Welcome to this site which follows our exploits as we walk
our way around Wales via the Wales Coast Path and Offa’s Dyke Path. The Wales
Coast Path is a long-distance footpath which follows the Welsh coast for 1,400km
(870 miles) from top to bottom. Wales is the only country in the world with a
continuous path around its entire coast. On completing this we intend to walk back
to the top of Wales via the Offa’s Dyke Path which follows the English/Welsh
border for 285km (177 miles) alongside the 8th Century Offa's Dyke.
Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
Our journey along the 35 mile long
Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal took on a different pace from the previous three
and a half months. This peaceful waterway was built as an industrial corridor
for lime, limestone, timber, coal and iron. In its 19th century heyday, it was
supported by horse-drawn tramroads that were used to bring raw materials from
the hillsides.
Our canal boat was supposedly
meant to travel along at 2 miles per hour however this was the average speed
that we have been walking over the past few months and I can tell you that the
boat was much slower than this! However, this made for a relaxing journey
through the gorgeous countryside of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Our journey took us from the town
of Brecon to just beyond Goytre Wharf with lots of lovely little villages and
towns along the way. The canal included a number of locks, drawbridges and the
343 metre long Ashford Tunnel which we had to tackle along the way.
Here are some photos of our journey
along the canal:
 |
| Greg at the tiller |
 |
| Looking back along the boat |
 |
| Bell Ear Bridge (Bridge 161) |
 |
| Waiting for the lock to fill or empty |
 |
| Coming through a drawbridge |
 |
| Open Drawbridge |
 |
| Waiting for the lock to empty |
 |
| Exiting the lock |
 |
| Travelling through the Ashford Tunnel |
 |
| Crickhowell Bridge over the river Usk |
 |
| The Bear Hotel in Crickhowell |
 |
| Brecon Beacons countryside |
 |
| Pen-Pedair Heol Marina |
 |
| Only the parapets remain of bridge 108 |
 |
| Dan-y-Graig Bridge (Bridge 107) |
 |
| St Elli's Church yard, Llanelly |
 |
| The village of Gilwern as viewed from St Elli's Churchyard, Llanelly |
 |
| Old yew trees and graves in St Elli's Church yard, LLanelley |
 |
| View of the valley from Llanelly |
 |
| Cruising along the canal |
 |
| Wharfinger’s Cottage at Llanfoist Wharf |
 |
| Views of the countryside |
 | |
| Govilon Wharf |
We're hanging up our boots!
We've known for some time now that we would not be able to reach our objective of circumnavigating Wales, however we were still hopeful of being able to complete the Wales Coast Path.
Alas time has run out on us as we have have now started on our pre-booked canal boat trip through the Brecon Beacons. This will be directly followed by the four day Green Man music festival.
While we still have some time after these two events before we have to fly back to New Zealand, there are some other parts of Wales that we would like to explore before leaving the country. As such, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue our walk around Wales......for now!
We would like to thank you all for your support and words of encouragement during our journey. In particular, special thanks to our managers at the Hurunui District Council and Waikmakariri District Council for granting us extended leave. Also a huge thank you to Nicola for looking after our animals and house while we have been away. Without you guys/gals our adventure would never have got off the ground.
We have had a wonderful and often challenging time walking the coast and have loved our time in Wales. However, our adventure is not over yet. We will continue to post the remainder of our Wales experiences on this site. So stay tuned for the next part of our journey.....
.....we'll be back!
Alas time has run out on us as we have have now started on our pre-booked canal boat trip through the Brecon Beacons. This will be directly followed by the four day Green Man music festival.
While we still have some time after these two events before we have to fly back to New Zealand, there are some other parts of Wales that we would like to explore before leaving the country. As such, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue our walk around Wales......for now!
We would like to thank you all for your support and words of encouragement during our journey. In particular, special thanks to our managers at the Hurunui District Council and Waikmakariri District Council for granting us extended leave. Also a huge thank you to Nicola for looking after our animals and house while we have been away. Without you guys/gals our adventure would never have got off the ground.
We have had a wonderful and often challenging time walking the coast and have loved our time in Wales. However, our adventure is not over yet. We will continue to post the remainder of our Wales experiences on this site. So stay tuned for the next part of our journey.....
.....we'll be back!
Day 77: Laugharne to St Clears
We had a late start to the day so
that we could explore Laugharne Castle before continuing our journey to St Clears.
Laugharne Castle was raised by the Normans in the early twelfth century to
control the crossing over the River Taf. It was captured and burnt by Lord
Rhys, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd but on each occasion was
rebuilt. By the late sixteenth century, it was in the hands of Sir John Perrot
who converted it into an Elizabethan mansion. It was destroyed during the Civil
War and left in ruins never to be rebuilt.
From the castle we followed the path which headed down to The Dylan Thomas Boathouse. The poet lived here between 1949 and 1953 and the building, which once served as the Ferryman’s Inn, is now open as a museum.
