News – Page 4 – Walkies Cleo and Bonnie

Briton Ferry to Swansea

19th April 2017

I can’t believe it is April and this is our first coastal path walk of the year. We have had to wait for Bonnie to be old enough and strong enough to walk with us, but over the last few weeks she has already proved herself more than ready, easily walking 8 or 10 miles and loving it.

So on our way down to Pembrey we decided to stop off and join up a little bit more of our South Wales part of the coastal path. We have gaps from Southern Down all the way to Swansea that we will pick up over the coming weeks so that soon we will have completed from Chepstow to the Gower. So today we parked at Briton Ferry ready to walk the 6 miles into Swansea and join up with the stopping point of a previous walk in Swansea.

The signs that are so familiar – left for Port Talbot but right to Swansea (we will see this sign again when we join up Port Talbot to Briton Ferry another day). And here is Bonnie on her first coastal path walk.

The first couple of miles are along main roads, with a view of the M4 and the dual carriageway into Swansea, so really nothing to write about.

Then the coastal path surprisingly takes you off the road you would normally drive into Swansea on, and towards Jersey Marine.

Turning left at Jersey Marine leads you to a lovely canal walk for about 2 miles, it is the Tennant Canal running alongside Crymlyn Bog.

If it had a bench to stop for lunch then it would have been perfect but at the end of the canal we found a rock to eat our sandwiches on, and give Bonnie a well earned rest.

Then on into Swansea, over Fabian way, and past the Premier Inn, to get the marina.

To join up with our previous walk we had to cross over the marina on the bridge and find the coastal path sign by the coffee shop….

And then we decided that rather than walk back the 6 or 7 miles to the car we would take Bonnie on her first bus ride – but £4.30 each for a single journey – the driver must have been Dick Turpin in a previous life.

So not our longest walk – 7.5 miles in total of which 6 miles were coastal path – making 239.9 miles completed and 630.0 miles to go.

A big weekend of walking in 2 weekends time will get us below the 600 mile point.

All the pictures from this walk are on the Walkies Bonnie facebook page – request access to this closed group by contacting us from the homepage of this site.

Rhyl to Prestatyn and back

10th October 2016

For our last walk of the weekend we needed to join up the gap we had left between Rhyl and Prestatyn. We decided to walk both ways and spend a bit of time in Prestatyn along the way, hoping to find some quaint seaside shops.

So from the campsite we headed straight out onto the coastal path on a glorious day – we had really been lucky with the weather this weekend.

The tide is out, the beach looks lovely and there are the wind turbines

Walking this way you have to cross Rhyl Harbour on the new footbridge.

And then we walked along Rhyl seafront, and we have never seen so many mobility scooters – there must have been a convention or something!!

The old swimming pool complex that Sharon could remember going in as a child was being knocked down (well it was quite old now!!)

And the beach stretched on for miles and miles, coffee and cake after coffee and cake… hence the smiles…..

And before we knew it we were at Prestatyn with it’s beachhut-like leisure area.

A detour into town for a shop – no, nothing worth buying, and a nice lunch and we then headed back the way we came, except for one small detour:

Time for one last selfie and yes, Sharon did have an ice-cream as well, she just hid it from shot

The end of a fabulous walking weekend – today was 16.2 miles in total taking the weekend total to 62.7 miles, but only 5 miles was counted towards the coastal path total, making 233.9 miles walked and 636.0 miles to go still.

We are already planning our next trip up to cover off Conwy and Llandudno down to Bangor, so it won’t be long till we complete the whole of the top of Wales.

Flint to Chester

9th October 2016

This walk is on page 1 of our book (which walks from North to South) and we were hoping for as big a momument in Chester as there was in Chepstow all the way back on 1st January 2016.

We confess that after yesterday’s 18.9 miles we could have done with a rest day, but this was a flat and short section, so we deliberately started the day quite late and at a relaxed pace.

And today did remind us a bit of that first leg in Chepstow, although the walk here was a bit nicer. There were handy markers along the pavement showing the coastal path symbol and directional arrows for both ways, rather than the usual signs, which were slightly harder to spot.

Today was all about walking the Dee estuary, with Ellesmere Port on the other side of the river, and parts of the walk covered industrial estates, and fishermen in lines along the river.

The path follows the estuary for quite a while but then suddenly you cross the estuary at the small old Queensferry crossing, and the last few miles of the walk are on the other side of the river – still technically in Wales apparently.

