Barry to Llantwit Major on Wales Coast Path: Day 5

A day above the cliffs of the Jurassic Lias formation on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.

Leaving Barry railway station I walked through a park with a large area of sand on my left in Watch House Bay exposed by the low tide, so low that the keel of a boat moored to the breakwater opposite was siting out of the water. Cold Knap is a suburb of Barry with more expensive houses. The Coast Path took me around Cold Knap lake which is set among grass lawns crossed by tarmac paths. Swans preened themselves while mallards swam around aimlessly. I deviated from my route, following the brook which feeds the lake with its miniature ornamental weirs, to reach a coffee shop. There was a promenade behind the beach of hard, well rounded pebbles that I briefly joined before climbing up to the area of grass on top of the cliff. On the climb I passed the ruins of a Roman building, just foundations surrounded by modern housing, which made it look like a building that was started and then abandoned. Possibly a public building in Roman times it would have had a good view across the channel.

Lake at Cold Knap

The path followed the top of the cliffs for much of today, dropping into and climbing out of valleys, their sides lined with low trees, bent over by the wind and bare of leaves at this time of year. Stairs helped in places. Porthkerry park was in the first valley, which had an impressive railway viaduct crossing it. 

Recent rain had created many puddles, pools of water and plenty of mud on the path. Anticipating the slippery mud I had brought a trekking pole to help maintain my balance. Extensive slide mark's in the mud of the path left by other walkers' boots showed the difficulties they had experienced. In places the path was across open areas of grass but in others where it was constrained between hedges, fences or by large fields of root crops, the accumulated footfall had created something of a quagmire. One of the problems of walking the coast path in Wales's mild but wet winter. 

A distinctive rock formation known as the Lias formed the cliffs today. Of lower Jurassic age bands of hard grey limestone, about six inches thick alternate with darker clay rich bands. From the cliff top I looked down on the "pavements" of limestone on the beach, cut by numerous and regular joints. On one such area, long ago when I was a child, my family played a game of cricket, but my grandpa was not terribly good at hitting the ball. A number of quarries had been cut in the cliffs, all now abandoned and returning to nature. Gulls cried overhead and crows cawed from the hedgerows. Waves had been undercutting the cliffs which did not look terribly stable. The path went through a few caravan sites, where permanent trailers sat on the cliff tops with superb views over the Bristol channel. Decorations were up inside many of them and I imagine families would be gathering in these holiday homes for Christmas. 

The Lias, alternating bands of hard limestone and softer, shalier rock.

Stony beach, typical of today, with the Lias cliffs and Aberthaw power station in the distance.

The longest section at the level of the stony beach started along the concrete sea wall by Aberthaw power station. This coal fired power station closed in the last year or so, when I walked by here a few years ago there were piles of coal and evidence of activity, now there was none, the railway line which formerly brought the coal now orange with rust. I commiserated at the sadness of its passing with a fellow walker who had worked on the site for 40 years. On the other side of the channel a nuclear power station is being built at Hinckley point, I am not entirely sure that is progress. Proposals for a barrage across the channel which would use the huge tidal range of the sea in this area to generate power seemed to have stalled, the use of such a reliable, sustainable source of power would have avoided issues such as radioactive waste.

After the Aberthaw power station the waymarks indicated that the coast path had changed its route. Previously the route headed inland a little, now it lies directly behind the beach initially following a line of concrete blocks that were part of the defences in the second world war. There were also a few brick block houses sunk into the ground where once soldiers waited nervous or bored for German incursions up the channel.

Eventually the town of Llantwit Major appeared inland above the fields. I followed the coast path down into the Col-huw valley. There is a café by the stony beach, beside the car park, but today it was closed so I turned up the valley. The meandering river had created a classic flat flood plain of wet muddy fields, between steep, wooded, valley sides. Walking up the valley I reached the ancient town of Llantwit Major. Its many pubs were closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, so after picking up a coffee and baguette I repaired to the railway station for my trip back home.

