Walk 378 -- Porth Clais to St Non's

Ages:  Colin was 75 years and 42/43 days.  Rosemary was 72 years and 184/185 days.

Weather:  19^th – Extremely hot and sunny without a breath of wind.  20^th – Still hot and sunny but there was a slight cooling breeze. 

Location:  Porth Clais to St Non’s.

Distance:  1 mile. 

Total distance:  3880½ miles. 

Terrain:  Cliff paths, slightly undulating. 

Tide:  Didn’t notice either day. 

Rivers:  None. 

Ferries:  None. 

Piers:  None. 

Kissing gates:  Nos.914 & 915 by St Non’s Well. 

Pubs:  None. 

‘Cadw’ properties:  No.12, the Bishop’s Palace by St David’s Cathedral. 

Ferris wheels:  None. 

Diversions:  None. 

How we got there and back:  We were holidaying in our caravan near Whitesands Bay.  On the morning of the 19^th Colin left me at Porth Clais while he drove to Solva (where we intended the Walk to end), parked the car expensively, caught a bus back to St David’s and walked down to Porth Clais.  But I was taken ill with heat exhaustion and we only completed half a mile before we had to turn back.  We caught a bus — Colin got off in St David’s, caught another bus back to Solva and brought the car back to the caravan.  Meanwhile I stayed on the first bus until I got to the caravan site and spent the rest of the day lying on my bunk with the blinds down.  We wasted £15.40 on bus fares and car parking today — all for nothing! 

In the late afternoon of the 20^th we drove to St Non’s and walked along the cliffs to the place where we had turned back the day before.  We then retraced our steps to St Non’s. 

The next day we intended completing the Walk to Solva, but it proved to be the hottest June day since 1976!  Not wanting a repeat of my illness, we didn’t go out walking.  The next day, the 22^nd, we returned to home Malvern. 

 

19^th June 

While waiting for Colin at Porth Clais I was getting uncomfortably hot sitting on a seat in the sun — with a robin for company!  He seemed very tame, and kept perching on the back of the seat where I was sitting.  I took several photos of him — it was magic! 

I moved to another seat in the shade, but I was still uncomfortable.  My eyes began to sting.  I thought, at first, it was sun cream got into my eyes, but as it gradually got worse and my nose began to stream I wondered if it was hay fever — though I have never had hay fever in my life.  By the time Colin arrived I was already in a state.  But I was determined to carry on, particularly as Colin had paid £5 to park the car at Solva, £3.70 on his bus fare and then walked from St David’s in intense heat. 

We started up the path on the east side of Porth Clais which was quite steep with some huge steps which my knees didn’t like at all.  We got to the top where the continuation of the path was much easier as it was fairly flat.  Surely there will be a breeze up here?  There wasn’t.  Nobody we met said, “What a lovely day!” – they all said, “It’s too hot!”  We walked round a little cove to a headland that stuck a little further out, but there was still not a whisper of a breeze.  It was as hot as the Sahara Desert — at least that’s what it felt like. 

By then my eyes were stinging so much I could hardly bear to open them.  My nose was a constant stream, and all the tissues I had in my pockets were reduced to soggy lumps.  My head was swimming, and I felt nauseous.  I felt dreadful!  I was afraid I might faint, and Colin was very worried.  I hated having to give in, but there was no way I could continue.  We had walked a mere half mile. 

Very slowly and carefully we returned to Porth Clais where we caught a bus (£1.50 each) – me to the caravan site where I lay on my bunk with the blinds down for the rest of the day – and Colin to St David’s where he got on another bus (£3.70) to return to Solva to pick up the car.  So we spent £15.40 on bus fares and car parking for nothing! 

 

20^th June 

Now fully recovered, and with a strong breeze to cool us down, Colin suggested we did another half mile of the cliff path to St Non’s in the late afternoon.  This would shorten tomorrow’s Walk to Solva.  We parked at St Non’s and walked west along the coast path until we came to the point where I’d given up yesterday.  There we turned back and walked east. 

There was a rope looped round a large rock, it snaked away down a sheer cliff.  At the bottom on a ledge lay a semi-naked couple looking like two dead bodies!  But they were very much alive, they had taken off their climbing gear and were sunbathing. 

It was only a short Walk, but we saw rock arches and caves.  There were gannets flying around — we saw one dive into the sea straight as an arrow.  And we saw hosts of butterflies, mostly red admirals but there were quite a few painted ladies as well. 

 

 

 

We came to the ruins of st Non’s Chapel, not much of it left now.  It is reputed to be the place where St Non gave birth to St David, and is a very sacred spot to the Welsh.

