Aberporth to Poppit Sands

Sunday 24th August 2014

After spending the night at an independent hostel near Aberporth I returned across farmland to the coastal path on the edge of Aberporth Airport (and military establishment). The point where I rejoined the Ceredigion Coast Path was at the head of the unspoilt valley of Cwm Gwrddon, which was densely wooded and a delight to walk through, but short-lived as the path soon climbed out of the valley and followed it down to the coast. Sadly, this was the best part of the walk which gradually deteriorated during the course of the day; however the coastal path was still good at this point with a great track positioned at the top of cliffs above the coastal slopes and below the fringe of farmland. The excellent path meandered around the coastline with many changes in elevation, twists and turns and with dense wild flowers lining the path. It was an interesting walk with bramble, knotweed, willowherb and gorse among many others providing close-up views while the cliffs up and down the coast also sought to attract my attention while walking along a delightful terrace path part way down the coastal slope under hazy sunshine. 

The overflowing vegetation was a real bonus on this early part of the walk even when it was Himalayan balsam that choked the streams. Balsam may be invasive but the flowers are so pretty and smell even better that I didn’t really mind. The wild feel to the walk diminished later in the morning when farmland came right up to the edge of the path so the dense vegetation that I had so loved earlier in the day  became less noticeable. The cliffs to my right remained a draw, particularly where the rocky promontory of Pen-Peles drew me away from the path for a closer look. Just beyond this point a small prominent hill came into view and tempted me to climb it. Foel y Mwnt is not very high (a puny 76 metres above sea level), but since it lies right next to the sea the conical hill appears more striking than it deserves.

When I finally reached the foot of the hill I couldn’t resist the temptation to leave the coastal path and climb the short slope to the narrow summit where I had a stunning view along the coast both back along the coast towards Aberporth and onward along the coast past Cardigan Island to Cemmais Head. From the top I made my way down to the tiny, picturesque, sandy cove of Mwnt where the coastal path continued and climbed back up to the top of the cliffs before ending at a rather solid looking barrier. A clear path could be seen to continue beyond the barrier but according to the official website for the Ceredigion Coast Path this route was still in development (even though the rest of the coastal path opened in 2009) and so I needed to take a dreary diversion. This is a shame as the map seems to show that the missing coastline is quite spectacular, and includes a natural arch.

After lunch at the barrier, while looking out across the sea, I turned inland up the hill to the village of Y Ferwig and then along a road to Gwbert. This was really tedious and didn’t improve after I rejoined the Ceredigion Coast Path at Gwbert as I was still on tarmac walking along the pavement beside a road marked on my map as Coronation Drive. This day had started as being a fantastic walk through such great, wild terrain that I was enthusing about it to myself thinking that this was almost as good as mountain walking. It was such a joy to walk along that path, but the coastal path, when it turned into the Teifi estuary, deteriorated into tedium in extenso. My destination, Poppit Sands, was actually just across the estuary, but I would have to follow the river all the way to the town of Cardigan before I could cross the river and walk all the way back to Poppit Sands.

At one point during my trudge I got fed up and came down onto the sands near Pen yr Ergyd, but since it was so tiring to walk on sand this did not help me so I climbed back up to the road and followed that until I reached the point where the road turns inland and the coastal path heads through fields towards Cardigan. When I eventually reached the town of Cardigan I had come to the end of the Ceredigion Coast Path, but the Pembrokeshire Coast Path hadn’t started yet. In the absence of a county coastal path to follow I followed the Wales Coast Path through fields above the southern banks of the river into the pretty village of St Dogmaels and the official start of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. I felt like there should be a huge sign and bright lights designating the start of the path, but instead there is a nondescript structure at the side of the road that was not obviously the start of anything.

Worse was the fact that the first couple of miles on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path is on a narrow road that follows the estuary back out towards the sea. My only consolation was found immediately after crossing a stream that marks the edge of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and that is Poppit Sands. When the tide is out this is a vast expanse of sand that was a pleasure to walk along despite the effort required in walking on sand. This was a pleasing end to what had been a very mixed day. It started with a charming walk along the coast, but I got no enjoyment out of the walk after lunch as I felt that I was simply covering the miles, while the hazy sunshine that had accompanied me at the start soon faded to complement the dreary second half. I was already finding that costal paths are variable in their quality so that when at their best they can compare with mountain walking, but at their worst they are no better than walking down any street in Britain.

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.