Penberi to Abercastle

Stage 17 - 9.5 miles taking 5.5 hrs on August 26th

A chilly pervasive north-easterly wind made this walk more of a challenge, as the path wended its way firstly northwards and then directly into the gale towards the north east. Just behind the 'head' of Carn Penberi on my return to the Coast Path proper I passed the remnants of an old abandoned quarry - the first of numerous ruins which bear witness to the industrial past of this wild part of Pembrokeshire. More of this later.

On almost every promontory on this part of the coast (and indeed right round Pembrokeshire) there is a prehistoric fort (most of which I find difficult to identify, because of the vegetation). This section was no exception, boasting no less than two Castell Coch (Red Castles). The first one was reasonably easy to see on approach, based above a spectacular rock formation at Porth Tre-Wen. Not far from here an expedition of about 12 of young people were being led in a line along the path. All stopped to allow me to pass - I felt I should give a salute like HMQ.

At Aber-Pwll the path descended precipitously and at the bottom, instead of the usual limekiln, there was a small oven built into the wall. Nothing in my guidebooks indicates why this should be there - perhaps it had a different use. The tide was right up at this time and so the small beach was not apparent and the place deserted except for a lone guillemot preening itself on a rock. Up above the cove I passed what I thought was a herd of cows but, on closer inspection it was about 40 or more black & white / brown & white (piebald / skewbald if I am being technically correct) ponies.

Abereiddi beach, a little further along, was also empty except for the sea and the car park held only a few cars together with a number of coasteering company mini-buses. At one period Abereiddi was a bustling slate quarrying village but now it is whole-heartedly a tourist destination, with a few jolly, painted cottages.

A sad little line of remnants of workers' cottages (formerly called The Street) leads into a marshy area to the south of Ynys Barry. These were devastated by an inundation early in the 20th century, but the quarry had already been closed in 1901.

The Blue Lagoon is a 'sea quarry', close to the beach - a quarry flooded by the sea. It is now mecca for coasteering daredevils, as well as being a spectacular sight.

While I was there, three separate groups of youngsters, each group wearing different coloured helmets, swam round from some nearby rocks, then across the lagoon and scrambled up to the 'platform' beneath the ruined building. They then took orderly turns to leap the 10 ft or so down into the water. In addition, four older youths were doing their own thing from the higher level - see the pic of one of them in mid-jump (perhaps 20 ft).

After Abereiddy, the path continues round and above the wonderful sandy beach of Traeth Llyfn, scene of many fondly remembered family swimming and bodyboarding expeditions. Today you're not allowed to take a car along the mile of track through what used to be Barry Island farm (but is now a holiday complex) and park close to the beach, so only reasonably energetic walkers can get there, before going down the steep metal steps to its golden beach. I do wonder how often I brought my long-suffering family to the brink of death in their childhood - the beach is said to have very dangerous currents for swimming - but it used to be packed with swimmers of all ages when we were there some 15 years ago. Perhaps the effective closure of the beach has encouraged its present dangerous designation. Ah well.

And so to Porthgain.... home of the Sloop Inn, one of my favourite haunts and the Shed Bistro, which serves unimaginably good shellfish. But today was not about gastronomic experiences or even bucolic lazing about outside the pub: I ate my spartan sandwiches on a stone bench on the quay.

Porthgain has a varied industrial past - slate quarrying, clay digging and brick making - and the many ruins bear witness to this. The path goes past the steep-sided quarry and associated buildings down to the harbour, where the brick hoppers on the quayside are still used for storing fishermen's bits and pieces. At one stage there was a tramway which brought slate from Abereiddi to Porthgain harbour across Ynys Barri (Barry Island - an island really only in the sense of having marshy tracts on two sides between itself and the 'mainland').

Two white beacons stand way above the entrance to Porthgain harbour to guide boats in - in the way described in Swallows and Amazons, if I remember rightly.

Almost continuously from above Porthgain to the next small port, Aber-Draw, a stone wall ran on my right, separating the fields from the cliff edge. In places a mass of lichen and flowers covered it; in others you could see the amazing skill of the builders. In fact the wall continued for much of the way to Abercastle, making it about 4 miles in total.

Aber-draw is the harbour, as they say, for the inland village of Trefin. Above it is a small stone circle (aptly named Swyn-y-don - Charm of the Wave), preceded by a single isolated large standing stone. Down beneath, at the water's edge, the ruins of a grain mill, its millstones decorated by seaweed, tell the story of yet another previously bustling port.

A short diversion from the official path finds Carreg Samson, a gromlech which stands, rather incongruously, in a field of sheep above the village of Abercastle, my destination for this walk.

Then it was off down into the village, passing en route two cannon muzzles which had been up-ended for use as bollards for boats to secure their lines to. Reduce, re-use, recycle.

This had been a walk I shall always remember - full of evidence of a comparatively recently abandoned industrial past mixed in with the mystical, as yet not fully interpreted remains of prehistoric living. On my way I'd seen seals lazing in the shallows of sheer-sided coves, and wondered at the colours and skill of vegetation which clings to the cliffs where the Atlantic winds blast it daily. And, although I've seen so many natural arches since starting out at Amroth, I never fail to gasp when I find another one.

At every turn to look behind me, I could make out the twin 'peaks' of Carn Penberi and Carn Llidi, which define the landscape of Penmaen Dewi (St David's Head).

Total walked: 132.5 out of 186