Friday 4 August 2017

A tale of two walks

We were at the end of the first week of our holiday by now, and the glorious weather of only a couple of days before seemed a long way off.

The sky on Sunday morning was still a dull grey, but it least it was dry, so we wasted no time in doing a walk which had been on our list for a long time.



But first, let's have a look at what I was wearing. I dug one of my vintage tops out of my suitcase to compliment my hard-wearing dark denim trousers. It's got a pink, yellow, blue and green print on a white background, green pearly buttons and slightly puffy sleeves. Look at my hair flower, which compliments the roses scrambling up our cottage's walls!

For the walk itself, I added a green cardie, and later my boring Gore-Tex jacket as it was quite windy.

The start of the walk was just across the estuary, in Cardigan, and the walk itself would take us in a loop around and then down to St. Dogmaels, our village, and back.


Right before veering off the main road to St. Dogmaels onto a bridle path, I took the opportunity to photograph a slightly rusty pub sign (the building it's attached to has been converted to housing, but I love it that they kept the sign!) and a derelict petrol pump we'd been passing each day on our way to and from the cottage.



The bridle path took us to an abandoned farm where, after a slight diversion, we passed a flock of persistingly bleating sheep who were alarmed at the sight of us. Behind them, a panoramic view to the estuary and Poppit Sands opened up.

We could even spot our cottage's roof and chimney in the far distance.



The path, which became muddy for a while, ended at a tarmacked lane leading into St. Dogmaels.

We were supposed to take another path leading off this lane, but as we were searching for it, we got talking to the owners of a lovely yellow painted house, the lady of which turned out to be Dutch. She directed us to a more scenic path, which ran enclosed between banks of trees, eventually ending up at Blaenwaun Baptist Chapel, which is where we were headed.



The chapel is a stark, forbidding looking building squatting in an overgrown churchyard, its graves entangled in brambles and adorned with wildflowers. It must be very bleak here in winter, the starkness of the chapel on top of the hill enough to put the fear of God into you.



We continued on a quiet country lane and eventually ended up on a footpath running next to Cwm Degwel, a wooded ravine, to St. Dogmaels, where we had a cup of coffee at The Coach House,



Fortified by a bar of delicious Welsh chocolate, we returned, by way of fields and stiles to Cardigan.




Much to our surprise, we got a bonus sunny day on Monday. We decided to strike the iron while it was hot, and tick off another walk on our list.

For this one, we had to drive all the way to Whitesands, near St. Davids, a large sandy beach with easy access to the Coast Path.

The walk up to St. Davids Head is a popular one and, in fact, we have attempted to do it before. It was on an equally sunny day, but soon after heading off we were surprised by a stubborn sea mist, forcing us to return before the walk was completed.



In contrast, now it was the clearest of days, with far reaching views across an island-dotted seascape.

With the sun slightly filtered by wisps of clouds, the light wasn't too harsh and therefore perfect for photographs.

The footpath runs up and down but remains close to the coast, passing the beach at Porth Lleuog separated from Whitesands Bay by the rocky promontory of Trwynhwrddyn.



At the crest of a hill Coetan Arthur, a 4000-year-old Neolithic burial chamber, can be seen silhouetted against the sky.



Then the path descends into a valley via broad steps to a spring above the tiny cove of Porth Melgan.



We scrambled up to St. Davids Head itself, taking in the all around view, with Carn Llidi towering behind us trying but not quite succeeding to keep the clouds at bay, and Ramsey Island out to sea.



Then we went in search of Coetan Arthur on the plateau leading off from St. Davids Head, a wild, rugged landscape full of rocky outcrops.



The burial chamber was surprisingly hard to find among the profusion of rocks littering the plateau, but finally Jos spotted it on the ridge to our left.

The massive capstone measures approximately 6 metres by 2,5 metres and its support is 1,5 metres in height. Nevertheless, until you are actually standing next to it, it looks deceptively small.




From there, we searched out a path zig-zagging down to the main coast path, and returned to Whitesands the way we'd come.

Driving back inland, where a thick blanket of grey clouds had gathered in the meantime, we looked back one more time at the receding blue sky near the coast.



