Aberporth Amble

It was raining when we woke up; it was raining when we made the decision to drive to Cardigan, catch a bus to Aberporth and walk the Aberporth to Cardigan leg of the Coastal Path. It was raining when we got in the car and left the house.  However the Met Office had forecast that the weather would improve . . . 

As we arrived in Cardigan it was still raining hard, hard as it only can on the wild west coast of Wales. Faced with the thought of a 7 hour walk in the rain and extremely muddy paths we opted instead to spend the day looking around Cardigan. I think it is fair to say that we are fair weather walkers!

The Met Office were nevertheless proved to be spot-on with their forecast, but by the time the weather improved the bus we'd planned to catch had gone, and the next bus was not for several hours.

In other words, we'd literally 'missed the bus' on our travel plans for the day.

We had a pleasant couple of hours wandering around Cardigan with an al fresco lunch in a café by Cardigan Market but it is not a big town and we were soon ready to move on.

Decided to stop off in Aberporth as the sun was still shining and we had read online about a small cliff walk to the neighbouring hamlet of Tresaith - which forms part of the coastal path (and would have been part of our planned walk).

We had never been to Aberporth before and was surprised to see a nice beach around which a working harbour is operating. During our short visit, the tractor was busy transporting boats down to the sea.

The path that we planned on walking started the other side of the harbour behind the town houses.


Taking us over the cliff, we passed a number of converted railway carriages, which appear to be being used as holiday accommodation.




The walk over the the cliff itself was extremely pleasant and very popular - it seems that many, like us, had taken advantage of the break in the weather to stretch their legs.


As we descended into Tresaith we could clearly see the waterfall (the River Saith apparently) cascading over the cliffs onto the beach - couldn't resist taking a closer look as it is a sight to see, probably helped by the high levels of rain we have experienced this summer.  In Mid Wales rainfall is not a reliable indicator of what meteorological season we are in!

There was time for a refreshing pint in The Ship Inn before heading back the way we came to Aberporth.

The climb out of Tresaith is the only part of the walk that has any ascent of note but it is no harder than others paths we had travelled along the coastal route.

On the way back to Aberporth were lucky enough to see the Cardigan Bay Dolphins, but from the top of the cliff we were not close enough to get a good photo.

The return walk to Tresaith from Aberporth is only 6km, a fraction over 4 miles, and made an enjoyable and mostly non-strenuous walk.


Fortunately it is one we will be happy enough to walk again when we return to walking the Coastal Path proper.

Tomato Harvest

The tomatoes have done pretty well again this year - pots of tomato sauce are finding their way into the freezer, and we're finally harvesting the cherry tomatoes:

Must try to remember to plant them a little earlier next year - would be good to have some to eat in the actual summer months!

September Travels

Still on holiday, and still plagued with less than brilliant weather, decided we might as well make the best of it and headed northwards to visit friends in the Lake District.

Started with a couple of nights in Chester - where we reasoned that at least there would be things to do if it stayed wet.


On our first afternoon / evening the weather was actually pretty good though, and we got to wander the walls in the sunshine, before revisiting some of our favourite pubs from our last visit.



The next day the weather was a little more mixed - did get quite wet at one point, but soon dried off.

Did some shopping, walked some more bits of the wall, and enjoyed a free falconry display in the Cathedral grounds (where the gyrfalcon being flown went off script chasing pigeons - although the falconer did eventually manage to entice it back!

Moved on, on a wet Sunday morning, to Milnthorpe in Cumbria to visit with friends (and belatedly celebrate another 50th birthday).  Arrived early afternoon, and after hellos and tea and stuff, decided that we would brave the weather  and go for a short walk in the Sizergh Castle grounds.

As it turned out it wasn't that 'short' - we were out for close to 3 hours - got a bit wet at the start, dried up around the middle, and took a short break at the Wheatsheaf Inn in Brigsteer for a pint.

The walk back to Sizergh took us up to St John's Helsington with its expansive views over the valley, before heading back, in the rain again.

We'd all got full waterproofs on, so the rain hadn't been that problematic - unfortunately one of the last gateways on the way back to the car park, was completely flooded to above boot level, so it was a bit squelchy getting back to the car.  (The boots were drying out with newspaper in them for the remainder of the visit!).

Had a very nice celebratory dinner out that night at the Black Labrador in Underbarrow - and a day pottering about Ambleside, etc.  Before saying our goodbyes, and making our way back to Wales.

Stopped off at Chirk Castle on our way home - hadn't been there for years, and had an enjoyable couple of hours or so wandering round the property and its gardens.

All in all a nice few days - despite the weather!

Bonfire

We've been accumulating hedge debris, and odd bits of wood round the back of the woodshed for longer than I care to  remember, and to be honest it had all got a bit out of hand . . .

Martin's recent hedge-chopping activities had only added to the pile, which had gotten so large we couldn't actually get to any of the outside wood storage areas.

No pictures were taken, but here you can see the subsidiary pile accumulating on the other side of the fruit cage - a mix of rotting pallets and hedge clippings . . .

So with time on our hands (two week's off, and our first reasonably decent day weather-wise since Saturday) we decided that today was the day to tackle the wood-pile.

We started by sorting, chopping and discarding the twiggy bits not worth keeping.

One load made it to the tip before we decided we were on a highway to nothing, and had the bright idea of putting a match to the smaller pile by the fruit cage / compost heap.

A slosh (scarily) of petrol later, and we soon had a fine blaze - in fact it was hard to keep up with it as it turned out that even relatively fresh leylandii burns very very well!


So we now have a pile of ash, and the external wood storage area is satisfyingly clear and tidy.

A good day's work!

Ceredigion Coastal Path 5 - New Quay to Aberaeron

We are starting to get further away from home on our Coastal Path challenge; started today's stage with a fortifying sausage bap in Wetherspoons Aberystwyth, before jumping on the X5 bus to New Quay (taking advantage again of the free bus travel).

We arrived in a very sunny New Quay and the first thing we saw was a café serving really nice looking cakes, (which left both of us regretting having eaten at Wetherspoons).

Neither of us had been to New Quay for over 5 years and so we took a few minutes to have a look around the small town before heading off down the sandy beach.

At the end of the beach there was no obvious sign post directing us to follow the river, however, a friendly local pointed us in the right direction.


We also got a brief history lesson on how we would be walking past the ruins, currently being rebuilt, of the house in which Dylan Thomas started writing "Under Milk Wood."


This was not the only time we had to ask for directions, going through Gilfach holiday village we needed assistance from fellow coast path walkers.

I think that Gilfach have missed a trick by not opening up a café, as by then a nice cup of tea and a cake would have gone down a treat, although the blackberries made a pleasant nibble.


As you would hope, the view of New Quay got further and further away as went along, annoyingly though the view of Aberaeron did not reveal itself until late into the walk!


Walking along the cliff path, the sea looked the amazing clear blue-green teal that we associate more with the Mediterranean than with Mid Wales.




Aberaeron, Journeys End and where we caught the bus back home.

Overall it was a very pleasant walk, if I am being picky I would say that the weather was a bit oppressive and sapped our energy; or perhaps it was too much red wine the previous evening!


This section of the walk was advertised as moderate with no major challenges. Overall it was easy enough, there was some large steps on the walk, which proved a challenge for Sarah with her shorter legs and made her regret leaving her walking poles at home.

For me the biggest challenge was probably the marshy area of the field right in front of the Ceredigion Council building. Sarah wisely opted to walk around it!
























The final stats from my GPS recorder:

Distance 10.6km
Duration: 3:15
Moving Time: 2:45
Calories: 1207
Ascent: 271 meters