Walk 4 – and having checked train times and wind direction we decided to walk from Caldicot (the end of our very first walk) to Newport Wetlands. This is one and a bit walks from our book and about 12 miles in total,but very flat. We chose to walk with the cold north easterly wind behind us rather than in our faces – a wise choice.
So off we set at 10.30 with a frantic run to Newport station for the train to Caldicot – £11.20 for 11 minutes on the train!!! – I need to get into this train driving lark.
And at exactly the spot the train stopped was the post which marked the end of Walk 1 for those of you following our tale:
Our first dilemma – Sharon was certain we needed to turn left – I was equally certain it was right (given that was the direction the Newport train had come from) – eventually I won, but I could sense that Sharon thought we would be turning round in a while.
The first part of the walk was quite noisy, alongside the M4 on country lanes, but eventually we crossed over the M4 (legally) and headed for the coast:
And when we reached the coast we could see the Severn bridge off to our left and Newport to our right:
So having concluded we were going the right way we set off along the coast. It was a cool but bright day and in the sunshine it was quite warm – our pace was good at between 10 and 11 minutes per km in walking boots, and soon we made it to our lunch rock.
Stopping, as always, was a mistake and we were quite cold and a bit slower after the lunch break, but we continued along the coastal ridge, all the way past Redwick and on to Goldcliff.
There is a famous pink house with equally famous angry occupants along the way, so we obeyed the sign – apart from the photos bit and carried on our way.
At GoldCliff we were met by a nice surprise – The Seawall tearooms, where we sampled the hot chocolate and a piece of carrot cake and a piece of lemon cake – the cake was delicious, and Wendy, the owner was very welcoming and friendly – well worth a stop if ever you hit this bit of the coast. Cleo even got some doggie biscuits
We then headed inland a bit as we started across the wetlands, past the Farmers arms (a pub) through countless gates, and besides some bird spotting hides:
The pace slowed as the old war wounds of 2 weeks ago surfaced, but we made it on to the wetlands site and round to the lighthouse for the end of walk 4:
Just time for a selfie before calling for Mum taxi to pick us up and take us back to our car – 12 miles in total in just under 4 hours, and a walk well worth doing if you find yourself in this area. 43.5 miles done, 826.5 miles to go!!
Walkies Cleo and Bonnie 