Going Great Guns

I left Pembroke Dock via the town trail, and in so doing, I saw rather more of the town than I had originally intended. All was going well until I came to the point where the path first leads off the road and into the fields. Looking over the gate and along the path, I could see that there were goats in the way! Now this was a new one on me. I have come across various animals on the path up to this point, and with them I know what to expect. For instance, cows are usually ok, but as I haven’t forgotten being chased last February, I am wary of them and try to keep my distance if at all possible. The same goes for horses, and sheep are fine as they just run away from you. But goats? I don’t know. I did know that I didn’t like the look of their horns, so I decided to play it safe and take the diversion by road. As a result, it took an hour to get to Pembroke.

After passing through Pembroke, another Welsh town totally dwarfed by its castle, the journey continued through Monkton and then followed the electricity pylons to the nearby power station. This theme continued as it was then round the oil refinery. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the same oil refinery I saw last June from Dale? From there I could see back to St Anne’s Head, where I was 3 months ago, and which was only 5 miles or so away across the water. I felt as if I was going in the wrong direction.

From heading East, the path round the peninsula sun turned west again, and I found myself walking round Angle Bay to Angle, a pleasant place, and a place which I decided would be a good spot to have a pub lunch. It is a nice village, and there was a village feel to it. There were people talking to each other outside the post office and a sense of community. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an idealistic view of the village, but it was nice to see.

I did have to wonder though, something which I have thought more than once on this coastal walk – am I likely to be passing this way again? I have passed so many lovely places since departing from Chester over 2 years ago, and so many times, I have thought “I must spend more time there one of these days”. Yet time has passed, and nearly all of these return visits have yet to take place. I still hope they will one day, but one thing I do know is that I am grateful for the opportunity to see some of the places and the scenery which the Wales coast path offers.

Fortified by fish and chips, the walk continued round Angle Head, then the coast path kicked in again, there were some pretty steep ups and downs to Freshwater west. One of the areas of the path, I was later to discover, has been nicknamed "The Giant's Toilet"!

The view of Freshwater west was quite something

From there, the last 3 miles or so were on the road to Castlemartin. Whilst walking along, I heard the sound of gunfire. I wasn’t alarmed – I had done my research, and I knew that this was close to an MOD firing range. More on that in tomorrow’s adventure!

I arrived in Castlemartin 5 minutes before the bus back to Pembroke Dock did!

Day 2

I drove to Freshwater East and then took the bus back to Castlemartin. Bus? It was a van. That’s public transport in the countryside for you!

I was unable to follow the coast path all the way, and had to take a diversion inland – the coast path was closed as the MOD were firing. Quite a lot of gunfire could be heard, but at least people are warned about it.

The diversion meant a lot of walking on roads, and the scenery was not exactly stunning - it was mainly fields fenced off with barbed wire and warnings of the dangers of military debris.

This diversion meant that I came to the village of Bosherston where it would have been rude not to stop for a coffee and scone. As I was applying an extra layer of sun screen to my arms (this is very unusual for Wales in September!), a guy seated at a nearby table came over and asked if I had been to St John’s. I puzzled over which St John's he meant for a moment, until he clarified – St John’s College, Nottingham. Well, I have visited the place, but never been enrolled as a student there. He remembered me from that week-long course I did there nearly 20 years ago, though as we got talking, it turns out that we do also know each other from “Easter People”.

The alternative coastal path and the official coastal path finally re-converge in Broad Haven. No, this is not the Broad Haven I was in 15 miles or so after leaving St Davids. There’s another one, and it’s in the same county. Confused? So am I. Oh well, back to the path and back onto the cliff-tops. Fair play, once on the top of the cliffs, the path stayed relatively flat. I was hoping that it would stay this way, but no, there were more ups and downs to come later.

From the tops, there were stunning views of Freshwater East just before arrival there. I stopped and ate a sandwich on the beach, then walked into the sea!

The Cross in the closet

There aren’t many books which I have read more than once, but Tim Kurek’s “The Cross in the closet” is one of the exceptions to the rule.

To summarise, Tim, a straight, evangelical Christian spent a year living in the guise of a gay man to see what reaction he would get from his family, friends and church, and to see how his understanding of the gay community – and his faith – would be affected as a result.

I won’t say too much about what happened to him - you can read that for yourselves – but there were ways in which I could relate to what he discovered.

There were times when I found myself laughing out loud – not the best thing to do if you happen to be travelling in the quiet zone of a train at the time! In the early chapters, when he begins to try and see what sort of a world gay man live in, the stories he recalls from experiences in the gay bars would make a brilliant stand-up comedy routine.

Not that the book is a laugh-a-minute. There are times when I felt angry towards some self-righteous people who get a mention, and the last chapter always has me in tears

One of the things which Tim discovered is that you cannot change your sexual orientation by adopting the lifestyle of someone of the opposite orientation. Living as a gay man did not make him gay. Trying to act straight does not make one straight either.

Throughout this year, Tim was on a pilgrimage. He was walking a year in a gay man’s shoes, and perhaps more significantly, in a gay Christian’s shoes. That is particularly brave, as it can easily attract opposition from both communities. In doing so, he met Christ in some unexpected places and had some incredible conversations as a result.

Read this book if you are gay. Red this book if you are a Christian. May it form part of our pilgrimage, and help us understand where people who hold different viewpoints to us are coming from.