I confess that our pace was not fast, and our start was late, and suddenly darkness descended, and it felt quite lonely walking along the last part of the path in the dusk, with only the occassional cyclist with their lights, and a mobility scooter to keep us going. We weren’t even sure we would know where the coastal path ended but we found it.. just….

And two stone pillars, but they didn’t come out very well in the dark

And that was that, not quite the atmosphere that we had hoped for, and a bit dark, but we had walked the last leg of the coastal path (without a lot of the middle). Which section becomes our final leg to complete the whole path remains to be seen, but to have done the start and the end this year at least felt good, mirroring (in my mind at least) a year of highs (getting engaged) and lows (the loss of Cleo).

But our challenge wasn’t quite over as the coastal path ended in the middle of nowhere and we still had to walk into Chester city centre and find the train station to board the train back to the car with a train full of drunks – oh this is the life!!

So 16 miles walked today, of which 12.5 were coastal path making 228.9 miles in total and 641.0 to go. One more day – let’s hope it is easier and lighter!!

Prestatyn to Flint

8th October 2016

Day two of our weekend saw us head from Prestatyn to Flint and, due to an issue with a missed page, this turned out to be further than thought (well than Andrew thought), so it turned into a very long and hard day.

We drove to Prestatyn and parked up by the station, leaving us a short walk to the sea front to pick up the coastal path by the Prestatyn pool. But first some breakfast at Teddy bears and tea pots – yes really – every table had a teddy bear sat in a chair and all around the room were – teddy bears and tea pots – we had a feeling of Norman Bates about it all – but the bears were well behaved and the food was good.

Teddy bears and tea pots restaurant at Prestatyn

The inital part of the walk was similar to yesterday, along a path by the coast, but quickly the ground changed to sand dunes and rough plantation and it was quite undulating for a couple of miles.

After an excursion through PrestHaven (the Haven campsite) we reached a beach we could walk along, the tide was out and in the distance was a disused lighthouse, said to be haunted by a previous occupant.

The path then headed off the beach – signposted by the best looking signs of the whole coastal path so far….

Across a car park, and around a gas plant, with a nice sculpture on route.

After going under a bridge we were held up for 10 minutes while some stray sheep were rounded up and carried on to the awaiting trailer, then off we went again along a ridge and then a few roads, a bit in land from the coast.

The path then followed the coast except for small estuaries where we had to come in-land, walk along the road a bit then back out again – but one of these in-land sections gave a lovely view.

By now we were really flagging, all the coffee was drunk, and food supplies were low. We headed for the dragon on the hill which is one of the millenium beacons used to light up a network around the country.

A small diversion followed to find a Home bargains to stock up on drinks and snacks and then we found Flint castle (closed alas), with time for a selfie.

The picture doesn’t reflect just how tired we were by now

And that was this leg completed – a massive 18.9 miles walked and 18.5 of it was coastal path, so the total moves on to 216.4 miles completed and 653.5 to go. 2 more days of this yet!!

Colwyn Bay to Rhyl

7th October 2016

Our first walk since Cleo passed away and, to be honest, we probably only did this because the caravan had been booked for months. So we headed up to Rhyl (a 4 hour 30 min drive!!) and found the camp site – the view from the caravan window (while not exciting to most people) was amazing as that path seen out of our kitchen window is the coastal path – we are going to be sleeping about 6 feet from the coastal path!!

So we walked the 2 miles into Rhyl and caught a train to Colwyn Bay. The weather was overcast but mild for October and the walk was mostly flat. The path was never more than a few feet from the coast on our left, and the wind turbines out to sea were a constant view point.

Colwyn Bay itself is rather run down, as shown by the pier, but the town is trying to redevelop and the beach looked very nice.

Will she or won’t she…. she won’t as it turns out, well not without help!

Behind us was the sticky out bit of Llandudno (which will have to wait for another weekend) and ahead of us Rhyl stuck out so there was nothing else to see really.

The mystery of the weekend was why the tidal wall was made up of what looked a bit like the top of corkscrews, all made out of concrete and all individually numbered – over 20,000 of them in total – does anyone know what they are or why they were used here?

Our pace was quite quick, but we needed a refeshment stop and found a very nice cafe which made a lovely cup of tea….

A stop for a game of pooh sticks on the nature reserve and before we knew it we were at the camp site, with a gate right on the coastal path.

So for today the total walked was 11.6 miles, of which 10 were coastal path taking us to 197.9 miles walked and 672.0 to go – nearly at the 200 mile point.