Col-huw beach

Cardiff to Barry on Wales Coast Path: Day 4

Three landscapes today; attractive developments of old dockland areas; cliffs, stones, and sand along the sea shore, and walking on pavement beside busy roads.

Whereas, the previous day's walk went through some of the less attractive parts of Cardiff, industrial estates and wasteland, this morning I walked through areas that had been redeveloped. In the past the areas around the docks had been rough and industrial, my grandfather was a policemen in the area and received an award for breaking up a fight in one of the bars. Now, there are modern flats, trendy restaurants and restored old buildings. From Queen Street railway station I walked down to where a short length of old canal, topped by water lilies, meandered through modern, and no doubt expensive, houses and flats. This lead to an old dock, where a fisherman had set up his tent by a no fishing sign (due to dangerous blue green algae), a cormorant patiently waited on concrete pillar nearby . County Hall, the modern administrative offices for the area, was at the end of the dock. From there I crossed the road to the Wales Millennium Centre, where plays, pantomime, opera and musicals were performed in what now seem distant times before the Coronavirus pandemic. The metal covered frontage has the words in English "In these stones horizons sing", much of the building is faced with Welsh waste slate, slate being one of Wales' major products in the past (and still available today). Curiously the Welsh words on the frontage say something entirely different, in English they read "Truth is as clear as glass forged in the flames of inspiration", thoughtful if not always true.

Old docks with modern flats.

Sculpture beside Cardiff Bay

Beyond the Millennium Centre is Cardiff Bay, once an estuary surrounded by world class docks, exporting coal around the world, it reached its peak around 1900, making Cardiff a major city. Now a barrage has made it a tide free area of leisure (it has is own circular walk, the Cardiff bay trail, if you care to follow it). Looking onto the bay is the Sennedd, the Welsh Parliament where assembly members control areas such as health and infrastructure. Glass fronted to indicate transparency, I peered in, little seems to happen inside. Next sight was the Norwegian church, many Norwegian sailors visited Cardiff in the past (along with many other nationalities), now (or at least in pre-Covid times) the church is an art centre and café. Beyond, I crossed the barrage itself, a sort of large dam or breakwater with a path and road (closed to public motor vehicles) on top, the smooth waters of the bay on one side and the tide out in the Bristol Channel on the other. Given the amount of water flowing from the former to the latter it is surprising there is no hydroelectric plant capturing the energy being lost in the water falling from the weir gates. A sign on the barrage alerted me to the existence of a "Wales Coast Path" App, available for download from the usual places. I downloaded it once I was home. It shows on a satellite map where the path goes and gives other useful information, including the location of a surprising number of shipwrecks, but I struggled to use it for any useful navigation, with its snail like update speeds.

After the barrage I climbed the road up the hill into the older backstreets of Penarth, leaving the modern marinas and apartments behind, then descended towards the Penarth shoreline. On the descent I diverted into a little park called the Kymin. Penarth, which flourished with tourists in Victorian times, has a stony beach (where once I collected alabaster and fossils), some cafés, a lifeboat station, benches on the seafront promenade, and a pier. In its heyday the pier had big shows with pop stars and the like, today it has a café and in better times hosts art displays. Sadly, although the pier was open, its café and gallery was closed due to the usual excuse, Covid 19. Other cafés were managing, although I had to use an App on my phone to order coffee and cake, then discovered I had only bought one of the cheaper cakes, not the one I was drooling over (probably better for me though)! Continuing uphill, I followed the Wales Coast path above the cliffs to Lavernock, at first by road, then on a tarmac path in a grass area in front of expensive houses, sharing the path with older folks and their dogs, and finally along a path between bushes. Lavernock was where the first radio signals transmitted over sea were received by Mr Marconi from Flat holm, an island in the channel. Today there is a caravan site, where I countered three signs saying "NO TENTS", so if you have a tent, you are NOT WELCOME. There are a number of caravan sites in this section of coast, mainly with permanent or static caravans or trailers, providing a holiday or holiday home for those living inland in South Wales. At one time there was a car park and a kiosk selling drinks where I listened to the World Cup final of 1966, but maybe the cliffs have eroded away since then, as now there is no sign of it.

