Walking the Coastal Path

My last post in this Wales saga was All things come in threes …

Just two miles from our vacation apartment in St-David’s lies Whitesands Beach on Whitesands Bay.  It is said to be the best surfing beach in Pembrokeshire and one of the best tourist beaches in the world. In fact, this October day, we saw surfers out there hoping to catch a wave.

“The Pembrokeshire Coast Path  is a national trail that twists and turns its way through 186 miles of the most breathtaking coastal scenery in Britain”.

My travel companion and I picked up the trail just off the beach and struck out along the path.

We walked the one mile stretch from Whitesands to St-Davids Head.  Not a long stretch, I know, but we would need to walk back as well and thought it better not to stretch it too far and possibly become the focus of a national search: Two Old(er) Lady Tourists Disappear!  So we respected our limits.

To our left, the sea below us as we followed the footpath that hugged the edge of the bluffs,

and to the right, the rocky outcrop that is Carn Llidi, 594 feet at its peak.

And all the way only the sea breezes, the calls of the birds and the whisper of the grasses, past secluded beaches which are only accessible on foot – Porthlleuog  and Porthmelgan

On our return we retrieved the car and headed about eight miles further up the coast to Abereiddi … I don’t know, my guess is Ab·er·eye·dee.  Here we watched in puzzlement as a mother dressed in a wet suit and then hitched her young three-year-old  daughter, without a wet suit, onto her hip and headed into the rather strong surf.  I’m glad to say that at least the three-year-old had enough sense to cry and refuse to go in.  Then Deb and I were able to relax, sit back, and listen to the surf roll in and the pebbles roll back while we took in the smell of the sea.

and, lastly, this is a pastel painting I did …

You can view more of my paintings at  Visual Arts on my home page