Pam’s worst fear happened last night–she woke up and water was coming in her side of the tent. She woke me in a panic. I’ve set the tent up too close to the tide. I could hear the waves hitting the beach and knew we were safe. After a little investigation, detective Curtis discovered Pam had laid on her drinking water pinch valve and we were NOT going to be washed away to South America.
The most annoying part of the night (other than being woken up for a tide flooded tent) were the fishermen out on the point. They kept shining their lights on our tent checking all of their lines. They weren’t malicious or noisy, just occasionally they woke us up accidentally. They never approached our beach or us.
We got up, had a no cook breakfast with our coffee and packed up. We were on the trail at a decent hour for us. The hike out to St Ann’s Head was not at all strenuous and well worth the effort in getting there. Out near the point is an old bunker that has been fixed up and converted into a bed and breakfast.
There is a lighthouse at the point as well as several high end row houses.
It seemed like we had the world to ourselves today. We had been hiking for almost an hour and a half before we met our first hikers of the day. They were a charming older couple named Graham and Geri. We talked to them for quite a bit about hiking in the area and sight to see. They highly recommended Skomer Island even though they haven’t been out there. They also have a blog at bucknellshropshire.com where they have done a lot of walks in Wales. We are looking forward to having a chance to read their blog and encourage everyone to take a look.
A little further on, we thought we should be getting close to the shortcut that George and Karen took. We were contemplating getting out our maps when we ran into another couple with a great set of maps. John and Maureen were very generous with sharing their knowledge of the area. Everyone we have met have been absolutely fantastic. We were still about a mile shy of the shortcut.
Work goes on in Wales even though we are here. There is an abundance of grazing cattle and sheep, but there is also traditional farming going on as well.
After a couple more miles of coastal cliff walking getting a little worn down by the wind and sun, Pam and I opted to take a break behind a wall after one of the gates. While we were resting, another couple came walking by. This was David and Fiona. David is an architect and Fiona is an environmentalist. She has just gotten back from spending almost a week on another one of the bird islands in the area–Skokholm, I believe, but my memory is not what it never was. We talked about birds for a while (Pam and her family are all pretty bird knowledgeable).
Not too much longer, we got up on a high plain after passing Marloes Sands (another 1.5 mile Long Beach) and thought we could see George and Karen ahead of us. The plan was to get to Martin’s Haven tonight so we could catch a boat to Skomer in the morning. However, once we got to Martin’s Haven, there was nothing there to keep us for the night. If we wanted a pub, we’d have to walk 3 miles into Marloes. We decided to just hike the coastal path around the south arm of St Bride’s Bay and camp in Marloes instead. It was only a mile off the trail and then we’d have options for food and a chance for toilets (always a motivation).
The guidebook said only 2.25 miles, but it was 3 or slightly more. The real kicker is that the final 1/2 mile is on road and our feet were tender from the 11.5 miles of trails and rocks. By the time we hobbled into town, we found out we had to hobble another 1/2 mile to the only campground in town. We stayed at Foxdale Inn and Campground. It was a very nice set up with showers, a washing machine and dryer, and friendly owners.
We quickly set up camp and then limped back to the Lobster Pot for supper. We had the massage ball for our feet which we passed around under the table. George refused to participate thinking that stinking feet were offensive in a restaurant. We thought we were all ripe enough that no one could really differentiate between our feet and us, so we ignored him.
Today was Pam’s daughter’s birthday. Pam was concerned all day about getting hold of Sarah because this is the first time she has ever not been with one of her kids on their birthday. Thankfully, they eventually made contact.
Lovely. Thsnks for sharing!! You look fabulous. You may want to quit making that squinting face w the selfies though! Ha
It was good to stop and chat with you both on this day. We’ve just returned from the Northumberland Coast Path – 3 days of blue sky walkng (albeit with a cold north easterly wind, but the plus side was that it kept us nice and cool as we walked).
Good luck with the remainder of your Pembroskeshire Coast Path experience – we shall be following your exploits.
Enjoying reading. If it had been the sea you would have never blogged it! Better it be the water valve!