Penarth beach and pier

Looking back at Lavernock point

From Lavernock the path took me through a nature reserve. Among the bushes and rough ground there were the concrete remains of World War Two defences against enemy aircraft and shipping coming up the channel. At Sully, in front of the Captain's wife (a pub serving food), is an island, reachable at low tide. A display told me how much time I had to cross to the island before high tide prevented my return. Deciding against a visit today, I continued along the pebbly coast until the Wales Coast path turned inland passing a field of black sheep. For the next few kilometres I walked beside roads full of traffic. There was a pavement, and periodic Wales Coast Path waymarks, but the road was busy and the walk tedious. Tall, distillation towers of a chemical works reminded me of the heavy industry that once characterised South Wales, but now the coal mines, most of the oil refineries, tin plate works and the like have gone, and the various steel works are just hanging on in the face of cheaper Chinese imports. Much of Barry's industrial past is now gone. Modern flats line the old docks and where once steam engines shunted loads, before being abandoned to enthusiasts, a housing estate is now being built. I stopped at a trendy looking expresso bar, a converted pump house, for some lunch. As a sign required of me I scanned a QR code with my phone, but was unable to order anything. It appears that was just for the "track and trace" system, designed so that I could be contacted if there was an outbreak of coronavirus in the café. I was told I would have to scan a second QR code to actually order something. One QR code can be justified, two was just poor service, so I left to cross the causeway to Barry Island. It is not really an island but it is so different to the rest of Barry that it deserves a separate name, for this is where my family used to go to sit on a Saturday on the sandy beach in deck chairs with my Grandma, a canvas wind shield protecting the adults while us children dug holes in the sand, or, if the family finances allowed, we would visit the fair ground for a ride on the "big dipper". Although Barry Island lost visitors to package holidays in Spain in the years since I was young, since it was made famous by "Gavin and Stacy", a TV Sitcom, and with an upgrade to the promenade, it has seen a resurgence in popularity. Today though, there were few visitors. As I crossed the causeway, the drizzle started. No rain had been forecast so initially I tried to ignore it. A mistake as drizzle turned to a shower turned to steady rain and my trousers were soon wet. I hid in a café for a while, less demanding of QR codes and Apps than the previous one, but it was still raining when I finished, so I continued on a circumnavigation of the island as indicated by the map and occasional waymarks. I deviated slightly from the Wales Coast Path to walk across Jackson Bay, a small quiet beach, a better route which included a stretch walking beside the limestone as its beds dipped into the sea. If you look at the cliffs at Jackson bay, and on the far side of the main beach, you can see where the horizontal, reddish Triassic rocks lie unconformably on the grey, dipping Carboniferous limestone. After the promenade, with its brightly painted beach huts and the small climbing wall, I walked around the final headland and retraced my steps across the causeway to Barry Railway station and a ride home to some dry clothes.

Newport to Cardiff on Wales Coast Path: Day 3

 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.

Waterloo hotel and Fanny's cafe

West Usk Lighthouse

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.

Walking along embankment with Cardiff in the distance

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.

Old path into Cardiff by industrial facilities

Severn Tunnel Junction to Newport on Wales Coast Path: Day 2

A long day (33 kilometres) of walking on flat ground: along the embankment of the Severn estuary for the first half of the day and then across fields, around a wetland and into an industrial part of Newport.

Arriving at Severn Tunnel Junction Railway station, I headed down country lanes back to the edge of the Severn estuary, where the Wales Coast path follows the embankment. An essential defence  preventing flooding of the coastal plain, the path follows it for some 10 kilometres. This grass covered bank fronted by large stones gave a good viewpoint over the grass covered foreshore, dotted with grey tree trunks washed down the river and stranded by some flood tide. Sheep grazed in places, a few people walked their dogs, but much of the view over the sea was devoid of objects, an artist could have painted it with a few, broad horizontal stripes: greens for the foreshore, silver for the water, bluey grey for the hills on the distant far side of the estuary and greyish white for the sky. A crumbling pillbox (or more correctly a less well protected "section post") from the Second World War added to the abandoned feel of the landscape. Two lines of rotting wood staves, extended towards the river at one point, were the remains of an old salmon netting system according to my guidebook. Behind me in the grey distance the New Severn Bridge graced the skyline, part of a more modern world.

