Aberporth to Ynys-Lochtyn

Saturday 23rd August 2014

I have for many years wanted to do a walk along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, but never been able to construct a plan that ties all the hostels in with the bus timetable. I had planned to do the walk at Easter last year, but eventually I went back to the Lake District when I couldn’t find an convenient way of getting past Milford Haven, so when I finally came up with a solution to the ‘Milford Haven Problem’ I was eager to put it to the test and decided that late summer would be the best time. I had originally planned to start the holiday in Cardigan and on the first day I would walk just the first mile of the coastal path from St Dogmeals to the Poppit Sands Youth Hostel, but when I came to book the hostel I found it was fully booked. My solution was to start the walk further up the coast in the county of Ceredigion, but I struggled to find buses that would take me a suitable distance from my planned overnight accommodation in an independent hostel near Aberporth. I was keen for the walk to include Cwmtyddu, a spectacular path cut directly into the coastal slope, but a landslip earlier in the year had closed the path and forced yet another change of plans.

After much planning this first day was nothing like how it was originally planned, but I ended up with a great walk along a spectacular coastline. The solution to my problems that I eventually came up with was to take a bus to Aberporth and then walk away from Pembrokeshire to the prominent landmark of Ysys-Lochtyn before catching a bus back to Aberporth. I had fabulous weather for this walk and judging by the weather forecast it seemed like this was going to be the best weather that I would have for the entire week so I was determined to make the most of it, despite walking for less than three hours as I didn’t reach Aberporth until two o’clock, but as soon as I got there I set off along the coastal path high above dramatic cliffs already getting a taste of the delights that awaited me on this holiday. The path for the first section of the walk is described as being an Inclusive Access Cliff Top Trail, in other words it’s tarmacked, however there were still many opportunities for stunning views down the cliffs.

Once the path narrowed the rough, steep trail was lined with bramble, bilberry and willowherb, and undulated dramatically making for a strenuous but enjoyable walk in the sunshine. A steep descent brought me down to the packed seaside resort of Tresaith and after passing through the tourist-trap I was faced with a steep ascent out of the narrow valley. After that steep climb a more gradual descent took me to the gorgeous beach of Penbryn. The coastal path doesn’t come all the way down to the beach, but stays above it before passing into a dark, narrow, tree-covered valley that was truly magical. Another steep climb took me away from Penbryn and back up onto the cliff-tops before a steep descent near Carrog y Nogwydd took me down into another steep sided valley where another steep climb led me to the earthworks of Castell-bach. Despite the steep, undulating terrain, and probably because of it, I was really enjoying this walk, however the goal of my walk was already within sight: the headland of Ynys-Lochtyn.

Gradually I descended once more, and this time into the seaside resort of Llandrannog, which for some reason I thought was a much nicer place than Tresaith. Llandrannog is smaller and narrower, and perhaps it seemed to me less spoiled by commercialism and tourism, despite the crowds. Continuing along the rutted coastal path I climbed steeply out of the village and up to the iconic promontory of Ynys-Lochtyn. The path skirts around the northern slopes of the hill, Pen-y-badell, high above the headland so when the path started to turn I headed straight on down the hill onto the narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea where stunning views could be seen across the headland and towards the small island of Ynys-Lochtyn at the end with dramatic cliffs on all sides, particularly on the island itself. A small stony causeway gives access onto Ynys-Lochtyn, but the gradients down were so steep I never contemplated attempting to make the crossing. I was content to simply gaze in awe at the tremendous scenery and wander around the headland looking at the awesome cliffs. 

The weather was at its best at this time and I was standing in a place of stunning beauty. I stayed as long as I could, but eventually I had to tear myself away in order to catch a bus, so I climbed back up to the coastal path and after climbing behind Pen-y-badell for a circuit of the hill I dropped back down onto the path for a speedy descent back into Llandrannog. This may have been a relatively short walk, but it was a wonderful taster for what I hoped I’d find on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Aside from the aforementioned path near Cwmtydu, this walk included the best sections of the Ceredigion Coast Path and they had set a very high standard for the Pembrokeshire Coast Path to follow. There were some stunning coastal cliffs and a lot of steep climbs on a short, undulating walk along a fabulous coastline.

The Black Mountains Memorial

Saturday 16th August 2014

Fifteen years ago, after many years of walking in the Peak District, I went up a mountain for the first time, though that is not a mountain in the international sense but in the British sense of a hill above two thousand feet. That hill was in the Black Mountains on the eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, and saw me climbing to a point that was not only above two thousand feet but up to the dizzying heights of seven hundred metres. The hills that I walked up on that day in 1999 were not in any way mountainous or challenging, but because they were where I did my first significant hill walk I still have a fondness for the grassy ridges that are collectively known as the Black Mountains. I have returned to the area many times since, notably in 2009 when I celebrated my tenth anniversary with a walk around the Black Mountains. On that occasion I commented on this blog: “I will be definitely making a date for five years from now, wherever I am, to come back to the Black Mountains and do a memorial walk over these fabulous hills once again.”

