Pull over at Cardigan

With my heels red raw (but mercifully, not bleeding) from the boots rubbing against them yesterday, I couldn't face the boots again, and, making sure my heels had good plasters covering them, dug out the trainers and decided to see how it goes with them.

I had a false start initially trying to get out of New Quay – I had tried to join the path a little too low down, but that was easily rectified by going up to the next street. For a short while I seemed to be going back on myself, but then, just as the path changed, so did the headland, and not for the first time on this walk, I had the sea on both sides of me.

The first 4 miles to Cwn Tydi presented no major problem. However, going up the other side of the valley, a sign recommended a detour on minor roads due to steep cliffs and narrow paths. As yesterday, I was happy to follow the detour, but somehow took a wrong turn. I wasn't horribly lost, but things felt a bit like an episode of Fawlty Towers - “You can see the sea if you look out there and strain to the right”. As I realised that I was heading in the right general direction, I pressed on, and by the time I reached Penmorfa I decided that it was easier to continue by road to Tresaith and then on to then Aberporth.

Aberporth is a nice village and was the setting for a fish and chip lunch. However, due to time constraints and an eye on the bus timetable, I needed to press on to Cardigan.

The weather today was a sight better than had been forecast. The rain stayed away, at least it did until the walk was over and I was back in shelter much later in the day, but it was cooler and I was glad of jumper. I'm just grateful that it stayed dry.

As with yesterday's walk, this stretch of the Ceredigion heritage coast is quiet with glorious views . Like some of the beaches on the Lleyn Peninsula, it is an overlooked bit of coast. But don't tell everyone. That'd spoil it !

And so to Cardigan. Hopefully more about that in my next blog when I've had a proper chance to look round the town. As I was preaching in Lampeter the next day, I wanted to get the bus back to New Quay so that I wouldn't be too late arriving at mine hosts for the evening.

Keep yer Aberaeron

The original plan was to go camping. It seemed like such a good idea at the time – late June, the longest day of the year. Lovely summer evenings, what could be better?

The great British summer was a washout! Nothing would have been worse than trying to put a tent up in a field in these conditions, being soaked before the start, and putting up with wet and miserable conditions afterwards, no thanks!

So, rather than look for a campsite, I found a room and based myself in New Quay for the next 2 nights.

My walk to date had previously taken me to Aberystwyth, and during my university days< I had walked from Aberystwyth to Llanrhystud, so that was where I decided to pick up the walk again. I knew that I had reached Llanrhystud and then taken the road to Lampeter, so I went to the bus-stop just before that turning, knowing that I was repeating my steps if I took it from here.

The first task was to don the waterproofs. It was wet, having been raining solidly for over 12 hours by this point. As I headed to the beach for the coast path, I met a chap walking the dog coming off the beach who told me to be prepared to be blown away. Wow, was he right. This bit of the coast was hard-going. Mainly because of the wind. Walking into a strong headwind is not easy, and with the rain lashing as well, it threatened to be a pretty miserable day all told. As it happens, it got better, but it was still a pretty miserable start.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there was something seriously wrong with my boots. They were hurting the backs of my heels and felt like lead weights with every step. Surprising, given that I have had them for so long and walked so many miles in them. Oh well, perhaps they are now on their last legs in more ways than one !

It wasn't the easiest of days for navigating either. Yes, the old maxim “Keep the sea on your right” still applied, but for these 15 miles or so, I needed no fewer than 3 different OS maps. One to get out of Llanrhystud, one briefly featuring the coast either side of Aberaeron and one for the final approach to New Quay.

The first port of call, if you can call it that was Llansantfraid – a very nice church and some houses around it, but really, that is just a suburb (and that is a very grand term here!) for the village of Llanon. I didn't stop there, but pressed on through Aberarth to Aberaeron. Which made a nice spot for lunch.

After a sandwich, the rain had stopped, and I could dispense with some of the waterproofs. The coast path at this point is beautiful. The stunning scenery, hills, cliffs and the sea all ask why it's necessary to go abroad for holidays. The grey clouds and occasional spots of rain unfortunately provided the answer.

The only person I passed that afternoon was a man walking his dog. He said that the path was quiet, and that I was the first person he had seen since leaving New Quay. Indeed, he was the only person I saw all afternoon until I reached Llanina on the final approach to New Quay.

There's a lovely church at Llanina,

 Back on the path, a sign is giving a walk along the road given as alternative given that the beach is impassable at high tide. I decided to play safe as I didn't know the tide times and didn't want to get stuck!

Finally, I found myself on the outskirts of New Quay where it was easy to find the hotel and recover. The irony is, after finding the room last night, this would be a rather nice night for camping after all !