Back to Pembrokeshire
2nd January 2013 When I first visited Pembrokeshire on the first weekend in June 2006, I had no idea that it would take more than six years to get back there again. Then, I only had been a month blogging, and the terseness of the description of my weekend down there reflects this. Nowadays, my description of the ups and downs encountered between Newgale and St. David's would merit more than a little mention, though perusing the photos from that sunny summer weekend do keep my memories of how steep the drops and rises were very much alive. Similarly, the article that inspired me to go on that first trip still hasn't faded from my mind's eye either, and I might just go looking through past issues of TGO to revisit it again.
Though I only had a long weekend, I got in more than just one stretch of Pembrokeshire's coastline and its national trail. Sunday saw me take in a circular walk around Marloes, with even more rugged cliffs to be savoured. Monday may have been when I went home again, but that didn't preclude a little nibble of what lay around Newport, both the coastline and the Mynydd Preseli hills. It was but a short stop while on route to Ceredigion, but it was memorable nonetheless.
My route home saw me continue to Aberystwyth by bus before going by rail the rest of the way. That had me playing with going to see more of Pembrokeshire by reversing the route to make more again of another possible weekend stay that never came to pass. It might have been the way that I'd have gone last August, but it never entered my mind. Time's passage and my looking for a quick getaway might have had something to do with it.
Like the last time, Haverfordwest became my base and I played with different walking options with practicalities like public transport and weather governing which would be my eventual choice. Only for clouds approaching from that direction according to the weather forecast, I might have taken in the south coast between Manorbier and Bosherston. If there had been time to spend at the former's castle and the latter's lily ponds, it would have been a double bonus, but they'll need to await another visit. The Preseli Hills were another option, but I came to the conclusion that they were an escapade too far for what was a flying visit. That left the west and north-west with my looking at options around St. David's with there being a summer shuttle bus in operation. My eyes even started to follow the coastline up as far as Strumble Head, even though the distance from St. David's is no short undertaking.
While all the above threw up appealing options, I decided to trim my cloth to my measure to settle on a hike from Strumble Head to Fishguard, and it rewarded me copiously too. Of course, it helped that Sunday morning came sunny after a Saturday with plenty of wet moments. Though its situation is imperfect, Haverfordwest's castle ruins still caught my eye and became a target for photographic capture before breakfast and before my departure for Fishguard. To my mind, the photo above could have been taken in May or June, such is the green colour of the surrounding foliage. Maybe the wetness of the year we got meant that the onset of autumn became delayed.
After a little wait, a busy Strumble Shuttle bus conveyed me and others to Strumble Head while others may have gone the whole way to St. David's, a journey of around two hours along narrow country lanes. This would make good use of a day with suspect weather, but it was that of the glorious variety that I was lucky enough to have. There may have been a white cloud approaching in the distant, but its leisurely approach meant that it was no spoilsport while I was around Strumble Head, though it did end the sunny spell early in the afternoon.
Strumble Head's lighthouse is on an island called Ynys Meicel and there is a footbridge across to it. However, this was locked so no one could ramble about the spot. Even so, I went down to the bridge for a look and took in the sight of the narrow channel that it crossed while a dog started barking; apparently, he took exception to the walking poles attached to my rucksack or so his owner said. Leaving that ostensibly odd situation after me, I decided to make my way south along Carreg Onnen Bay before starting in earnest for Fishguard.
As I looked to the south, I fancied that I could discern Carn Llidi near St. David's in the distance. There still is nothing that would convince me otherwise, unless another visit were to see me proven wrong. As I went south along the joint rote of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and the Welsh Coast Path, I lost sight of the more distance view, but there was more than enough to keep me busy in the sunshine. The path was narrow enough and others had the same idea as me, some going slower than others. Going south opens up views of the islands of Carreg Onnen and Ynys Onnen, along with keeping that of Ynys Meicel. Those of the coastline by which I was passing were attractive too with their sea-eroded wild ruggedness, and there was no trepidation intruding on the proceedings as I did so.
