Walk 385 -- St Ishmael's to Milford Haven

 Ages: Colin was 75 years and 135 days. Rosemary was 72 years and 277 days. 

Weather: Wet and windy, but not cold. 

Location: St Ishmael’s to Milford Haven. 

Distance: 7 miles. 

Total distance: 3931 miles. 

Terrain: Gently undulating clifftop paths, tarmacked latterly. Some pavement-bashing in Milford Haven. 

Tide: Out. 

Rivers: No.453, Sandy Haven Pill. 

Ferries: None. 

Piers: None. 

Kissing gates: Nos.940, 941, 942 and 943 near Sandy Haven. 

Pubs: The Taberna Inn at Herbrandston which we visited after we had finished the Walk. Colin drank Purple Moose “Elderflower Ale” and Tomos Watkin “Pecker Wrecker”. I had Thatchers cider, and we both had a very nice meal. 

‘Cadw’ properties: None. 

Ferris wheels: None. 

Diversions: None. 

How we got there and back: We were caravanning near Whitesands Beach. This morning we drove to Milford Haven where we parked in the retail park very near Tesco. From there we caught a bus to St Ishmael’s where we alighted by the toilet block and children’s playground where we finished the Walk two days ago. 

At the end we came to the car which was parked just by the bridge. It was pelting down with rain, so Colin moved the car under the bridge for shelter while he did the teas. I asked, “Where has the river gone?” because I noticed the bridge was over a car park with no sign of the river! We realised that the whole river valley had been culverted to build the retail park which was vast! We drove to Herbrandston where we warmed and dried ourselves for several hours in the very friendly pub. We had a lovely meal, then returned to our caravan at Whitesands. We went home two days later. 

 

There was a children's playground at the beginning of today's Walk which we had to walk through. So we stopped and fooled around in there like a couple of kids.

We walked on alongside a cricket field as it started to rain. We got to the far corner where it was windy and realised this was serious, by no means a passing shower. So we returned to a rusty shelter which we had just passed and there put our cameras away. That is why there are so few pictures taken on this Walk. We donned wet-weather gear and ate our pies. Then we strode bravely out into fine misty rain and a high wind. Fortunately this wind was blowing in from the sea so we didn't get blown off the cliff!

It was most unpleasant, but we plodded along. We came to the seat which we'd originally planned to sit on and eat our pies — we knew it was there because we had seen it on a map in the playground. It was horrible there in that weather, how glad we were that we'd used the shelter in the cricket ground! We plodded on. Our only saving grace was occasional high hedges which shielded us, the path was actually dry behind some of them. We'd stand behind a hedge for a bit of a breather, then we'd stride out towards the next one to get in its shelter as quickly as we could. 

As we approached Great Castle Head the rain eased off, so I got out my camera and took a few pictures.

But before we got to Sandy Haven it started up with a vengeance, so the camera went away again.

The path took us through woods which would have been lovely if the weather had been sunny.

But it wasn't, it was drippy and slippery with lots of ups and downs and roots to trip us up. Tricky!

But we did it without mishap and got safely down to the road at Sandy Haven.

Before the woods we were passed by a couple of blokes with a dog. Then, as we walked down to the 'bridge' at Sandy Haven we were passed by a foreign couple. They were the only hikers we met on this crazy day, apart from a single bloke who caught us up at Gelliswick Bay. 

When we arrived at Sandy Haven the tide was right out — we had planned this one, unlike at Dale.  We crossed safely despite the slippery mud on the other side. We breathed a sigh of relief because the high-tide route would have been four miles extra. It was early to be thinking about lunch, but I was concerned that we wouldn't find a sheltered spot to eat our rolls. So we sat on the rocks at the bottom of the eastern ramp where we were completely sheltered from the wind and pretty much from the rain by overhanging trees. From there we could see the rain sweeping in waves across the 'bridge' while we were chomping.

The photos we took when we recced the crossing on a sunny day back in June will have to do. 

We wondered whether it was safe to carry on because it looked from the map as if the path would be very exposed. We discussed our options, and decided in the end to risk it and continue. We walked through a deserted caravan site (when are these caravans actually used?) and then past a very exposed picnic site where I'd originally planned to stop for lunch. Onwards to the top of the cliffs. It wasn't as bad as we expected because a lot of the path was protected by high hedges on the cliff side. Colin risked his camera to take a picture of a fort on an island, which had intrigued him. 

We were not aware that we were walking alongside an oil terminal — if we hadn't seen it on the map we wouldn't have known. We caught the occasional glimpse of a high barbed-wire-topped fence. A lot of the terminal was hidden behind brambles, hedges etc. It was very 'Green'. 

We saw a long jetty ahead, and noticed a vehicle driving down the length of it. As we got nearer we realised the path went down underneath it. We sat on the concrete steps leading down under it. I needed the rest, I had found it hard work walking in all that wind and rain. We were relatively sheltered there, so we ate our chocolate. Under the jetty we were out of the rain, so I got out my camera and took a picture of the underside of the jetty. The only time we were on beach sand today was when we were under that jetty. 

There was a flight of steep steps out of it, and from thereon the path was tarmacked. We suspected it was once a road, and it did turn into a road later on when houses began to appear on the left-hand side. We couldn't see a second jetty which was marked on the map because it was heavily shielded by hedges and a wood on the right-hand side. 

Gelliswick Bay looked nice — at least it would have done if the weather had been good. It looked pretty grim today. The ladies toilet was closed (had it been vandalised?) but the gents was OK and so was the disabled — good job I've got a RADAR key! We went up the steps on the other side of the bay, then through a housing estate and a residential area to the bridge in Milford Haven. 

 

That ended Walk no.385, we shall pick up Walk no.386 next time on the river bridge in Milford Haven. It was quarter past three, so the Walk had taken us five hours and twenty-five minutes. It was pelting down with rain, so Colin moved the car under the bridge for shelter while he did the teas. I asked, “Where has the river gone?” because I noticed the bridge was over a car park with no sign of the river! We realised that the whole river valley had been culverted to build the retail park which was vast! We drove to Herbrandston where we warmed and dried ourselves for several hours in the very friendly pub. We had a lovely meal, then returned to our caravan at Whitesands. 

Two days later we fully intended walking from Milford Haven to Pembroke Dock. But the weather forecast was for rain from mid-afternoon. Colin said, “We really ought to take the awning down now while it is dry, and do the Walk later.” I said, “OK then. The bus we are catching today is an hourly service so we can always catch a later one.” As we took the awning down the rain started — and it was only nine o’clock. So much for weather forecasts! Having folded up the soggy awning, we looked at each other soaking wet in the rain and agreed, “Let’s b****r off home!” And so we did, a day earlier than intended and through monsoon-like rain!