Kidwelly to Llanelli

Making the most of our caravan site location we today drove to Kidwelly and left the car at the railway station, with the plan to walk to Llanelli (13 miles according to the coastal path book) and then for Andrew to get the train back to get the car while Sharon and the kids played in the park by the discovery centre (the finishing point of the previous leg from Pen-Clawdd to Llanelli.

So here is the Kidwelly train station sign with the coastal path sign on a lamppost, and the kids and their bikes waiting for a train to pass. Cleo was ready to go, and after a short walk down a lane we got our first glimpse of the coast today.

And he is off

Sharon giving us the – “we are here” moment

We walked along a canal and then briefly on the main roads until we reached the wetlands, and here the winds really battered us (we had chosen to walk this way to have the wind aiding us most of the way, but here it was very much against us with 40mph gusts). Overhead there were two fighter jets having a mock battle.

Lunchbreak time and a wall sheltered us from the wind. The salt marshes here were green but it was a very low tide and when Andrew passed here much later in the day on the train the area was flooded except for the raised path.

So after marshland the coastal path then gave us forest, with a couple of miles of woodland walks. And here our book suggested we turn left and continue with 4 more miles of woodland to the Pembrey country part, but we followed the signs (maybe they are newer than the book) and went straight on until we hit the beach. Having got past the initial sand in the eyes moment we got down to the solid sand with the tide miles out.

What an amazing beach, and completely empty, we have never had a whole beach to ourselves before and we did some beach combing for shells.

The wind was at our backs now and blowing hard, with sand whistling past us, so we didn’t often look back but when we did the sky was very dark.

Trying a panoramic picture on the blog for then first time, the left being sunny, the right being rainy.

The sand made some wonderful swirling shapes, the sand is flat, all the shapes are blowing sand.

Just time for Sharon and Cleo to pose before we rushed on, with the storm clouds out over the sea, although somehow the rain managed to miss us.

Then we saw a way off the beach into Pembrey country park (where the caravan was going to be before the site was flooded) and headed in land, where the coastal path went right past the dry ski slope and we stopped so that the kids could have a quick toboggan run.

Exiting the beach

The dry ski slope

And then after a climb over the toboggan hill we left the country park and headed towards Burry port on the cycle path and coastal path all in one. Looking across the estuary we could see part of where we walked on Tuesday and part of where we will go in the future.

By now the tide was coming in and the wind was making the waves quite large. Time was also ticking on and we knew there were trains at 5, 5.30, 6, 6.30 and then nothing till 8, so with a brief look at Burry port we continued the walk.

We were looking for the amazing circular shell shaped grass lands, and almost missed them till we looked behind us as we reached the barge.

Absolutely amazing, and we nearly missed it, although seeing it meant we did miss the left hand turn to go over the railway line and added an extra mile or so doubling back and up a steep bank. Then for our favourite bit of the day, we wanted a picture of us all on the grass steps, so Andrew asked a rather old passerby to take our picture. After his first attempt Andrew looked and he had turned the camera around to take a selfie, the second attempt was no better, and on the third attempt he managed to not only turn the camera round but also to take an 18 shot burst of himself…. We gave up!!! Here is his best picture.

And here is the empty step which we took after he had left so as not to hurt his feelings.

The pace quickened,and again we missed a poorly signposted turn which would have kept us closer to the railway track. But the bike path ran parallel and didn’t cost us much time. A little bit of history for you now and to tell you about this plague to celebrate the landing point of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean single handed in 1928.

And then we suffered from a sign being turned the wrong way and ended up walking to the discovery centre along a road and not the coast, but we were not turning back now. So while the official book says the walk is 13 miles we actually walked 15.8 miles, and then Andrew had to sprint half a mile to the train station to get the train back to Kidwelly (free as no ticket collector), and back in the car to collect the family.

Without doubt the longest we have walked on the coastal path in a single day (the blisters prove this), but the best day so far in terms of the magnificent scenery and the variety of the walk from marshes to forest to beach to estuary, absolutely fabulous. For the official tally… 13 miles completed on this leg (although the book might want to add a mile or two for being able to go along the beach), so that is 92.7 miles completed and 777.3 miles to go!!!!