Because I was planning to go in the other direction, I eventually had to find a southern turning point, despite how glorious it felt. A piece of higher ground in access land near Carn Melyn did the job for me. It allowed one last panoramic view of what lay around before I retraced my steps. By the time that I reached Strumble Head's car park again, there had been a change that couldn't be missed. The approaching bank of white cloud had come much closer and was encroaching on the sun's space, too.
Before there was any more in the way of change, I set to shortening the distance to Fishguard. Given how expansive the eastward views were from there, I stopped for a bit of lunch near Carreg Gybi. Hurrying on ahead of the cloud might seem tempting to me now as I write this, but it had no bearing after what I had got from the day by then. As I was stopped, the sights of the likes of Dinas Head and Cemaes Head were within my line of sight, albeit in the far distance.
To reach those far-off places from my location would have taken several days of walking, so I was happy to enjoy the views and leave it at that. After all, there was plenty of this coastline to pass before I ended up in Fishguard again. Ups and downs lay ahead, yet they were nothing like what I met between Newgale and St. David's. There were to be twists and turns too because of the indented coastline, but I hadn't cut myself short on time and was happy to ease myself along. Each inlet was a marker of progress and there were many, many of which with names. Watercourses and muddy stretches were passed too, and the civilised world felt further than being a kilometre from a public road would suggest.
There were human intrusions aside from other walkers too. For instance, there was the house near Penryhn and the Carreg Goffa Monument commemorating the ill-fated French landing at Carregwastad Point; rough seas, drunkenness and a wily Welshwoman saw off that foreign invasion. The drop into Cwm Felin and the subsequent rise to sweep around Aber Felin may give clues as to why the landing happened there.
Beyond that site of that historical intrigue, the distance to my destination very clearly was receding. The access land of Ciliau Moor lay in surroundings that felt well isolated, even if I were to pass barking dogs just afterwards; they were on the other side of a hedge, thankfully. As my southward turning was approached, I met up with a local man going in the opposite direction who told me about a miniature Giant's Causeway around Anglas Bay that he found for the first time when he got a little lost while out on a then recent walk, though I never did confirm this for myself; my (southern) Irish accent had given me away as it always does.
Once past Crincoed Point, the breakwater of the Stena ferry harbour was growing in view. Earlier, I had seen the same ship coming and going from there, so it would have been much busier than the quiet desolation that I found on my own passing. Before reaching that lower ground, the coastal path was to take me onto tarmac again for the first time since Strumble Head. It would be tempting to think that navigation from there would be a simple matter but, if anything, it was more complex than following the coastal path while away from conurbations. The intricacy was greater than what the map could show, so it was up to signage to point out secluded pathways that dropped me from one road to another, taking me near a hotel at one point. Once over the footbridge across the railway, matters became simpler again. Passing the ferry terminal, I made for the tourist information centre to see what food might be served. However, I instead found my way to a useful public convenience and ended up at the local Tesco. My next stop was a seat in a nearby park to partake of an ice cream before going further.
The final stretch of my wandering made use of the coastal tarmacked walkway around Penyraber. It's a pleasant place to be strolling even without the sun, and seeing Fishguard's older and more sheltered harbour full of pleasure-craft made me wonder what the sight would be like if clouds hadn't filled the sky as it had. There was a bus to be caught for Haverfordwest and that was playing on my mind too, so I didn't dally. In fact, I timed things just right and had a little wait before it came. When en route, another matter of timing was brought to my attention: there was a rain shower around Wolf's Castle and hills to its west, so my hiking had stopped before the rain to get a dry day's walking. The next day came even wetter, so thinking about the blue skies and sunshine was at odds with the soaking I got on the way to Haverfordwest's train station. That won't stop me pondering a return, though.
Travel Arrangements:
Return train journey from Macclesfield to Haverfordwest, changing at Stockport on each way. Return journey on bus service 412 between Haverfordwest and Fishguard. Single journey on Strumble Shuttle (bus service 404) as far as Strumble Head.
