a bit odd (cloudy), he pronounced it very tasty! On to the marvellous B and B Caenewydd Farm where we re-met with Carole (we met her as we passed the farm to go to the canal a little earlier!). We had a really warm welcome along with a smashing pot of tea and shortbread! Carole was a terrific hostess - thank you!

We had a meal that night at Anthony's Hotel - which was very filling and soon after we all had an early night after a coffee and briefing for the next day!

Day 2 saw us enjoying a hearty breakfast on a really beautiful morning. We bade farewell and Carole gave us a huge donation - thank you so much! Car left again at the station and off we set. Only down part here was that we didn't have time to pass the very impressive castle which Chris and I visited 3 years ago. It really is impressive sitting on the river Gwendraeth most spectacularly. It was used in the opening filming of Life of Brian - the knights who go "ni"! Also legend has it that Princess Gwenllian bravely opposed the Normans here - not the English! Apparently the black cat that is the Kidwelly "logo" is based on an ancient word for Kidwelly linked to the word "cat". We had a good view over the Gwendraeth though. Swans and cormorants were swimming too.

Lovely riverside walk and then a little road walk uphill with good views back to Pembrey and Worms Head! Soon turned up through fields..more flowers...a toadflax here.. and wild strawberries..

Made our way steeply up to Llansaint, a pretty village, where we met Cath, Tony's wife who we met yesterday. He had asked us to visit when we met so we popped in. Unfortunately Tony was out but Cath made us really welcome and gave us much needed drinks! Cath and Tony had done so much fundraising, Tony on his bike and latterly together on a tandem. They had cycled down the Nile, over the Rockies, so many places and raised a lot for Velindre and then I believe for  Marie Curie research. Cath was a lovely, really inspiring lady....thinking of her was to help greatly later in the day when spirits were low! Thank you Tony and Cath and very best wishes from us. Their lovely garden had fantastic views to Worms Head and onwards to Tenby and Caldey Island, with in between, Lundy Island just off the North Devon coast, visible today with the clear blue sky!

Leaving the village we walked many fields, some quite steep, and then we got our first views of the river Towy and Llansteffan castle on the other side.

We son dropped down to a minor road and into the pretty village of Ferryside which we liked very much.

We lunched on the beach of the estuary across from the impressive castle ruins of Llansteffan. At the end of the village we were soon back on tracks past farms and then over a field of bullocks which was a bit daunting more especially because we were lost and then had to re-cross their field! Later rather than sooner we re-found the path.....

Through more fields and down more tracks with good views of the Towy river which we were kind of following.

We soon got back to a minor road passing through a village of Croesyceilog and down into Carmarthen which seemed a long way away....Julia and Richard did a great job at pace setting - thank you!

So got the train back to Kidwelly and the car! Our getting lost had meant we had to catch a later train then intended so not home til 8.30. Still we had the pleasure of our eldest daughter and her husband and our 2 boys waiting for us!

So another 29 miles .....over 200 now....how many more can we manage before the weather and dark nights take over??

Don't forget to look at www.justgiving.com/Pamela-Mallpress or text RADN82 to 70070 just saying £1, £2, £5 or £10

Thank you - see you again soon!