Date – 15 April 2017 (Good Friday)
Walked from – Manorbier YHA
Walked to – The Old Smithy, Merrion
Distance – 20.2 miles
I’m sitting in my PJs, in the warmth of my B&B, listening to the rain do its thing – really quite heavily – outside. And I am oh, SO grateful that the 20.2 miles I walked today was done without the wet stuff falling from the sky, and without any mud either.
Today wasn’t warm, but it was dry – and wow, it was beautiful. I was up and out on the dot of 7am, and aside from meeting one man (who used to work for London Underground – small word) and his dog at Manorbier beach, I only saw a few other people – all at a distance – until I got to beautiful Stackpole Quay and its conveniently located cafe (this blog is brought to you via the healing powers of hot chocolate).
Highlights of today’s walk were the wonderfully named Barafundle Bay, the hidden, tiny 14th century St Govan’s Chapel, just off the easy walking route across the MOD base near Bosherton, and the elegant natural arch known (in English) as the Green Bridge of Wales. My favourite spot was just before the ‘bridge’ though – Stack Rocks are the Pembrokeshire Coast Path equivalent of a high rise building in a busy city, with every visible non-vertical centimetre of it populated with seabirds. My internet wandering tell me that I was looking at Guillimots, and possibly some Kittiwake too. All I know is, those slender rocks were teeming with birds, as was the sea surrounding them and the sky’s overhead. I’m no twitcher, but even I knew it was a sight to behold.
Photos: near Stackpole Quay (photos 1&2) /the beach at Barafundle Bay (best name ever? Discuss.) / St Govan’s Chapel / The Green Bridge of Wales