Into 2013…
1st January 2013 2012 was a slower year for this place than others, but there still are things to say. Outstanding trip reports await writing and there are other things to be sharing too, so there should be no stopping yet. The one longer walk a month ethic (there may be more sometimes, of course) will remain for me even if December saw a trip to Tatton Park was the most that I got to do; those Christmas preparations had their part to play in this, naturally. Even the Christmas and New Year period saw less than it usually might have done, for a variety of reasons.
Today, I am nursing a heavy cold, so that has put paid to any greater ambitions that I may have had for New Year's Day of 2013. The weather has had its part to play too, with all those deluges that have been tormenting others far more than me. Let's hope that the promised dry spell of weather materialises and allows everywhere to dry out a little. Once this cold is behind me, I even might get out for that longer walk of the month too.
Apart from the cold, there is one other thing that limits grand designs like my trip to the Western Isles in 2008. My parents are older and my father's health is far from what it was, so it will need close watching and more thinking about his care than he himself is willing to do. Walks still will be needed to clear minds from time to time, so they won't stop. The de-stressing action of simply putting one foot before another is one help, and there is the time for thinking too. When I changed jobs in 2010, both of these really helped, and I hope that they'll continue to do so.
That's not to say that there won't be brighter interludes, too. After all, it is amazing how bright lighting of wonderful countryside and the peace of the natural world can soothe and delight a weary soul. When I was watching episodes of BBC Scotland's Adventure Show highlighting the Scottish National Trail on the iPlayer. The first of these really struck a resonance with me because of how many of the places featured were among those that I have passed on my Scottish forays. Places such as Kirk Yetholm, the Eildon Hills, the Three Brethren, the Pentland Hills, Edinburgh and its Water of Leith walkway, the southern reaches of the West Highland Way, the Rob Roy Way, Aberfoyle and Aberfeldy. It felt as if I had shadowed much of the route on my various comings and goings. It was hard to say the same for much of the countryside crossed in the second part, though I have had a taste of what Glen Tilt has to offer last June. The threatened Monadh Liath hardly have seen any invasion from me, and those north-western Scottish fastnesses have lain beyond my attention so far.
There has been a chance to catch up with unread issues of TGO too. Older ones from before the big redesign were among these, and I was reminded how more portable these used to be. Of course, Android digital editions fulfil this need, so I suppose that I need to look at that app, though there is something a little more special about holding a paper magazine in your hand in these ever digital days. Also, I am catching up with those delayed trip reports too, and they are reminders of ambiences experienced then that may be revisited in the flesh again not far into the future. Macclesfield's nearby hill country has its share of these to offer, so it could come into its own when short departures from the cares of modern life are needed, and other similar spots are not too far away either, so who knows where I could be hiking?
2013 may feel more uncertain for me than other years, but I got through 2010 and that was bumpy in its own respects. For me, it looks as if it will be a matter of inching a way through the year. Of course, at the start of any year, it is impossible to know where things will sit at its end, and so it is with this one. Obstacles get overcome and life goes forward in its adventurous manner. Over the Christmas period, I read an opinion piece from Cameron McNeish in TGO bemoaning adventure holidays and their misplaced concepts of planning and organisation. Life's not like that, so that mindset sounds hubristic to me, and especially so now.
While my 2013 is beginning in a wistful state of mind, I hope that yours will be good to you. May twelve months hence have us recalling happy surprises that have come upon us along the way too; I am recalling 2012's in my own mind right now as this blog goes into its eighth calendar year (the actual birthday is at the start of May). Life's adventure continues...
A return to Gower
30th December 2012 The last weekend of July 2011 (a month of five weekends, incidentally, and each of them were spent away from home too) saw me make my first-ever visit to the Gower in south Wales. Though the sun gamely attempted to break through on occasions, grey skies were the dominant feature of the trip that saw me use the Heart of Wales railway line for part of my return train journey between Macclesfield and Swansea. Even without the sun, the day was a warm one with plenty of folk around too.
However, it was not a full walking trip like others that I undertake. Even so, I trotted out towards Worm's Head and returned to Rhossili, making a short loop featuring the coast as I did so. Then, I was lured up Rhossili Down towards its trig point before I scotched the brainwave of making another circuit from there in favour of a quicker return to catch a bus back to Swansea again, pondering a return as I did so.