 

 

 

Nearby St Non’s Well is said to have sprung up in a thunderstorm when St David was born, and the water is said to “cure infirmities”.  (We didn’t try it out.) 

There is a retreat centre and modern chapel nearby but it is private.

Opposite the well is a very Catholic-looking statue of Our Lady in a grotto.  It is reminiscent of Lourdes. 

 

That ended Walk no.378, we shall pick up Walk no.379 next time at St Non’s Well.  The walking time for the total Walk, which was only one mile, was not noted, but it must have been less than an hour.  The weather forecast for the next day was very hot and humid with no wind.  Neither of us wanted me to be ill again, so we didn’t walk and instead went home the next day. 

I still can’t believe I suffered heatstroke in Wales! 

 

St David’s Bishop’s Palace 

We visited St David’s Cathedral and the adjacent ruined Bishop’s Palace on a different day.  The Cathedral is quite unique, making the tiny township of St David’s the smallest city in the world!  Built in the 12^th century, the cathedral is quite small and has a sloping floor and leaning arches due to the weight of the tower and the marshy ground on which it was built.  (Is it safe?)  It was practically destroyed by Cromwell’s soldiers in the 17^th century — lead stripped from the roof, etc — but restored and repaired two hundred years later so that it is still in use today.  It is not only a working cathedral, but it is also a big tourist attraction which helps to pay for its upkeep.

The adjacent Bishop’s Palace was built mainly in the 13^th and 14^th centuries, though there had been monastic buildings on the site for many centuries previously.  At the Reformation in the 16^th century, lead was stripped from the roof and the building fell into disrepair.  The ruins are now owned and cared for by Cadw.

Walk 377 -- Whitesands Bay to Porth Clais

 Ages:  Colin was 75 years and 40 days.  Rosemary was 72 years and 182 days.

Weather:  Very sunny and very warm. 

Location:  Whitesands Bay to Porth Clais.

Distance:  6½ miles. 

Total distance:  3879½ miles. 

Terrain:  Cliff paths again, but a fraction kinder than before. 

Tide:  Going out. 

Rivers:  None. 

Ferries:  None. 

Piers:  None. 

Kissing gates:  Nos.909, 910, 911, 912, and 913 spread along the way.  (No.909 had lost its gate but we had a kiss anyway!) 

Pubs:  None. 

‘Cadw’ properties:  None. 

Ferris wheels:  None. 

Diversions:  None. 

How we got there and back:  We were holidaying in our caravan near Whitesands Bay.  This morning we drove to Porth Clais and parked for free in the National Trust car park there.  (We have recently joined the National Trust.)  From there we caught a bus to Whitesands Bay. 

At the end we came to the car.  We had tea and chocolate biscuits before driving back to the caravan.

It was a beautiful day to be by the coast!  From Whitesands Beach we climbed on to the cliffs on the official path behind the sands.  We had lovely views of this beautiful and popular beach.  Part way up we came upon a cluster of wild orchids, a host of them all in one spot right by the path.  They looked wonderful!  And we were thankful that all the walkers just admired them as they carefully walked by — nobody trampled on them, or even worse picked them.  Well done people! 

The scenery all along this Walk was fantastic.

The sky was the bluest of blue and the sea was even bluer.  It contrasted so well with the green grass on the cliff top, and there were interesting rocks to look at everywhere including arches and caves.

There were lots of other walkers in both directions.  We let all those going in our direction pass us because we were the slowest.  (But we were also probably the oldest, and I bet I was the only walker with two replacement knees!) 

We descended to a creek and a little beach at Porthselau where a couple of families were on the sands and children were playing in the sea.  There was no road to this beach, but we could see their cars parked in the field above where, according to our map, there is a campsite. 

Further on we came across a stile leading into fields with a notice which said – NO ACCESS   PRIVATE PROPERTY.  It was quite breezy there, not too hot and with good views, so we sat on the stile and ate our pies.  Further round the full extent of Ramsey Island revealed it self.  It is a bird sanctuary, no one lives there. 

The sun was hot so Colin decided to use his umbrella as a sunshade.  He was boasting about what a bargain he had got when he bought it on the internet — two umbrellas for the price of one and they were advertised as windproof.  Very soon after he put it up, it blew inside out!  I had to laugh. 

The path led us round to St Justinian where there is a lifeboat station.  There are two sheds and two ramps, one bigger than the other.  One of the lifeboats was in the water as we passed but nobody seemed to be in a hurry about anything.  I think it was just an exercise. 