Pen-Clawdd to Llangennith (part 1)

The full Pen-Clawdd to Llangennith walk (including optional Berges Island) is 17 miles, which is a little beyond our single day best so far. So with the caravan sited down here and the kids ready for another biking adventure we set off to nibble at this leg by walking from Pen-Clawdd to Llanrhidian, leaving a more manageable walk for another day (another of Sharon’s good ideas of course).

So we parked the car where we finished on Saturday and set off down the alley…

We had another first time walkiescleo child with us today having persuaded Elise to join us (the promise of fish and chips at the end) and she chose to walk with us rather than take her bike with the other kids.

No sooner had we set off though and we hit the first snag, the alleyway was flooded and impassable, although the kids on bikes rode through it ok.

This gave us an idea, and as the kids had wellies we got them to ride back, give us the bikes and we rode through while they waded back…Cleo also got a swim…You can see the remains of Andrew’s first plan, the bridge of sticks, at the bottom of the 3rd picture lol.

The walk then quickly hits the salt marshes, which are very boggy, but also very picturesque, and luckily it wasn’t high tide so it was easy to walk along.

But not always so easy to ride along….

And then my favourite comment of the day from Elise. On the marshes are a lot of ponies. Cleo decided to have a poo right besides a massive pile of horse poo, So Elise calls out ‘can I have a poo bag please dad?’. My response….’Which one are you picking up first?’.

Anyway, on we walked and the pace was good at just over 16 minutes per mile, although Elise was running at times to keep up. We saw another very smart house…

With Cleo photobombing!! Along here were various tractors and machinery because cockles are still gathered by hand here using rakes and riddles.

The rest of this section of walk is along a narrow quiet road, alongside the salt water marshes, right up to the point where you hit the village of Llanrhidian.

In the distance you can see Berges Island, which looks well worth the extra miles on a future walk.

And here is the point at which we left the coastal path, to pick it up again another day, 3.7 miles completed.

We then walked up the steep hill to the main road

And started the walk back to the car where we had left it. We had thought the road would be quicker, but actually the return journey was also 3.7 miles making 7.4 miles walked today and the total for the coastal path now at 79.7 miles completed and 790.3 miles to go.

And the reward for the kids….. some fabulous fish and chips at the fish bar we had walked past on Saturday.

More walking on Wednesday so keep an eye out for another update.

Andrew, Sharon, Cleo and various children.

Margam to Aberavon Sands

Well it is the first day of Spring and we have decided to increase the pace and start walking some weekends with the kids as well (well some of them at least) – might be harder to convince the big ones!!

The compromise on this route was that because most of the walk coincides with national cycle path 4, the kids were allowed to use bikes (plus with them riding ahead then coming back they did even more miles) and it allowed Cleo to get a ride part of the way.

So we parked up at junction 38 of the M4 by Margam Crematorium and walked towards Aberavon Sands – this isn’t a single leg in the book we are following – but the end of the Porthcawl to Port Talbot route, and the start of the Port Talbot to Swansea route, so it will make both of those legs a bit more manageable in future weeks.

We soon found the coastal path sign (along with the alternative red route which goes through Margam park) – do we have to walk that as well in the future to say we have done it all lol?

Time for a selfie

Signs all ways

Cleo with her trusted pilot

The first couple of miles really are not anything to write a blog about – So Cleo stayed tucked up in the basket with Rhiannon navigating. Here is a selection of what we saw!!

Then you end up on the main road to Aberavon and past a new blue cycle bridge, and along an estuary which is when it starts getting more picturesque and Cleo got to stretch her legs and walk for a few miles.

You head up a slight hill, and suddenly notice sand on the path and as you walk around a corner – bang – the most amazing views:

The walk along the sea front is beautiful (as long as you don’t look behind you towards the industrial area) and we stopped for hot chocolate and cookies on, of all things, a whale!!

We decided to walk a bit further, so that when we resume this walk another day we can cut down from Baglan station, so it meant walking as far as the kids could cycle before the path diverted in land.

Taking in some art (or trying to scale it)

And that ends the coastal path element for today 6.5 miles done, making 63.5 miles completed and 806.5 to go.

But we had to get back to the car – so in a first for us, we had to then walk back again!! After a stop to play on the beach of course:

Nothing much to say about the return journey, pretty much the same as the way there and thankfully the kids rode a bit slower (until they got a couple of mini magnums inside them!!).

But it was good for us to have pace setters to keep us moving – according to Strava the total was 22.1 km (which is 13.7 miles in total today), and we managed it in just over 3 and 3/4 hours. Definitely getting fitter which is a good thing with all the walks we have got planned in the coming weeks, sometimes back to back as well – might have to take the kids again.