Unlike Pembrokeshire where it took me just over six years to make a return, the Gower was to see me sooner with a visit in early August of this year. Unlike the previous trip, this was a walking outing and there was more sun about too. The hiking started off where I last left off too, with a trot over a windy Rhossili Down that completed the circuit that tempted me before. As I did so, the sun went into hiding on me behind clouds. Even so, there still were better views towards Worm's Head than in 2011.
Other folk were making the effort to gain height as I was doing so and I played with the idea of avoiding the trig point but revisited it upon reconsideration. From there, it was a matter of picking my way over Sweyne's Howes and Bessies Meadow before dropping down to Hillend Burrows. Rhossili Down is access land and seems to see a lot of footfall, so there were more paths on the ground than on the OS map, so keeping to the right of way would involve some effort if so desired; there was a strong wind so staying upright was more of a concern.
Once down a steep incline (the Down may be low, but that's never to say that it isn't steep-sided as so many are), I picked up a bridleway at Hillend Burrows for returning to Rhossili again. Initially, this went by a caravan park, but that was soon left behind me and boggy sections were set to be found too. In fact, there were none of these on the hilltop so it must have been the shelter that sustained them. The sun began to emerge from the clouds again and the heat of a scorching summer day could be felt; it left me wishing for the cooling buffeting that was my lot up high.
The path was a narrow with deviations from the main track when things got really muddy. Once past the caravan park, I began to build up some pace even with others using the right of way at the same time; the deviations came in handy for this. Once by the Old Rectory, I could see my destination was coming nearer and it was reached in less time than I had grown to expect.
The heat of the afternoon was the cause of my visiting the National Trust shop for some ice cream and a drink. While I was there, some souvenir items for others were purchased too before I sat outside to enjoy the ice cream with views back along Rhossili Bay with Rhossili Down on the right-hand side. Though I stayed a little while, it was later in the day than I had anticipated it would be. A delayed arrival due to traffic congestion and the Rhossili Down circuit perhaps taking longer than expected were contributors to this so I needed to get going again.
Port-Eynon was my next destination and I started by making my way out the busy promontory towards Worm's Head. The time of day precluded any more serious efforts to make photos of Worm's Head beyond the hazy ones that I got on the way up Rhossili Down. In fact, it was those views north along Rhossili Bay that yielded the best results for me.
My itinerary was to take me south-east and away from the terminus of the Gower Way. Another development since my last visit to Gower was the instatement of the Welsh Coast Path, though it has been in place long enough for some of the signage to have fallen prey to the elements, so careful use of a map is needed in places too. Some of its course already had been sampled on my Rhossili Down circuit and there was to be more to come. Being along the coast gained me a cooling sea breeze that was strong enough for kite flying and some enthusiasts were making the most of the conditions on offer.
Passing them, I began to see some of the coastal scenery that I was to pass after leaving Worm's Head behind me. From reading guidebooks, I knew that this was worth walking and it reminded me of that previous visit to Pembrokeshire some years before. Such is the indentation of the coastline that the sights of Rhossili and nearby Middleton weren't to leave me so quickly. There was a path diversion due to erosion too and recent coastal landslips due to all the rain that we have been seeing make me wonder if more have been needed since then.
In the initial stages, there were a good few folk around, but there was to be more in the way of solitude later on in the walk. Many of these may have been on circular strolls and those can be left behind to go their own way. So, it appeared after passing Fall Bay and doing the same for Mewslade Bay meant an inland deviation and attendant loss and regain of height that reminded me of a hike from Newgale to St. David's that I did on that Pembrokeshire trip; this yomp was to have less of that, though.
With the last of the undulations behind me, it was onto steady field crossing on the way towards Overton. Cloud had arrived from the west to put an end to the sunshine and gave a sense of close-down to the proceedings as well as a warning of what rain was to come. As I continued in the dullness, there seemed to be more footpath signs than my OS map gave me to expect and I have not been able to see where the paths were leading since then.
