Fwd: Welsh Boundary Walk - Greyhound Inn to Port Burry

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From: Conrad Robinson <conrob@me.com>

Subject: Welsh Boundary Walk - Greyhound Inn to Port Burry

I got up at 5.00am and departed at 5:45 after a mild midge attack. At Crofty the post office was still closed at 7:10, but a local said "they'll be opening anytime now", but I've heard that one before, so no breakfast there. My plan for the early start was to beat the heat of yesterday. I pressed on to Pen-Clawdd (what a name) and just as it looked as though I was drawing blank again I rounded a corner and there was a large supermarket, CK's Foodstore, with customer toilets, a cafe, but no socks (one of my two pairs of Brasher Wool Ultra has worn out.) I had scrambled egg and bacon on toast and a piece of cherry cake and two pots of tea. The transformation in my marching and general attitude was dramatic. Compared with yesterday there was a slight breeze making things much more comfortable.
A couple of hours later, just after crossing the River Loughor I came across The Lewis Arms at Bynea. The landlord was outside but he said they were closed, but asked me what I wanted, and when I said a brew of tea I was invited in by Stephen Rogers and his wife Liz for a tea. I had a good old chat with Stephen who told me about him doing The International Four Day Marches at Nijmegen in Holland. This consists of four separate loops on each of four days starting and finishing every time at the same point, and each loop being 50km. Stephen said 50 miles but I got my info. from Wikipedia, but even so it is a formidable achievement by anybody's standards. There you go Gayle another cup of tea to chalk up.
At Llanelli I booked ahead into Harbour House b and b, Alunand Marina Clements, at Port Burry. The room was not going to be ready until 4:30 which gave me more than enough time, and I dawdled soaking up the sea, sand and sunshine. At Pwll I stopped at The Pavilion Cafe and had more tea and  watched a fairly high class game of cricket for about half an hour between Pwll and Porthcawl, and chatted to a sprightly eighty two year old from South Yorkshire who had played cricket until he was sixty six, and then turned to umpiring.
Harbour House is a comfortable and welcoming b and b, I have been able to have a bath and also get my clothes washed and dried.
I have just looked at the maps and tomorrow looks like a twenty mile march to Carmarthen. I reckon I have done eighteen today.



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Welsh Boundary Walk - Pitton Cross to Oldwalls (Greyhound Inn)

Friday 3rd June -day 45
Had a bad night to and fro from the toilet block. I don't know the cause, but I think doses of Immodium have sorted it. I was away at 7:30 with a cloudless blue sky and the heat already making itself felt. I had Worm's Head all to myself at 8:30; in case anybody doesn't know this is a Mecca for surfers, although today there was not much surf and no surfers.
The heat became overpowering. I stopped at the site shop at Hillend and stocked up on drinks, and after that I wAs having to stop and rest and drink every thirty minutes. I have a little thermometer which is part of my whistle and it registered 26 degrees.
At 1:15 I landed at the Geyhound Inn where Chris, the landlord, allowed me to pitch in the beer garden. I reckon I have done about ten or eleven miles, but that was enough today.

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Worms Head-8:30 this morning.

Welsh Boundary Walk - three Cliffs Bay to Pitton Cross

Thursday 2nd June - day 44
A bad start to a good day. I left my Mili charger with the site shop overnight. They didn't open until 8.30 so it meant a late start, but they had promised to make me a couple of ham rolls fresh for my breakfast, and they also served coffee, so I opted for the late start.
In character with the gourmand image I seem to have created I was so focused on wolfing my breakfast it was only when I had walked for fifteen minutes and descended about three hundred feet to the beach that I realised I had forgotten Mili, and I had to go back up the steep rocky path and look silly.
After that the Gower turned on its charms. The views got better and better. I had a great walk across the huge expanse of Oxwich Beach to find the Oxwich Bay Hotel where I had two cups of coffee and a small piece of Welsh fruit cake - £8.80. I thought that was a bit steep but the place was posh, and the coffee scored ten out of ten.
There is no doubt the Gower has spectacular coastline with rocky cliffs, huge and mini unpopulated beaches with golden sands contrasting with blue sea and sky on this hot sunny day. I met and chatted to various people who strangely seemed to have a concensus about the Gower versus Pembroke coast paths comparison, in that they thought they both had their own merits and should not really be compared.
I met two guys, Tom and John  who seemed to have been  looking for a good surfing spot without success ( I may be wrong about that). It seems that surfing depends on local knowledge because certain locations are only any good when certain circumstances coincide to produce good surfing waves. These two were climbing a barbed wire fence into a field occupied by cows and a bull. Surf boards had already been thrown across in a virtually irretrievable position so they were comitted to follow. We had a bit of banter about all this, and so I went on my way. Fifteen minutes later I came across them again resting not realising they had been taking a shortcut. About ten minutes after this when I had gone through a series of stiles and three hundred and sixty degrees I came across Tom and John again which was a bit embarrassing because they had obviously found the direct route.
I am now at Pitton Cross Caravan Park where the staff have been very helpful trying to find accommodation for me tomorrow, but to no avail. This is a well run site with a shop selling a limited amount of food - it would always be worth a visit.
Everything seems to have come good today except for finding lodgings for tomorrow. We seem to hsve entered a spell of good weather, and the ankle has totally recovered - it's like a true miracle- how could it be after a week of quite severe pain it has suddenly come good? Perhaps JP would like to make a learned comment about this. 





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Gimmer - just found your comment regarding redirected footpath near Chepstow in my junk mail - not sure how this happened.
The messages were long and in legal language referring to locations not named on my map, and therefore way beyond my attention span.

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Welsh Boundary Walk- Bagnal to Three Cliffs Bay (Gower)

Wednesday 1st May - day 43
I was able to breakfast at the Premier Inn at 7:30.
Today's walk as far as Mumbles at the tip of the Gower was wholly on cycle tracks alongside mostly busy dual carriageway, and all flat. The ankle was still painful. At Mumbles the TIO were able to book me place on the Three Cliffs Bay site and it was then 11:15 with another eight or nine miles to do. Al
Almost miraculously the ankle pain subsided and I was able to march well and arrive at 5:30, but it was more thane twenty miles and I am tired despite being reasonably fit. The Gower scenery has presented great seascapes, but so far not as good as Pembrokeshire in my opinion.
I have often wondered about the carelessness of our forebears when archaeologists are always finding coins. So far on this trip I have picked up one pound coin, a fifty pence piece and a twenty pence piece. I'm not sure what that says about the present day.

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Gayle - the subject of a rest day has already been suggested by my daughter Jill. I replied "what is one of those?"
If it becomes necessary it will have to be, but I am am reluctant.

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