Embankment beside the Severn Estuary

View over the Severn Estuary from the embankment

The green foreshore was replaced by mud, cut by channels made by the falling tide which was exposing extensive sand banks, and the embankment was fronted by a concrete wall as well as boulders for a stronger defence against the incursion of water. In the church of St Mary Magdalene in the village of Goldcliff, the guidebook refers to an inscription marking the level of a massive, deadly flood of 1607, unfortunately the church was locked when I visited. Goldcliff did however reward me with the Seawall Tearoom where I enjoyed a mug of tea and a slice of divine Victoria Sponge cake that melted in my mouth.

From Goldcliff the path follows lanes and crosses fields. Hawthorn trees along field boundaries had a red haze from the many berries. A number of wetlands have been developed here, and the Wales Coast Path took me around the main one, the Newport Wetlands. Signs stated it was a wonderful place for birds and wildfowl, but on this trip and my previous visits I have seen very few. My legs felt that the trail took an excessively long route around the edge of the wetlands, but it meant I saw the squat, white lighthouse and a few white poplars at the far end, flashing the white undersides of their leaves at me in the breeze. Most of the wetlands seemed to be reeds, beyond them an old coal fired power station and its newer gas fired replacement rose up on the skyline. The Newport Wetlands were developed as compensation for the loss of habitat when the barrage was build across Cardiff Bay, replacing industrial tidal areas with a tide free lake. There is a visitor centre where I was hoping for a sandwich and the use of their toilets, but it was closed due to the Coronavirus. Loss of toilets, and its consequent effect on bladder, bowels and public urination, has been one of the hardships of the pandemic, and authorities seem to be slow to reopen them. So I continued over fields to the Waterloo Inn which the trail passes behind, where in addition to the use of their facilities I indulged in a cream tea overlooking the village church.

Rising cumulus clouds over Goldcliff

The day had started warm and at times sunny, but cumulonimbus clouds had been forming and the genial host of the Inn warned my of a coming storm. As I walked through fields, its hay been harvested in large, black plastic rolls, there were ominous rolls of thunder grumbling across the sky. Fortunately, only a few drops of rain fell as I reached the edge of Newport, which marked a change from a rural to an industrial landscape. One of the industrial sites had an old dock beside what looked like an empty, covered boat building or repair yard. As I continued up the side of the River Usk, with its occasional fisherman, Newport's Transporter bridge came into view. A relic of the time when the Welsh coal and steel industry was at its height, cars and people are transported across the river in a gondola suspended from a gantry high in the air. Unfortunately closed on the day I was visiting, I trudged around a longer route to cross the river on a modern, but elegant white road bridge. Here I left the Wales Coast path and headed for Newport Train Station, walking beside the river, where old docks and wharves have been replaced by a riverside path, with young trees and stylish housing, part of the Usk Valley Way.

Newport's Transporter Bridge

Chepstow to Severn Tunnel Junction on Wales Coast Path: Day 1

After having spent some time walking across Europe on the E4 Long Distance Path, I thought it time to walk around my own country on the Wales Coast path, a 889 mile 1422 kilometre long trail by the sea. A fellow called Rhys Jenkins has just completed the entire length of this trail in 21 days trying to beat a record set in 2017. I was planning a somewhat more leisurely circling of Wales, fitting in days and weeks of walking when possible. Maybe I was also influenced by the limitations posed by the Covid 19 coronavirus and the changing advice and regulations as the pandemic is (I hope) winding down. Walking within a few hours of my home gave some flexibility should there be a second wave.... 