In time, field crossing was to be replaced with rocky shoreline walking as the Welsh Coast Path lost height to go under Overton Cliff and along Overton Mere. This section felt wilder and more dramatic than any other part that I had passed all day and would make a worthy excuse for a return sometime; Port-Eynon seemed very away at this point. There was a bell to be heard too and I thought it to be a church bell in that village but I was being deceived. It was but one atop a buoy bobbing out in the sea that could be heard all around. An outsider with easily disturbed slumbering would have some acclimatisation to be doing. That apparent reassurance that I was really near my intended destination had been but a mirage.
In fact, I wasn't that far away either; one last ascent was to prove that to me. Though I needed to keep going, curiosity had me surveying a monument erected by the Gower Society to commemorate efforts to preserve the surrounding coastline. From there, I then dropped down towards the YHA hostel and trotted across the beach to the roundabout at the Port-Eynon end of the A4118. Following the road from there, I found my bus stop with a few folk waiting there, one of them being a Welshman wearing a kilt!
Having others waiting at the bus stop was comforting because it meant that I hadn't missed a bus, but the wait was to be a long one that extended into dusk. The earlier traffic congestion that I met on the way to Rhossili was the cause of delaying bus services even more by the time that I was going away again. There even was a call to First Cymru to make sure that buses still were running and it was just as well that I had a mobile that worked in Port-Eynon; O2 and Vodafone didn't while T-Mobile and Orange did. That bus did arrive before any rain though and that was just as well since thunder and lightning arrived around midnight and stayed for most of an hour in the sultry early hours.
Even with any traffic congestion, the Gower remains alluring for me. Seeing what is around Port-Eynon again with some sunshine would be a good thing and there's Oxwich Bay and Three Cliffs Bay (the latter's near Penmaen) to be savoured too. As well as this, catching Worm's Head at a better time for photography would be another draw and there's the Gower Way and other parts of the AONB to be experienced too. All in all, there are ample excuses for making a return sometime. Let's hope one actually happens.
Travel Arrangements:
Return train journey from Macclesfield to Swansea, with a change at Bristol Parkway on the outbound journey and at both Cardiff Central and Birmingham New Street on the return one. Bus service 118 from Swansea to Rhossili and travel on the same service from Port-Eynon to Swansea.
A catch-up on Irish walking magazines and books
25th December 2012 Recently, I got the opportunity to survey the current editions of both Walking World Ireland and Irish Mountain Log. The first of these is a magazine that I have featured on here a few times before, while the latter may be new to regular readers of these musings. It is published by Mountaineering Ireland, the Irish answer to the British Mountaineering Council, on a quarterly basis and does feature some articles that catch my eye. Those pertaining to clubs and climbing usually are those over which I skip but others such as an example entry from the perhaps overly grandiosely titled Irish Peaks Guidebook, a West of Ireland hill country photo essay from Adrian Hendroff, an article about a Pyrenean nature walk and others about the spirit of the sorts of special places in which all of us outdoors lovers love to immerse ourselves.
Walking World Ireland puts out its Annual around this time of year and the 2013 one is out now. There is no year planner inserted into the current one as there used to be in years gone by. Lists of walking festivals and organisations still have a place though and there is an index like there often is for these. Interestingly, the usual route articles are excerpts from a series of guides from Collins Press about which I say more later. Usually, we see similar contributions from Dennis, Gill, Tom Hutton, Gareth McCormack and Helen Fairbarn but that's not the case this time around. Loop Walks also seem not to have a place like they have had in recent issues. Otherwise, it's all the customary sort of content that you'd expect along with articles looking further afield than Ireland. Still, the differences seen in the Annual make me wonder what is set to come in the first actual issue of 2013.