There were not so many people on the next section of the path, but the scenery was just as wonderful

We rounded a corner so that we were directly facing Ramsey Island.  There we sat on some rocks for a good long time eating our sarnies.  We saw a seal, but it dived before either of us could get out our cameras to photograph it.

We watched RIBS taking trippers from St Justinian to Ramsey Island and back.  I didn’t fancy going there myself, it looked a bit bleak.  But I suppose they go there for the bird watching.

We continued on our way.  I was just remarking that I was finding the paths easier today because there were less undulations and a lot of flat sections, when it immediately got more difficult.  (I should have kept my mouth shut!)  It was quite mountainous, in fact, with some steep descents with big steps.  I became convinced that the next inlet was Porth Clais (I hadn’t looked at the map since we started) and was really disappointed when it wasn’t!  We sat on a wall to eat our apples.

Then we descended to the shingle beach of Porthlysgi Bay — and immediately climbed up and out of it again.  By now we were both feeling tired and hot.  We still had about a mile and a half to go, and the terrain was not easy.

Further on I had got myself into route-march mode, and was striding on what I thought was the most obvious path.  Then Colin called out, “I’m on the nearest safe path to the coast!”  He was hailing me from a lower path. We both thought they were parallel paths that would meet up later, so we carried on our different ways.  I was convinced Colin was on a rubbish path and would come to grief.  The paths diverged.  Colin said, “I expect I will see you sometime!” and we continued out of sight of each other.  I got to the top of a rise where there was a small cairn.  My path disappeared then — it was me that was on the rubbish path! 

I called and called Colin, but he was too far away to hear me.  So I returned to the junction, and was surprised at the quality of the path he had taken — I hadn’t noticed it in my tiredness.  I stomped along it — there was no sign of Colin even in the distance.  I asked a passing walker if he had seen a man with a maroon umbrella, but he hadn’t.  This was worrying.

Further on I asked a woman the same question and she said, “Yes!  Back there somewhere!”  pointing the way I was going.  Encouraged, I marched on, but there was still no sign of him although I could see a good long way.  Then his voice came from above me – “I’m over here!”  He was on his way back to look for me on a higher path and was worried that he couldn’t see me.  So all ended well.

 

We rounded the final corner and there was Porth Clais Harbour looking very pretty in the sunshine.  A climber was halfway up a blank wall of rock on the other side, and some youngsters were leaping from a high ledge into the sea.  It looked pretty dangerous to me — I expect it is this new sport called “Coasteering”.  Not for the likes of me, I’m too old and scared!  We descended to the bridge where we ended the Walk.

That ended Walk no.377, we shall pick up Walk no.378 next time on the bridge in Porth Clais.  It was twenty-five to five, so the Walk had taken us six hours fifty minutes.  (Oh!  We are so slow!)  It was a short walk to the car park where we had tea and chocolate biscuits before driving back to the caravan.

Walk 376 -- Abereiddi to Whitesands Beach

 Ages:  Colin was 75 years and 38 days.  Rosemary was 72 years and 180 days. 

Weather:  Sunny and warm where sheltered.  Windy in exposed places. 

Location:  Abereiddi to Whitesands Bay.Distance:  7½ miles. 

Total distance:  3873 miles. 

Terrain:  Entirely cliff paths.  Undulating, uneven and challenging.  Some very steep slopes. 

Tide:  Out. 

Rivers:  None. 

Ferries:  None. 

Piers:  None. 

Kissing gates:  Nos.900, 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907 and 908 spread along the way. 

Pubs:  None. 

‘Cadw’ properties:  None. 

Ferris wheels:  None. 

Diversions:  None. 

How we got there and back:  We were holidaying in our caravan near Whitesands Bay.  This morning we drove to St David’s and parked for free in a back road.  From there we caught a bus to Abereiddi. 

At the end we caught a bus from Whitesands Bay.  I got off at the caravan site, and Colin got off in St David’s so he could drive the car back.

 

Today’s Walk was a real test of my new knees.  It was along a wild bit of the coast and quite tough going at times — even Colin admitted that it was.  There was a group of youngsters, aged about fourteen or so, putting on wet suits in the car park at Abereiddi.  Later we saw them jumping off cliffs into the Blue Lagoon.  They were under supervision on one of those ‘coasteering’ courses.  Rather them than me — I don’t think I would have done that even when I was their age.  Colin probably would have, but I don’t think he would do it now!  I didn’t even learn to swim until I was twelve because nobody taught me, nor took any interest in my wanting to be able to do so.  So I taught myself by kneeling down in shallow water and pushing myself forward.  I was amazed to find I was actually swimming!  But it was a couple of years later before I dared to swim on my back, and I never could do crawl. 