Little did we know that this would be the last bit of sunshine and blue sky we'd see during our holiday ...



30 comments:

  1. What amazing scenery, at least you got these two lovely walks in despite the weather's best efforts.

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    1. Thank you Gisela! Did you see my walking stick? I couldn't have done the walks without it! xxx

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  2. I've just had a very relaxing time, lying on the sofa enjoying your blog post.
    The scenery in your photos looks absolutely idyllic and I enjoyed hearing about the lovely walks you took.
    I love the vintage top you wore, it's a shame you had to wrap up due to the weather, what a summer!xxx

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my post! I'm really reliving my holiday writing these posts ... xxx

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  3. How fortunate the weather cleared enough for some photographs-you had such lovely views. The walks look fascinating, sheep and all.

    The pattern on that top is so perfectly late 60's/early 70's/ I think I had a blouse with a similar print in pink.

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    1. Unfortunately, it didn't clear long enough, like for the rest of our holiday ... Anyway, even if I had to wear jeans, I could still wear my vintage tops, like this one! xxx

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  4. Gorgeous photos and a fab travelogue - I'm making notes for a road trip!
    Love your groovy top even if it was hidden by your Gore-Tax jacket! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix! Pembrokeshire is really worth going to, especially if the weather behaves ... xxx

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  5. What beautiful landscape. It's so different from my country. I definitely have to visit there and you've stimulated my interest in that. Love your vintage top.

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    1. Wales is well worth a visit, Ally, if you don't mind the rain ...

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  6. ohhh Wales is stunning. Thanks for these beautyful pictures Ann.
    I would like to spend our summer holiday next year in Wales.I hope so.
    I wish you a nice holiday.
    XO Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! I definitely recommend Wales, but of course you have to take the weather into account. We were in Pembrokeshire, which is a coastal National Park. xxx

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  7. two wonderful walks!! wish i was with you there! such pittoresk views and grande landscapes - nature und culture together formed a stunning land....
    your top is sweet - gorgeous riot of colors!! huge <3 hugs! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! I'm sure you and the BW would enjoy walking there. Huge hugs right back xxx

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  8. This looks divine! What luck that the weather was brilliant for that day.

    The photos really remind me of Newfoundland and PEI on the eastern shores of Canada.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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    1. Thank you Suzanne, it really was divine, but unfortunately the weather didn't hold ... xxx

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  9. Tat is seriously a lot of walking! You more than earned that coffee! Thank you for showing the beautiful countryside xx
    www.vanityandmestyle.com

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    1. We had coffee AND cake, Laurie. I guess we deserved both ;-) xxx

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  10. Beautiful ( very long) walks and stunning views... it sounds like a very nice holiday!

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    1. Thank you Dan. Like most holidays, it was over far too soon ... xxx

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  11. The views are so peaceful, something really timeless about this landscape! I can see why you are so drawn to this place, Ann! You've done some serious hiking, and you look so lovely in your vintage shirt! <3

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    1. Thank you Natalia. As I'm leading a hectic life, I always crave a bit of peace and quite when I'm on holiday. But with a bit of charity shopping thrown in, of course! <3 xxx

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  12. Lots of lovely walks there. Your vintage shirt looks perfectly summery, too - such a cheery pattern.

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    1. Thank you Mim! At least my clothes looked summery ... xxx

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  13. Goretex is always a useful accessory in the UK. I'm sure you were able to show the pretty top whilst you coffeed on hazelnut flavoured cafe. St David's is such a pretty city. I hope went there too down by the mill.

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    1. It's a useful accessory in Belgium too, Anna. I love St. Davids, but we didn't make it there this year ... xxx

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  14. so many fabulous landscapes to enjoy, even more fabulous because of the really old stones and cute places to have some coffee. That 'proper welsh chocolate' looks delicious!
    And your colorful shirt and green cardi look perfect to cheer up any goretex garment!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! In fact, the chocolate was so delicious that we shared a bar there and then, and bought another one for later ... xxx

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  15. Ooh, I love seeing your walk! Wales is beautiful. I always wanted to live there when I was a child and teenager!x

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    1. Thank you Kezzie! I've loved Wales ever since I first visited with my parents when I was 16! xxx

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