A mixture of the urban, at times industrial, landscape and walking between the waters of the Severn Estuary and the farmland of the coastal plain.
I travelled by train to Newport. Compared with two weeks ago, the train had a reasonable number of people on, although by no means crowded. Slowly, normality is returning as the coronavirus pandemic eases, although masks are still required on trains (which gives me a problem as my mask causes my glasses to mist up). After arriving in Newport I walked down the side of the River Usk, returning to the historic transporter bridge, rising high over the water. Almost opposite was the historic red brick, Waterloo Hotel, a listed building dating from the 1870's, and Fanny's cafe. Newer housing and retail parks followed as rain showers came and went across the grey skies. My route passed close to Tredegar House, a National Trust property with a cafe and gardens dating from the 17th century, but today I headed on into farmland. The "Private Road, No Access" signs at the entrance to the farm track across flat fields was not exactly welcoming, and I double checked I was on the correct route before crossing a bridge, recently rebuilt as part of the electrification of the main railway line into South Wales (for a farm track the bridge looked over-designed to me, maybe contributing to why the whole project was well over budget). To my left the Ebbw and the Usk flowed to the sea. I could see the cranes of the current Newport docks and the modern power station on the far side of the water, Cows grazed in the fields by where I reached the West Usk Lighthouse, dating from 1821, it is now a Bed & Breakfast, a unique place to stay.
After the lighthouse it was a long, flat stretch along the embankment which keeps the waters of the Severn estuary out of the wide coastal plain. A water filled drainage ditch ran between the embankment and the fields, beside which a group of white swans preened themselves. Cows stubbornly stood on the path as I made my way west. Dogs were being taken for walks. Beside the Lighthouse Inn the Shipwreck cafe was still open and I dropped in for a bacon sandwich and a mug of tea. The trailer park beside the Inn looked very neat and tidy, the red roofs and cream walls catching a brief period of sunshine. In the grey blue distance I could make out the buildings of Cardiff as they slowly came closer, while a prolonged rain shower forced me into my waterproofs.
On a previous occasion I had missed the point where the Wales Coast Path leaves the embankment and the sea and turns inland, I ended up in long grass beside the River Rhymney and had to struggle through bushes to reach the road. With greater attention, this time I followed the correct track through the reclaimed land of the old Lamby Way landfill site to a busy road. A diversion into Parc Tredelerch with its reed lined lake brought some relief from the traffic before continuing on the road over the Rhymney river. After the roundabout there was, a diversion through the south eastern suburbs of Cardiff. I followed the new Wales Coast Path waymarks to Tremorfa Park but then reached a post with a waymark showing where I had come from but not where I should go. Unable to find the next waymark I returned to the old route. I later found a map showing the diversion at this website. Ideally I would have checked for diversions at this site and this site beforehand. The original route was actually far more interesting although not in a pretty-pretty sense. It took me through wasteland beside the Rhymney River and the sea, where there are rotting boats and horses grazing, The horses belong to travellers who have a settlement which I passed, opposite the Splott steelworks (where scrap metal is recycled by an electric arc furnace).
Just before the travellers site I followed the path to the beach, where old bricks and other industrial materials form the pebbles. Then I pushed through wild buddleia bushes as the path rounded a hill to reach another industrial area, where the path was between the fence and a small "cliff" down to the pebbly beach. There was a landslip at one point but not enough the make this rough path unsafe. A tedious road section followed on "Ocean Way" among modern industrial units. It took me near the centre of Cardiff where I left the Wales Coast Path to detour to Queen Street train station, well tired after a longish walk at 32 kilometres, albeit on the flat.
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