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!

Walk 7 Llangennith to Llanelli 18th-19th August, 2013

Getting the miles in whilst we can now before the weather lets us down - it's been so kind to us! Set off early to Pen Clawdd, our middle of the walk this weekend and where our Gower taxi would be waiting! Mike the taxi! The Gower would only offer buses otherwise which we find unreliable and not all that pleasant a method of transport when other options are available..So back to Hillend campsite to resume the Rhossili beach walk!

Just beautiful to walk across here to leave the beach then at Burry Holms and up and over Spaniard Rocks

to Broughton Bay where we now overlook Carmarthen Bay and the Loughor estuary! Fantastic views back to Worms Head too! My philosophy for the day was that our walk is a bit like life - we stand at headlands and adjudge where we've come from and where we're going to next....ha! ha!
Stayed on the dunes past 2 more caravan parks - quite nice ones too. around to Hills Tor at 194 feet high. Lovely views once more towards Whiteford Point and its cast iron lighthouse and nature reserve.

We turned the corner here though instead of adding 2 extra miles around the reserve and had a lovely walk through pines and out to Llanrhidian Marsh where we walked for the rest of the day really. On the edge of the marsh really with lots of sheep (more grey ones!) and ponies and pretty sea lavender. Got a bit lost past a little hamlet of Landimore and saw Weobley castle high above us. Then we neared Llanrhidian and took a break at the Dolphin pub. Lemonade along with a plate of local cockles - delicious!

Don't understand why people don't like them - they are undersold. Katherine Jenkins's ancestor was a cockle picker. A long walk then along a little road alongside the marsh into Crofty where we saw the cockle processing factory and all around here the cockle shells are used for footpaths etc. Lots of mallows flowering here and I decided they must be "marsh mallows" - oh dear......The seabirds were very noisy as the tide was coming in as we rounded the headland to begin the walk back into Pen Clawdd to pick up the car and head to the hotel near Llanelli, the nearest I could find for tonight!

Day 2 saw us head back to Pen Clawdd and after unsuccessfully finding a cash machine or a post office, we set off in the right direction! Had an interesting meet with a chap at the hotel who had been racing his Lagonda ar Pembrey yesterday and was upset because an Alvis beat him! Also read with interest a book published in 1943 about the owners of the house where we stayed, the Humphreys of Llwyn Hall. He had written poetry and she had written prose articles about the area and the seasons. The path out of Pen Clawdd ran parallel to the busy road but far enough away not to be too intrusive.

We soon had to cross the road to go up into fields where we got a bit lost once more - we both seem to miss signs at the same time - oh dear! Great views over the estuary and towards the bridge over the Loughor - how come this is the biggest estuary we've met so far and we've never heard of it? The path turned into an old hollow way - very pretty!

Reached Gowerton where we dropped down to a "marsh" road once more - the other side of the estuary looked so far away! Made our way to the edge of Loughor town, past its ruined castle in a park and so to the bridge soon dropping into the Millennium Park at this juncture looking a bit forlorn to be honest but very lovely none the less. Nice walking then with good marshy views! The park contains the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust and its visitor centre kindly let us enter just for refreshments! Continued along the edge of the marsh - you can't believe how much marsh there is and knowing the extent of it on the other side too, it really is amazing! Lots of wild parsnip here in seed - even a warning as we had entered the park near the visitor centre not to touch it as it caused skin reaction...we only found out a couple of years ago that parsnip leaves can be very toxic for skin! Lovely views across the estuary to Whiteford Point.

Eventually we came in sight of the settlement of Machynys - Ynys being Welsh for island, this settlement used to be an island in the 18th century. It was soon taken over by industrialisation and became a centre for iron, copper, chemicals until the 1970's when it was demolished to make way for new housing - very nice it is too now. We headed towards the town passing various blue signs remarking on Llanelli's industrial past. Near where we passed there had been a floating dock until 1951 used in conjunction with the copper works which was the third largest in the world in the 19th century. We passed the site of the works as we headed to the station and awaited or train back to Gowerton where we were met once more by Mike who took us back to Pen Clawdd ...and home!