From the beach car park we walked up the road to the junction and turned down a lane.  After about a hundred yards we turned on to the cliff path.  We didn’t touch tarmac nor come across a building again until we got to Whitesands.  It was a wild and untamed bit of coast, but the scenery was fantastic and the wild flowers were lovely. 

We met lots of other hikers going in both directions all day.  The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is very popular, unlike Ceredigion which is just as scenic but few people.  All the other walkers were faster than us, and those going in the same direction as us passed by and disappeared ahead.  But I bet I was the only one with two recently replaced knees!  Very little of the path I would class as ‘easy’.  Often it was too narrow to walk comfortably, and there were lots of trip hazards, stones etc.  It was very undulating! 

But the scenery was amazing!  Lots of interesting geology, rock arches, caves, etc.  It seemed exciting as the sea foamed when waves splashed against rocks and the bottom of the cliffs.  There was a colourful variety of wild flowers all along the way.  We had good views back to Abereiddi, then we turned a corner and that scene was lost.

After an hour or so we came to a very deep cleft.  The way down was almost vertical and the path descended natural steps in the rocks.  I found this very difficult indeed.  I relied heavily on my poles, and on Colin just in front of me to give me confidence.  On the way up the other side we sat on a wall to eat our pies, we were sheltered from the strong wind while still in the cleft.  I find it easier going up steep slopes than I do going down. 

We marched on for a couple of hours, up and down slopes and looking at wonderful scenery.  We came to a large stone by the side of the path in a fairly sheltered position — we decided it was an ideal spot to sit and eat our sarnies.  (I can’t sit on the ground because it is impossible for me to get up.  I can’t kneel on my new knees, and my leg muscles are not strong enough to push me up.)  It’s a good thing we chose that spot to sit because as soon as we got to the next rise we were exposed to the wind for a good long way. 

We saw some seals splashing about in the water at the bottom of the cliffs!  Colin saw them first, then we both saw lots of them.  But they moved too fast to get any photos — Colin tried a video but all he got was empty sea!  He thought some of the birds we were seeing in the distance were gannets, and this was confirmed by a woman hiker who passed us.  She told us she had seen them diving. 

We descended to what was perhaps the lowest part of the cliffs on today’s Walk.  We went down another very steep slope, but I did it with more confidence now that I was really into the Walk.  Further on we found a nice sheltered place where we could sit on a rock and eat our apples.  We could hear singing in the distance which was rather strange.  Then a lone girl hiker came up singing to herself as she walked along.  She told us, “I sing to keep myself entertained!”  We replied that we liked to hear it, the melody was rather nice floating along on the wind. 

We rounded a corner and had a wonderful view of the way we had come.  We rounded another corner the other way and realised we were on the ‘home straight’ — or so we thought.  The ground opened up with paths going off in all directions.  There were no signs to tell us which was the official coast path.  We tried to keep to the nearest safe path to the shore but it was difficult to see exactly where we were. Huge mountains of rocks lined the cliff tops blocking our view.  Whitesands Bay began to appear to our left, but we were walking away from it.

We came to a big crossroads of paths with not a single sign giving us a clue as which was the path to take.  We were tempted to take a shortcut in the direction of Whitesands, but conscience make us climb a hill in the direction of the sea.  Further up, at last, we came to a sign telling us we were still on the coast path. 

This path didn’t go to the top of the rocky ‘mountains’, but cut across and started to go downhill.  It became more and more indistinct, and we thought we had lost it several times.  When we came to a swamp we’d both had enough!  Colin went further forward and said he could see a well-marked path further down the hill.  This path led off in the direction of Whitesands.  We used a steep and narrow cross-path to get down to it.  We hadn’t reached the tip of St David’s Head, but we had as near as dammit and we were both satisfied with that. 

It was still another mile of undulating path before we stepped down on to the car park at Whitesands Bay, but it was mostly downhill and the scenery was still wonderful!  We were too late to buy an ice cream, but not too late to catch a bus which turned up ten minutes later.  I got off at the caravan site, but Colin stayed on until he got to st David’s so he could pick up the car which we had left there this morning. 

 

That ended Walk no.376, we shall pick up Walk no.377 next time on Whitesands Beach.  It was twenty past five, so the Walk had taken us seven hours forty minutes.  We had our tea and chocolate biscuits when Colin got back to the caravan with the car.  We were both a bit sunburnt, but had really enjoyed the Walk.