Hiking all day

All of Wales is encircled by the Wales Coast Path, the only country that can claim such a thing, and in this region it’s known as the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.  This morning, Alison and I planned to hike from Whitesands Bay to St. Davids Head along the path, so we set out in the Peugeot for the Bay, just a few miles away.  Having paid and displayed, a great British invention, we hoisted our poles and set out.

On a sunny day, Whitesands Bay is apparently thronged with people, but today was cloudy, damp and cool, so there were only a few cars. The path started uphill next to a farmer’s field, and as we climbed the views of the sea got more and more spectacular (a word I can use only once per post, so take it as a given if you don’t see it again).  Wildflowers were everywhere.

The path wound uphill and downhill, aiming towards St. Davids Head, once an Iron Age fortress.  Alison found a seat on an obliging rock (squint and you can spot her), while I made my way between the stone ramparts onto the head.  Great views, lots of heather and rock and, at the very tip of the point, two men who were surveying the scene with powerful binoculars, documenting the wildlife they could see for a scientific survey.  I did not dare take their picture and regret that I didn’t take a picture of the view from the head – great sweeps of sea dotted with rocky islands.  But here are the beautiful heather and rocks, reminiscent of Maine.

We left the Coast Path to make our way to Coetan Arthur, an ancient burial chamber.  (Its connection with Arthur, if any, unknown to me.)  Then we followed one of several footpaths over the heather and down the hill to another path that went back up a hill  to Carn  Llidi.  By this time the mist on top of the Carn had descended to our level and was rapidly turning into real rain, so I skipped the detour to the top and we booked it back to the car park, arriving drenched but triumphant (if this is what triumphant looks like, maybe we were actually fussy – and this was before it rained). By the time we made it back to St. Davids, the rain had stopped and our quick-dry pants were nearly dry.  Time for a sandwich eaten on a bench outside, and then we parted ways, Alison to explore the town and me to take another coastal walk.  To Be Continued