Day 60: Abereiddi to St Justinian

It was a wet start to the day which made for an unpleasant change. The only good point about this was that there were less people on the path until around lunch time when the skies cleared.  From Abereiddi the path climbed back up onto the cliffs and took us past a number of tiny inlets. 

We passed below the peaks of Carn Penberi and Carn Llidi however these were shrouded in low cloud so we did not get to see them until later in the day from a distance when we looked back up the coast.

Looking southwards towards Carn Penberi

Looking northwards towards Abereiddi

The rugged coastline along this section of the path

'King of the Castle'

 

One of a number of stone cairns along the route

Towards midday we approached St Davids Head, a small, rugged, peninsula at the southern end of the Irish Sea, rich in flora and fauna and topping off geology that dates back almost 500 million years.  The Greek-Egyptian, Ptolemy, writing in the 2nd century AD called it ‘the Promontory of the Eight Perils’, in reference to the treacherous rocks, the Bishops and Clerks, which lie offshore waiting to ensnare unsuspecting ships.  St David’s Head is ringed by a prehistoric defence known as Clawdd-y-Milwyr (‘Warriors Dyke’) within which several Iron Age hut circles can be found. It also contains the collapsed burial chamber of Coetan Arthur.  

St David's Head with Ramsey Island in the background

Rocks, heather and moss abound at St David's Head

The collapsed burial chamber ofCoetan Arthur

From St David’s Head the path made its way past Porthmelgan and the dramatic rock stacks at Porth Lleuog before passing the headland of Trwynhwrddyn. From here the broad sweep of Whitesands Bay opened up ahead of us.

Rock stacks in Porth Lleuog

Whitesands Bay with St Davids Head to the left

South end of  Whitesands Bay

Beyond this sheltered little beach, the path skirted the moor-like headland to reach Point St John, where the cliffs changed character immediately. The slanting columns formed impressive sheets of rock all round Porthstinion while the path clung to it densely vegetated crest.

Slanting columns of rock at Point St John

Impressive rock columns at Point St John

Rounding the headland, we came to St Justinian with its lifeboat station which has been in existence since 1839. Boats leave here to travel to Ramsey Island, an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve and important seal breeding colony.

Life boat station at St Justinian

The port at St Justinian