When I realised that the fifteenth anniversary was approaching I made plans for a week long holiday in the whole Brecon Beacons park, but eventually after much debate with myself I decided on a much simpler memorial. Instead of spending a whole week walking in the area I spent just a morning doing exactly the same walk that I had done almost fifteen years previously. On a cold day in August when what had been Hurricane Bertha was drawing strong, cold, northerly winds across Britain I drove at stupid o’clock in the morning to the Welsh border and parked in exactly the same car park that I’d used fifteen years ago, beside a stone circle at the foot of Hay Bluff. This is not the best place to park for this walk, which is why I’ve never parked there since, until now. On other visits I have usually parked at the top of the Gospel Pass while the best place to park is probably in the tiny village of Capel-y-ffin.

I had reached the car park so early in the morning there was still a significant amount of hill fog on the tops of the hills, but the strong winds soon began to blow the clouds away as I started to climb the steep path to the top of Hay Bluff. There was still a lot of cloud around when I got to the top so I couldn’t see the trig point, but I wasn’t bothered about this because I knew I would be returning to Hay Bluff at the end of the walk so I soon set off towards the Gospel Pass as the clouds lifted from the top of the hill to reveal gorgeous blue skies and tremendous views across the wide Wye Valley. While keeping to the edge of the escarpment I slowly descended Ffynnon y Parc to the top of the Gospel Pass with the views of the sprawling mass of Twmpa catching my eye with its steep northern slopes falling towards the tree lined foothills.

Despite the cold wind I felt like I was enjoying great weather as I dropped down to the Gospel Pass, one of the highest road passes in Wales, where good views could be seen south into the valley. On the other side of the pass I climbed up the slopes of Twmpa on a path that seems to have been heavily constructed since the last time I was there. I do recall some nasty scars on the hill previously at this point so I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I still thought the repairs were excessive, intrusive and made the climb too easy, or many other reasons why I’m never satisfied with constructed paths. Eventually I reached the shallow cairn at the top of Twmpa where the great views continued across the Wye Valley and also back towards Hay Bluff with the road through the Gospel Pass crossing the northern slopes of the escarpment.

By the time I’d reached the top of Twmpa clouds were beginning to cover the Wye Valley as the gorgeous weather that had started the walk began to fade. Turning south-east I headed down the boggy ridge of Darren Lwyd with the wet path making me regret not wearing waterproof shoes, and in fact I was starting to regret my entire wardrobe that was not what I’d normally wear for a walk, but instead echoes the clothes that I wore for that first walk fifteen years ago. Just as then I was wearing jeans and a cotton t-shirt, which is something that I would not normally consider wearing for a hill walk, but I had been expecting better weather for this short walk. Perhaps my choice of clothing reflects how I viewed the walk, which even though originally was my first mountain walk, I did not now see as being a mountain walk compared with others that I have done since. That was tempting fate, but I was able to put a fleece on that kept me warm enough despite the inappropriate clothes and so long as I kept going I wouldn’t get too cold. 

During my walk along Darren Lwyd I had fascinating views across the valley to my left and up to the ridge beyond that carries the English border, and at the end were great views down the length of the Vale of Ewyas, a beautiful valley that is a perfect example of glaciation. Slowly I made my way down the steep bracken covered slopes to Capel-y-ffin, the chapel of the boundary. Other sources that describe this walk recommend walking along the road from Capel-y-ffin and crossing the river up to the Vision Farm, but in 1999, and on all my subsequent visits, I have taken an alternative route past two tiny chapels and along a path part way up the eastern slopes of the valley. The path was muddy in places on this occasion, but that didn’t prevent me from enthusing over a path that brought back so many happy memories of previous visits. Just before reaching the Vision Farm I took a path that climbs steeply through bracken up the side of the valley, and on reaching the edge of the open hillside led me steeply through dense bracken up the side of the valley.

In 1999 it was really hot while climbing the hill at this point, but now the cold wind ensured that I kept cool as I climbed all the way up to the top with stunning views of the valley accompanying me all the way to the Offa’s Dyke Path at the top of the ridge. This path also appears to have been heavily reconstructed with the old route bulldozed away to be replaced with an easy gravel path. The Offa’s Dyke Path may be popular, but does that excuse building a path that removes all the effort and interest? It could be said that you should never return to the places of your youth because they won’t be as good as you remember. There may have been a lot of changes over the years on this path that follows the English border but at least they ensured that I kept my feet dry as I walked along the broad ridge north over the highest point on the walk, an unnamed 700 metre hill, and all the back to Hay Bluff.

This may not be the greatest walk that anyone could do, but it does have the distinction of being the first hill walk that I did outside of the Peak District. The thing that initially brought me to the area was Hay-on-Wye, the original Town of Books, and actually that was where I went after this walk. Books may have led me to the Black Mountains, but what developed when I got there was a love for hill walking that remains to this day. Twmpa and Hay Bluff are not the highest or the most exciting hills in Britain, but they are the hills that ignited a passion in me to climb to the top of many other hills in Britain in the following fifteen years, and for that I owe them a great debt and appreciation. Despite the changes that have been made to the paths over the years, the hills remain as a memorial to that walk that launched hundreds of subsequent walks.