Chepstow marks the starting (or finishing) point of the route, marked by a ceramic tile display beside the River Wye. I caught the train to Chepstow from my home town of Cardiff. In the battle to stop coronavirus transmission Cardiff station had many people in yellow gilets directing people along a complex one way system, down one set of stairs and up another and along one side of a corridor, crossing a selected points, although the platforms had two way flow. My train was almost empty. As I was travelling during the "rush" hour, it would normally be almost full of people travelling to work, at least as far as Newport. 

In my youth Chepstow lay on the main route into South Wales. As a child I remember long traffic jams in which we waited in our old grey Austin, my father drawing on a cigarette, us children squashed in the back, held up by traffic lights on an ancient stone gateway on the high street. My mother told me it was Roman, but it is actually late 13th century, part of a wall to keep out undesirable Welsh people and collect tolls. Chepstow now has a bypass, making a visit to this historic town and its Norman castle, a lot more relaxing. While the Coast Path avoids the town centre a short diversion to the sloping high street is essential both for its antiquey boutiques and the range of coffee and tea shops. I stopped at one for a coffee and lemon and poppy seed cake (having not noticed the tempting selection of toasted crumpets on the menu). On each table, in addition to the salt, pepper and sugar, there was a bottle of antiseptic hand gel - a sign of the times. It was half price thanks to the chancellor trying to encourage people to eat out - a bargain!

Starting point of the Wales Coast Path

Medieval gateway that once held up traffic entering Wales 

It takes a while for the Wales Coast Path to free itself from the entrails of Chepstow, and while it passes through suburban streets and by industrial parks, much of it is through oak and wytch elm trees with views of the original Severn Bridge. At junior school we were sat down in the assembly hall to watch the Queen drive cross this long suspension bridge as part of the 1966 opening ceremony, we were so proud. Innovative in its time, the bottom of the road deck is shaped like an aerofoil, so that the wind pulls the bridge down, keeping it stable, rather than tossing it about as in the famous film of the Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge.

After passing underneath the M4 the trail crosses fields, visiting the small village of Mathern with its ancient church of St Tewdric (a king who fought off the Anglo-Saxons and died in the process). A notice in the porch suggested an active village life with choirs, yoga classes and the like. On the small green by the church a man was watering the boxes of multicoloured flowers, red and blue and white, commenting how quickly they dried out in the warm weather.

In places the path follows the embankment beside the River Severn, a long bank to keep floodwaters at bay. Above the wet green edges of the water, dotted with weathered tree trunks washed down in floods, the grey of the wide river blended in with the greys of the sky. A high tide lapped the shore today, at low tide there are large areas of sand or mud banks, safe only for fishermen who know the area. Fishermen using traditional "lave" nets catch around seven fish a year but according to a sign they are not currently allowed to land their catches by Natural Resources Wales for some reason. Threats to salmon stocks maybe more related to farming practices than fishermen.

The village of Sudbrook was built to house workers on the Severn River rail tunnel. The tunnel was opened in 1886, 14 years after work started and is the main rail connection between Wales and England. Of the many setbacks during construction a prolific underground spring was among the most difficult, even today large pumps remove water flowing from the spring to keep this mainline open, 14 million gallons a day. There is a small tunnel exhibition, maintained by local volunteers on your left as you leave the village, a little before the ruins of the 12th century Holy Trinity Church.

A little further on the path goes below the New Severn bridge completed in 1996, recently renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge for no very good reason. An elegant cable stayed bridge as you pass it you can see a how it gently curves.

I continued close by the M4, through fields and along a small tarmac road to Severn Tunnel Junction railway station, a forecast thunderstorm fortunately not materialising. An isolated, exposed station, too large to serve the nearby village of Rogiet, located here only because the line from South Wales splits into two, the main line going to Bristol and London, the other going north to Birmingham and the borders. Quiet today, with few commuters using the car park, I quietly waited for my train to arrive as high speed trains whooshed past. At 18 kilometres on flat ground, today was a gentle introduction to the Wales Coast Path.

Severn Bridge

One of the towers of the New Severn Bridge (aka the Prince of Wales Bridge)