Collins Press seem to be on their way to become the Cicerone or Frances Lincoln (the latter is particularly appropriate for this comparison since their outdoors publishing only seems to have commenced with their taking on Wainwright's guides) of Irish walking guide publishing. Like the latter publishing house, they do produce much more than just walking books. Most of these are available as what they call "Limpback" editions, like a hardback but with something of the paperback feel. The range of subjects includes: Carrauntoohil & MacGillycuddy's Reeks; Connemara & Mayo; Donegal, Sligo & Leitrim; Ireland's County High Points; Northern Ireland; Scenic Walks in Killarney; Scenic Walks in West Cork; The Burren & the Aran Islands; The Dingle, Iveragh & Beara Peninsulas; Tipperary & Waterford. There is a good range available with the Dublin & Wicklow Mountains being the only stand-out omission, but time may see that addressed yet. The guides seem to be temptingly presented so it might make a good excuse for a visit somewhere for me to try out one of the books for size to see what it opens up for a walker in Ireland's pleasing hill country; this is but one of the excuses that I should make a reality. Let's hope that they see success with these and that more get to experience the delights of Irish hill country too.
All of the above are set to be illuminating once I get around to setting aside some time to go further than cursory glances. The Kindle version of the Irish county high points (why not just call them tops?) guide has made it into my possession already and needs more consultation like the aforementioned magazines. After all, it amazes me to see how many Irish counties shared their highest hills with others; Limerick and Tipperary are far from being the only ones (the Munro-class Galtymore is the one that they share). There may be more Irish entries on the trip ideas page here yet.
A time that’s safe for dreaming?
21st November 2012 The allure of working in the outdoors also has attracted its share of dreamers, some of whom have managed to turn their dreams into reality. A few months back, I was reminded of this when reading a copy of Outdoor Photography. In there, I found something written that I hadn't seen for a while: an amateur photographer whose work was featured possessed the aspiration of turning professional. So much has happened in recent years that I wonder such dreams are realisable or if they are mere delusions.
One thing that hasn't changed is the appeal of the countryside to those living in urban settings. Escaping the topsy turvy of modern life is what keeps me getting in walks in quieter places and thoughts of seeing them in pleasing light is an attraction, especially when it comes to photographic capture of those scenes. In that, I am not alone even if life gets in the way from time to time.
Of course, the countryside is under pressure and that always seems to be the case. There is that fungus that kills ash trees just like another has been doing the same for elms, though some still survive and some progress seems to have been made with making the trees more resistant to the fungus that is carried by beetles. Then, there's the thorny subject of wind-powered electricity generation that rouses strong feelings. Added to that lot is a government so desperate for economic growth that it's willing to change planning laws in the hope that that might help.
We already have seen cuts in public spending taking hold. A few years ago, I remember reading of someone taking redundancy to start further education in order to become a countryside ranger. Those opportunities hardly can be very plentiful so I wonder how she got on with her planned career change. After all, not only have local authority budgets been reduced but national park authorities saw the same happen to theirs shortly after the current government took power.
Saturation of markets comes to mind when anyone shares ambitions of becoming a professional photographer and it isn't limited to that profession either. After all, how many guides and guidebook authors do we need? Maybe there were less walking guidebooks available than there are now, which gave some long-established writers a chance, but those bookshop shelves are well loaded now and there's the rise of digital publishing too. Cicerone may be keeping there eBooks at the same prices as their paper equivalents but I for one have been used to their being cheaper so how long can that last?
The advent of digital photography has had quite an effect on the lot of a professional photographer. A decade ago, a well supplied stock library was a good source of income but that seems not to be the case any longer. Sales of books, calendars and postcards help but there also is quite a growth in the provision of photography courses and writing always is an option. Such is the volume of images that is available that it is impossible to limit yourself to travel, landscape or wildlife photography to maintain that all important income.
It seems that even the obvious outdoors careers are not immune to the upheavals of the present day. Hobbies can lead to careers and my means for earning a living is an example of that as well as something from which many yearn to exit. Having grown up on a farm, I realise that an outdoors life isn't all easy and there are many things today that make it that bit harder too. Contenting myself with earning my crust using the skills and experience that I possess is how I plan to proceed while enjoying those all-important outdoor escapades for affording some quiet time away from it all. However, it also looks as if bit more effort is needed to keep the countryside more intact than otherwise might be the case. On that, I reckon that I need to have a think.
