Day 8 The Journey Home

As usual on these trips the day of departure was sunny and warm, but we certainly can't complain about the weather we've had this week.

Tenby is a great place to stay and the Park Hotel seems to be the best in the area. Many thanks to Mike Smith for finding it and persuading the owners that we were a well behaved group! Also thanks to all who were involved with planning and leading walks. The scenery was magnificent and the beaches as good as anywhere I've been before. I certainly hope to return before too long to complete some more of the coastal path.

The journey home passed very quickly, thanks to Steve the driver who seemed to enjoy the trip as well.
Next year the Isle of Man in June if you get your booking in quick!
See you there (hopefully!)

Day 7 Manorbier to Tenby

I didn't do the club walk today that was going to the Preseli Hills as I wanted to fill in a bit of missing coastline. I thought I would do it on my own but Ann and Carol had other ideas about that and came with me!
We set off on the bus from Tenby and all went well until just after Lydstep when the bus driver pulled up and said the bus was broken. We had the option of returning to Lydstep and doing the walk from there or walking about a mile into Manorbier. That was what we chose as otherwise Ann and I would have had a gap in our coastal path. Carol came along as well which is just as well because after a few minutes walking the bus driver pulled up beside us and we got on again much to the amusement of the other passengers. He also picked up Mick Melvin a little further along the way as he was doing a similar walk to us. The driver was most apologetic and dropped us off at the nearest point to the coast even though there wasn't a bus stop there!

It's amazing how different Manorbier beach looked today compared with how it looked on Sunday in the wind and the rain. Today the sun shone all day and the temperature reached 25 although there was a slight breeze on the cliff tops.

We made steady progress and had our lunch watched by a herd of cows on Lydstep Headland before descending to Lydstep Haven and making our way through the hundreds of static caravans.

 That was the only part of the walk that was difficult to follow the but eventually we found the right path and proceeded onwards and upwards before descending to the south beach at Tenby.

 By this time my blisters were giving me problems and I was very pleased when we eventually arrived at the harbour. I rewarded myself with a turkish delight ice-cream before returning to the hotel for a shower and a lovely sit in the gardens.

Nearly half the group had done other things today and quite a few people had taken the opportunity to have a swim in the pool.

Nothing more to do now than have dinner and pack the suitcase ready for off in the morning.

Day 6 Strumble Head and Fishguard

Today we started at Harmony and went via the North Pole to the coastal footpath at Porthsychan and then on to Goodwick. The 'A' party took in Strumble Head as well and the 'C' party did a shorter circular walk finishing on the coastal footpath.

The weather was warm and the sun threatened to shine all day but it didn't quite make it until the walk was over. Back in Tenby it was a beautiful day from about 11.00 a.m. Well you can't win them all and it would have been very hot walking.

We stopped for lunch at Carreg Wasted Point where there is a stone marking the last invasion of Britain by the French in 1797. Follow this link for more details.

We saw the occasional ferry leaving Fishguard for Ireland but the main event of the day was the sighting of a number of seals in Aber Felin Bay. We could hear them calling to each other as some basked in the sun and others swam around them.

Soon after this we caught up with the 'C' party having a tea break on the cliff top.

We arrived in Goodwick, which looked as though it was ready for anything, with about two hours to spare so had plenty of time for cups of tea and cake, or a drink in the pub as well as a stroll along the breakwater and a sit on the front in the sun before departing for Tenby.

Day 5 Free Day or Amroth to Tenby

Today was the driver's day off so everyone had different plans for the day. Some went sailing and seal spotting, others caught a bus and did some touristy things, I went walking for a change with a few others on the bus to Amroth and walked back to Tenby led by Stuart.

The bus journey was entertaining in itself, a lady driver who hurtled round the narrow lanes at great speed. Once in Amroth we walked along the promenade to the start of the Pembrokeshire Coast path which was a little disappointing to say the least, just a sign post pointing the way with the mileage on it, 186 from Amroth to St Dogmeals.

The beach was a bit bleak with breakwaters along it and the scenery was nothing like we had experienced on previous walks. The path went up through the trees onto the cliff top and then along a track to Wiseman's Bridge. From here the path follows the route of an old colliery railway and you have to go through three tunnels before arriving in Saundersfoot. The first one was quite dark although you could see the light at the end as you went along.

By the time we arrived in the bustling town of Saundersfoot it was time for a lunch break and a sit on the prom watching the sailing dinghies racing in the bay. There is a lovely sensory garden in the centre full of lavender and rosemary bushes.

On leaving Saundersfoot the path climbed steeply up through woods and there were glimpses of lovely sandy bays through the trees. There were plenty of ups and downs on the way to Tenby some of them quite challenging. We met up with Ray and Jackie en route who had taken the bus in the other direction to Lydstep and were walking to Amroth, quite a challenge.

