Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

St Dogmaels → Newport, Pembrokeshire

Distance: 15.5 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 5 hours 45 minutes

The walk that started it all
« Cardigan | Cwm-yr-Eglwys »

I've had this week booked as Annual Leave for a while now. Why then as late as yesterday did I not know what I'd spend the week doing? In the end, determined to do something constructive I decided to tackle a long-distance walk; I'd buy whichever National Trail Guide was available and head off.

So I find myself in Pembrokeshire.

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path starts in St Dogmaels near Cardigan and runs anticlockwise round the coastline for 179 miles to Amroth, roughly south of St Dogmaels on the other side of the peninsula. This then, is what I'll spend the next week doing.

The first segment, 15.5 miles, should have been straightforward. Unfortunately I didn't allow for the terrain, and having driven over from Bicester I didn't set off until 1200. It was 1745 when I reached the Nyfer Bridge. I made the wrong decision at Moylegrove to commit to the final 8 miles' walk; never before have I felt as elated as I did when the lights of Newport swung into view as I cleared the final headland, though there was still some way to walk.

A regular bus service links Newport and Cardigan. I slumped into a seat on the last one, regretting starting off so late; the walk would have been so much more enjoyable had I not rushed it to make use of the failing light. (I could have done without the pain - both physical and mental - of having to walk from where the bus dropped me back to the car in St Dogmaels too.)

Tonight I'm staying at the Poppit Sands YHA. I'm exhausted, I've rubbed my inner thighs raw, and I'm worried about how fit I'll be feeling in the morning.