Lovely places, lovely couple of days dedicated to our friend Terry Burton who sadly died Saturday night from cancer. Bless him.

Walk 6 Mumbles to Llangennith 11th-12th August, 2013

We had been eagerly awaiting the Gower walk and now we were here! Having left the phone at home, the photos for this walk are from disposable cameras...better than nothing we decided! See what you think...

It was a bit of a cloudy start but not for very long, the sun soon burned through...we headed over from Mumbles pier, past the lighthouse which you can only peer at really round the corner sort of thing. This was a typical coastal path with all the ups and downs and in and out of coves and beaches! It was quite busy at first passing the lighthouse, Langland Bay, Rotherslade and Caswell beaches on a very well made and wide path.

We met a few lovely people to chat to on our travels but were finding that tourists aren't really interested in donating to however worthy causes....

It was relatively easy going but then we had some field crossing and then dropped down to Pwlldu Beach which was beautiful with its stone boulders at the back of a pretty beach with the tide out a little..

but then it was very steep going up out of the cove and around Pwlldu Head..and we hadn't done much climbing so far. Lunch was most welcome as we sat on the top and looked at the lovely view and the vast distances we'd covered! We could still see Port Talbot and its smoke as we rounded the Head past Oxwich beach a little further on! We dropped down on to the beach shortly after lunch on the tops!

Three Cliffs beach adjoins Oxwich making a truly enormous one with the tide out and this meant we could beach walk this next part - wonderful!, and it meant we missed the heavy going of up and down through the dunes. The 3 cliffs can just be seen to the right of the picture - they are amazing and you can walk under them through an arch to an even bigger beach behind where Pennard castle stands. About 4 miles of beach walking was refreshing with boots off and a lemonade at the Oxwich Bay cafe was most well received. Then up we went once more passing the 6th century St Illtyd's chapel in the woods. We had thought of walking along the beach further but rocks soon took over from the hard sand so it would have been hard going on the ankles so the climbing was preferred overall...Lovely walk through cool trees and onto a grassy path beneath high cliffs - different scenery once more!

The last mile of 16.14 total was long and so the B and B a welcome sight - and very comfortable too - The Rickyard in Port Eynon.

Day 2 saw us leaving Port Eynon around 10am in the sunshine once more. Eynon is named after an ancient Welsh prince and Port Eynon is the most southerly point on the Gower. Port Eynon has a pretty beach which we crossed with the tide out and walked up to the Point from the Youth Hostel - what a lovely place for one. Superb views from the top of where we'd been and where we had to go...and so we dropped down to Overton beach..

and around the other side..

Lovely walking along the clifftops with fabulous views. Passing Longhole Cliff where Cave Bear, Mammoth and other bones have been found but which is not for public entry so we had to go inland a little. Amazingly slim cliffs when we got back to the coast - and some grey coated sheep - and soon first views of Worms Head, named after the ancient Celtic mythical dragons. Lovely coves all along until we came to Mewslade Bay 

where we saw Ruth Wignall off the telly news - missed opportunity for sponsorship publicity.....views to the coves we'd passed were really lovely. Worms Hear soon in full view - and very busy it was too! With the tide out lots of people were walking across.

We enjoyed lemonade once more in Rhossili before dropping down onto the beautiful beach....voted the 3rd most beautiful in Europe recently (the top one being Rabbit beach in Sicilly - don't know Italian for Rabbit, sorry). Another super beach walk - the path normally goes above the beach but with the tide out it was too tempting. There were many steps to drop down to it! Lots of razor clams here and it was a bit windier. Saw a chap earlier in the day who was on his 35th day walking the path the other way round so had 700 miles under his belt. Didn't envy him though, he wasn't sure what day it was and can't have had time to stop and stare much. We left the beach about halfway along and headed for the Hillend campsite and up to the village of Llangennith to await our taxi at the Kings Head where we'd eaten the night before....