Once back in Tenby a cup of tea was the priority and after checking out Molly's tea room and finding it derelict we went to St Theresa's tea room for welsh cakes and tea and then I spent some time in Tenby looking around and bumping into other CHA members. They get everywhere!!

The day stayed dry and sunny on and off but was quite cool later on

Day 4 Mullock Bridge to Dale

We awoke to a lovely sunny morning and the sound of people frolicking in the swimming pool, well they were having a quick dip anyway before breakfast. The weather stayed fine and sunny all day long and we got off the coach and went vertically up a steep hill straight away. That was a bit of a shock to the system and although Stuart said 'its all down hill from now on', I don't think anyone really believed him, and it certainly wasn't!

We crossed through several fields of potatoes that were needing to be watered due to the lack of rain around these parts.

Once on the coast at Musselwick Sands there were even more splendid beaches and rocky shore lines to view as well as wild flowers in abundance. At Martin's Haven people were queueing to get on the trips to Skomer Island. Several people would have liked to do that on the free day tomorrow but it would have been very difficult to get there and back in time.

The walk was fairly uneventful until we encountered a very wet area on route and we all learned a new trick called gate swinging. Keith was in charge with Terry minding the walking poles and Stuart over-seeing the event. Soon we were all safely over with dry feet much to everyone's amusement.

After a short stop at Westdale Bay where we descended to the beach and some of us had a paddle, we walked the last half a mile or so into Dale for tea or ice cream or a drink at the pub, or just a sit on the sea front watching the world go by. A lovely end to the day's walk.

Rita was in charge of the 'C' walkers today and they didn't have any problems at all thankfully.

Today was Jackie Hotchen's and Anita Cook's birthdays and dinner ended with cakes and candles all round.

Day 3 Whitesands Bay to St David's

Today the group was supposed to be going to the Preseli Hills and I was going to take a bus to Manorbier and walk back to Tenby, but the weather was poor overnight and first thing this morning so the walks leaders decided to swap this walk with Friday's walk to St David's. Not everybody was pleased initially but as it happened we were so far west that by the time we got to the start of the walk the sky was blue, the sun came out and it stayed out all day. We were very lucky! All three parties started at Whitesands Bay, another fantastic sandy beach. Pembrokeshire certainly has some of the best beaches in the UK. The wild flowers on the cliff top were splendid and right beside the path was a lovely patch of orchids. There were so many wonderful views that it was impossible to capture them all on the camera but here are just a few of them.

We had a good view over Ramsey Sound to Ramsey Island and at the lifeboat station at St Justinians they were taking people on trips to the island.The island is a wildlife reserve managed by the RSPB and is a vital seal breeding area. We did spend quite a bit of time all day seal spotting and most of us managed to see at least one black head peeping out of the water......or was it a rock?

After lunch the views just got better and better and we saw canoeists and people leaping off the cliffs into the water, it made walking seem a bit tame really!

Rita found us a nice beach at Porthlysgi for our afternoon tea break and some of us had a paddle...well that was me and Frances. Then on to Porthclais, a beautiful little harbour tucked away between the cliffs.

At St Non's bay we left the coastal path near the remains of St Non's chapel and the Holy Healing Well. The cows were drinking the water running off from the well so they must be very fit! We finished the walk in St David's where we just had time to pay a quick visit to the Cathedral and have a lovely farmhouse ice-cream made by Mary!

The 'C' party had another problem today but this time it was much more serious as two members got stuck crossing a boggy dried up pond and had a great deal of trouble freeing themselves. A sobering thought for those people who walk on their own and a reminder to carry a whistle and a mobile phone if you have one so you can call for help in an emergency.

Day 2 Manorbier to Bosherston

We woke to rain on the window and it looked rather gloomy outside but it had cleared by lunch time and the sun shone a little in the afternoon. However the wind blew strongly all day and some of the group found this rather trying.

The party split into three groups, the 'A' party started from Lydstep, the 'B' party started from Manorbier and the 'C' party spent some time in Manorbier looking around and then they went to Bosherston by coach and had a shorter walk there around the lily ponds.

There was quite a lot of up and down on the coastal path but the views were splendid all the way until the end when the mist came down.

We stopped for lunch at Freshwater East and sat on the beach or in the dunes where we saw some interesting wild flowers.

After lunch we had been promised a much flatter walk but it was a while before the ups and downs began to flatten out. At Stackpole Quay I was so excited by the prospect of an ice-cream that I forgot to take a photo but if you follow the link you can see what it looks like.

After Barafundle Bay the walking became much easier and some people started to take a few short cuts which made it easier still! I did the full walk and we finished in Bosherston walking past the lily ponds which were quite unusual.

There was plenty of time for tea and scones at the Olde World Cafe or a drink in the pub before leaving on the coach at 5.30. Apparently this cafe has been open for nearly 90 years and run by the same family. Some people discovered a place in the churchyard selling sandwiches so that took care of tomorrow's packed lunch!

The 'C' party had to wait at one point for 500 cows to cross the road....a likely tale!