Carry On Ceredigion

 


Statue of the otter, quayside to the river Teifi, marks the start of the Ceredigion Coast Path - in Welsh, Llwybr Arfordir Ceredigion. That's a whole lot of rolled Rs.

After an excellent breakfast at Crwst, a hipster cafe that wouldn't look out of place in Hoxton, we eased ourselves gently into the first stage to Aberporth. Initially, nice level paths over fields and farmland, overlooking the ever-widening estuary and the Pembrokeshire coastline.


We noticed several gaggles of geese flying overhead, honking loudly, heading South on their migratory journey. Then stumbled on a gathering of hundreds of geese, scrabbling around for the last bits of grain in a stubbly field of maize. They took off simultaneously, momentarily darkening the sky. The collective flap of their wings was like a clap of thunder. A quite magical moment.

After a brief stint inland by the side of a busy B road that cuts off the headland, we struck  back towards the sea, reaching the cliffs by Cardigan Island. There are supposed to be lots of seals basking on the rocks, but they must have been indoors watching Happy Feet, because we didn't see any.

Ditto for the famed bottlenose dolphins that are supposed to frequent the bay in their multitudes. They kept carefully out of sight, no doubt cavorting openly as soon as we had passed by.


After an hour or so of easy going along the clifftop path, we hit on the highlight of the day, Mwnt, a lovely cove with a family friendly beach. On a hot summer's day, we weren't going to be asked twice. We hopped down for a quick (bracing) dip in the sea, warming up again with our thermos of tea and scrumptious maple syrup and pecan buns from Crwst. 


The rest of the walk was fairly arduous, up and down around rocky outcrops and deep gullies. After a few miles of this, the path circumvented MoD property, and led us down into Aberporth village, our first pit stop.

13 miles, and we have the sore feet to show for it. New backpacks have proved their worth so far though, hoping that we don't discover any hidden bruising on neck and shoulders tomorrow. 

We enjoyed a pint of Mantle's Moho IPA with our pub dinner, overlooking the popular beach at Aberporth.




Joff x


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