Today started out overcast but calm,
which was a welcome relief after the relentless sun which we have been experiencing.
From the lifeboat station at Parrog, the path followed a walkway around some shore-front
cottages before climbing back up along the top of the cliffs which comprised of
sharp angles and jagged stacks.
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| Shore-front cottages at Parrog |
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| Shore-front at Parrog |
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| Old lifeboat house, Parrog |
Along the way we saw a couple of choughs
arguing between themselves over some steep part of the cliff. The chough (pronounced
'chuff') is the rarest member of the crow family and can be identified by its
blue-black plumage and red bill, legs and feet. Their Welsh name, brân
goesgoch, literally means red-legged crow.
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| Choughs along the cliffs |
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| Rocky platforms at the base of cliffs, Newport Bay |
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| Looking south beyond Aberfforrest Bay |
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| Aberfforrest Bay |
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| Looking south along the coast from near Cwm-Yr-Eglwys |
At Cwm-Yr-Eglwys we stopped briefly
to view the 12th century ruins of St Brynach’s Church, three
quarters of which fell into the sea during a storm in 1859.
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| St Brynach Church, Cwm-Yr-Eglwys |
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| The beach at Cwm-Yr-Eglwys |
The path then climbed steadily
up to Dinas Head on Dinas Island, which was cut from the mainland by glacial meltwater at the
end of the last Ice Age. This section of
track was very popular with day walkers making a round trip around Dinas Head, so
we did not dally at the top due to it being a very popular destination. It
reminded me of the top of Mt Snowdon where you couldn’t get a photo without
someone else in the picture.
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| Looking north towards Aber Bach and Aber Grugog from Dinas Head |
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| Pwllgwaelod Beach |
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| Looking south towards Dinas Head, Dinas Island |
From here we descended back down to
sea level at Pwllgwaelod, which was a popular swimming beach. We then climbed
once again to the path which hugged the top of the coastal cliffs all the way to
Castle Point which marks the entrance to the Gwaun Estuary and is the site of
Fishguard Fort.
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| Aber Bach |
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| Looking south towards Aber Grugog |
The fort which was built in the
late eighteenth century following an attack by the Black Prince, a pirate ship
demanding a heavy ransom. The fort’s heavy
cannons also saw off the French invasion in 1797 and forced them to land
further along the coast at Carregwastad.
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| Fishguard Fort |
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| Fishguard Fort |
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| Cannon at Fishguard Fort |
A short walk from the fort brought
us to Lower Fishguard, a cute village which was founded in the 10th
century by the Vikings. The name Fishguard derives from Old Norse Fiskigarðr
meaning "fish catching enclosure.
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| Lower Fishguard |
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| Shore-front cottages at Lower Fishguard |
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| The port at Lower Fishguard |
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