Andrew and Sharon

Cardiff to Penarth Marina and optional loop

The primary aim today was to complete a small section between 2 completed walks…. Cardiff to Newport starts from Tyndall Street, and our Penarth to Barry walk started at Penarth Marina, but there were around 2 miles unaccounted for between Tyndall Street and Penarth Marina. So with the sun shining what better weather for a nice stroll.

The first thing to say is that if you haven’t done this part of Cardiff as one of your regular walks then you will need to allow a lot of extra time for sightseeing along the way. The first part from Tyndall street is just along roads but once you get to County Hall it gets more interesting. For instance who knew that the Red Dragon centre is on the coastal path?

Outside the Red Dragon centre with a sign on the lamppost

Andrew at the marker sign with Cleo

The walk continues pass the Millenium Centre and ahead you can just make out Penarth Church which we walked right past yesterday..

Famous sights litter the walk, from where the Welsh government meets to Dr who and the Norwegian church (now a cafe).

This is by far the busiest part of coastal path so far.

The walk continues along the bay, past a play area and with time for us to watch the boats while Cleo played fetch with Mr Stickman.

The walk then heads across the barrage, which is a fascinating place to watch boats raise and lower to get out to the open sea.

And at the roundabout is the sign which marks the starting point of yesterday’s walk and the end of today’s …..or is it??

So for the coastal path stats that is 2 miles completed today making 57 miles completed and 813 miles to go.

But… If you have the time we highly recommend continuing on the 10k Bay walk to see the rest of what Cardiff bay has to offer. We had a motive…. Sharon’s youngest was swimming in a gala at the pool and we wanted to stop by to cheer her on (plus Sharon likes walking circles)…. So along the Marina we walked, over a footbridge and past the white water rafting to the pool.

Then on we walked behind the skating rink, round the bay…

Up some steps, along the road ridge over the bay and straight on up takes us past techniquest and back to Mermaid Quay to complete the loop. Total walk today 7.1 miles in just under 2 hours. Add on the 12.8 miles of yesterday and that is a grand total for the weekend of 19.9 miles…. Almost made the 20!! Off to Bella Italia to out some calories back in now.

Penarth Marina to Barry

A warm spring day, a little overcast, but a good day for walking – so we parked the car at Barry train station and took the train to Cogan (£5.20 single). Don’t ask how Cleo managed to get a muddy face before we even started!!

Cogan was about 1 km from the official start of the trail, so we strolled down to Penarth Marina and the starting point:

The first part was a steep uphill section of road into Penarth itself, past a church and along residential streets

Then suddenly there is a left hand turn to the coast and the most amazing views of the sea and Penarth Pier

We wound down the hill and along the seafront – stopping for a well needed bacon roll and coffee at The Fig Tree – roll OK, service very very slow so I stopped the clock on this one!! We continued up the hill and hit some decent path, the pace was good at this point, 1 km every 10 minutes or so.

Past an old WW2 lookout, and Lavenock church, and we then headed across Lavenstock nature reserve where things got a bit sitcky:

Just time to stop for a couple of selfies on a bench

There was a stop to see an old WW2 gun fortress at Lavernock point, and then we had a clear view of Sully Island

At this point the coastal path goes inland behind the campsite – so we did as told – but our advice to those following in our footsteps would be to head down and along the beach and back up and save a boring mile or so.

On down into Swanbridge, and a great view of Sully Island – The tide was out, and we chatted to some locals about the danger of heading across just before the tide turns – definitely one to come back to another day. On past the Captain’s Wife (a pub not a person), and along the coast some more past Sully.

At this point after a snack the path has to head inland to get around Barry docks (although we suspect there is a way through somehow), a loo stop followed and then the longest most boring stretch of road into Barry with just lampposts to count.

one lamppost, two lamposts... — one lamppost, two lamposts…

Past the docks council offices,

And then back to a nice part along the docks with the sun shining and the jumpers coming off.

Under the railway line, turn left and there was our car by the train station. So the official walk was 19.4 km(or 12.1 miles) in 3 hours 32 mins, but excluding getting to Penarth Marina that is 11.5 miles of coastal path walked. Taking our total to 55 miles done, 815 miles to go.

Then a stroll down to Barry Island for an ice cream added a further 1.2 km to our day (but not part of the walk) making 12.8 miles walked today (for Darren’s count!!).

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