The path up to this point had been pleasant walking however from here it crossed a number of uneven fields which soon resulted in sore feet and ankles.
Crossing the Afon Taf we came into St Clears (a corruption of St Clare’s), a small linear town, which developed around its motte-and-bailey Norman castle. All that is left of the castle now is a very large weed covered mound of approximately 10-15 metres high.
 |
| Laugharne Caslte |
 |
| Laugharne Castle |
 |
| Gateway, Laugharne Castle |
 |
| View over Taf Estuary from Laugharne Castle |
 |
| The township of Laugharne |
 |
| Seaview - Former home of poet Dylan Thomas |
 |
| The Boathouse, former home of Dylan Thomas |
We continued along through a woodland which emerged on the estuary shore and took us through Delacorse Farm with its abundant kitchen garden and beautiful stone farmhouse.
 |
| Path through the woodland |
 |
| Kitchen garden, Delacorse Farm |
 |
| Farmhouse at Delacorse Farm |
From here we followed a private lane to Brixtarw where we had stayed the previous week. The path continued down the lane and through another woodland, over a couple of streams to reach the Afon Taf again.
 |
| Private lane to Delacorse Farm |
 |
| Brixtarw - we stayed in cream annex previous week |
 |
| Walking through the fields |
 |
| The path followed the road to St Clears |
Crossing the Afon Taf we came into St Clears (a corruption of St Clare’s), a small linear town, which developed around its motte-and-bailey Norman castle. All that is left of the castle now is a very large weed covered mound of approximately 10-15 metres high.
 |
| Remains of Motte & Bailey Castle at St Clears (photo courtesy of Google) |
 |
| Lych gate, St Mary Magdalene Church, St Clears |
Day 76: Amroth to Laugharne
Today marked the start of stage 7
of our journey around Wales – The Carmarthenshire Coast. Our day began in Amroth
where the path followed the top of beach before climbing the headland
and following the slope above Black Rock and round Telpyn Point.
 |
| The slopes above Black Rock |
 |
| Telpyn Point |
 |
| Telpyn Beach |
From here our path descended into a forested valley, before climbing steeply around the hill fort of Top Castle as spectacular views of Marros Sands opened up before us.
 |
| Marros Sands |
The path sidled across the side of Marros Beacon before zigzagging down towards Marros Mill. From here we traversed Ragwen Point which was apparently littered with ancient burial cairns and settlements however was covered in too much bracken and blackberry for us to make out anything. We did however pause for a bit to forage some blackberries for dessert.
 |
| The path along Marros Beacon |
 |
| Bucolic landscape |
The way dropped steeply down to the back of Morfa Bychan. This beach was used to practice for the D-Day landings and the concrete blocks were part of the defences used in this exercise.
 |
| Morfa Bychan |
 |
| Concrete block defenses at Morfa Bychan |
The path climbed steeply out of Morfa Bychan before eventually making its way round to Dolwen Point where we zigzagging down some steep steps to reach the small seaside resort of Pendine. Pendine Sands stretched endlessly away towards the mouth of the Taf estuary, however only the first few metres of beach are publicly accessible as the rest forms part of a military range.
 |
| Pendine Sands |
On our way down the steps to Pendine we met a lovely young man called Peter Mears. For those of you that think we are crazing for walking around Wales, this guy is a whole new level of crazy – he is walking the entire coastline of the UK mainland and sleeping outdoors as he goes all in with the aim of raising funds for three environmental charities: The National Trust, the RSPB and Renewable World. fundraiser! So far, he has been walking for 15 months and completed nearly 1,500 miles of his journey. If you would like to sponsor his efforts you can do so using the sponsor page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/petermears1
Alternatively, you check out his progress both before and during the challenge at www.facebook.com/petes1challenge/https://www.facebook.com/petes1challenge/
 |
| Peter Mears on his UK coastline quest |
From Pendine the path travelled inland around the military range until we reached the edge of a marsh near the Taf estuary. From here the path skirted the foot of the wooded slopes of Sir Johns Hill before joining the estuary shore of the Afon Taf where sections of Dylan Thomas’ poetry adorned the path. The poet lived in Laugharne during two periods and described it as ‘this timeless, beautiful, barmy town… a legendary lazy little black magical bedlam by the sea’.
 |
| The path through the fields near Plashett |
 |
| Wooded slopes of Sir Johns Hill |
 |
| Afon Taf estuary |
 |
| Afon Taf estuary |
The path travelled through a lovely woodland before the magnificently-sited Laugharne Castle greeted us. Laugharne Castle was established in the twelfth century on the Landsker Line, the division between Welsh and English speaking Wales. To the south and west of here is the ‘Little England Beyond Wales’ that was settled in the Middle Ages by a Flemish colony who became fiercely loyal to the English Crown and fought against Owain Glyndwr.
 |
| Woodland path |
 |
| Laugharne Castle |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)