Today's hike will see us drop down to the mouth of the River Usk before following the seawall to Cardiff. We estimate sixteen miles but suspect longer. The weather forecast is poor, with thunderstorms and strong wind. It is already blowy and raining, so waterproofs likely for most of the day. Our route in to Cardiff takes us to where will catch the bus to go to the airport for an 8.00pm flight. There is a good chance we will be wet and bedraggled!
With Joanna Elizabeth, yesterday's walk turned out to be twenty miles, much longer than we expected. In part, it was because we decided to walk right round the Newport Wetlands Nature Reserve, which covers an impressive amount of land. We had a few showers along the way but nothing like the forecast.
Today's hike will see us drop down to the mouth of the River Usk before following the seawall to Cardiff. We estimate sixteen miles but suspect longer. The weather forecast is poor, with thunderstorms and strong wind. It is already blowy and raining, so waterproofs likely for most of the day. Our route in to Cardiff takes us to where will catch the bus to go to the airport for an 8.00pm flight. There is a good chance we will be wet and bedraggled!
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Day three of our short Welsh adventure and it looks as thought it might be a challenging sort of day. Today's hike will see us drop down through the town of Newport to the mouth of the River Usk, before following the seawall to Cardiff. As we crossed over the River Usk yesterday by the Newport Transporter Bridge, we are already a fair bit down the western side of the river. Below the transporter it is all docks and water features and there is no way through on the coast. The Wales Coast Path comes through from the transporter to meet us in the town as we come down to find a crossing over the Ebbw River by Maes-Glas. Our estimate for the walk was sixteen miles but we suspected it might be longer. As yesterday, the profile for the walk is very flat with nothing of any consequence for the whole route, probably a consequence of walking in a river valley. The weather forecast is very poor, with thunderstorms and strong winds expected. As we set off it was already blowy and raining, so waterproofs were the most likely garb for the day. Our route into Cardiff takes us to Atlantic Wharf where will catch the bus to go to the airport for an 8.00pm flight. With the timescale so neat, we cannot afford to dilly-dally too long on the walk. There is a good chance we will be wet and bedraggled and needing to change at the airport before we fly. You always imagine that the easy part of any walk will be going through the towns. After all, all you have to do is follow the signs. Unfortunately, as we have found in many places around the coast, signage is often very poor in the towns where the are often placed in curious places or so far back from the road that you do not see them. As a consequence, we were constantly stopping to check where we were on the map which made the early part of the walk a start-stop experience. The rain did not help, making it difficult to even see the map. Eventually, we found the small bridge crossing over the River Ebbw and were able to make our way down to the seawall on the banks of the River Usk where we were to walk for about twelve kilometres in the high winds and driving rain. Town to Seawall Taking up the seawall, we were relieved to find that the grass had recently been cut. Walking through long wet grass is a bit of a bug-bear. I have found over the years that no matter how good the boots and the trousers are, long, wet grass soon soaks them through. Despite the overcast nature of the day, the seawall was very pretty, all russet browns, reds and yellow with occasional bright swathes of emerald green on sections of the saltmarsh. We were close enough to the river that we had good views up and down the water, albeit we struggled to see the opposite bank at times as a consequence of drifting mist. Occasionally when the rain stopped it was very occasional) and what little sun there was warmed up the grassess, there was that lovely hot, dank smell that you get in wet hay fields. The soundscape was dominated by the whip of the wind over the top of the river, the break of the tumultous waves and the occasional cry of the Peewit. By the end of the day we were near driven mad by the incessant thump of the wind in our ears. Before long West Usk Lighthouse came in to view, its white outline cutting the green of the trees that give it protection from the harsh winds. Built in 1821 by Scottish architect, James Walker, it was de-commissioned in 1922, after which it became a family home. Over subsequent years it fell in to disrepair, requiring major renovation to restore it to habitable status. It is currently functioning as a bed and breakfast establsihment sans hot tub on the roof. Shortly after passing the lighthouse the weather deteriorated further witth the rain becoming very heavy and the wind increasing in intensity such that it was hard to make forward progress. We were delighted to find a lttle cafe where a public house is marked on the OS Map just before Walnut Tree Farm. The Shipwreck Cafe is a delightful little hostlery that offers good food at very reasonable prices. The omelette whipped up by the cook was as light as a the beat of a butterfly's wing. We spent far too much time in here eating and chatting to the cook but as long as the rain drummed down there was no inclination to cross the threshhold and brave the elements. Bt the time we plucked up the courage to step outside again the rain had easedand the sun was out (not for long) but the wind was just as strong, if not stronger. Back on the hump of the seawall, we were walking now with a further concrete wall on our left, which cut down the drive of the rain in to our legs, but the upper part of our bodies struggled to make headway against the wind. At times, it was a battle to stand still and not go in to reverse, at other times, particularly when the wind gusted it was a battle to stay on the wall. One of the contradictions about such weather is that while it can uncomfortable to be wet and cold and you think that you are making slow progress; while you are worried about the time running away from and the plane leaving without you, it is also pretty damn exciting. In the beginning you are worried about staying dry, then not getting too wet and, by the time you have accepted that you can only get wet once and you give yourself to the Elements, you actually start to enjoy the battle, determined that you will come out on top. At that point, there is a manic kind of madness takes over and you find yourself occasionally giving out the odd mad laugh as you wonder for the upteenth time what on earth possessed you to take up such a pastime. At that point, indoor bowls seems a reasonable attraction. The colours of the landscape continued to be exciting. On the seaward side of the wall, now on an outward tide, the saltmarsh was exposed, an array of bright, late summer colours. At Peterstone Gout the outflow from the sluice was exposed, showcasing the deep-grey and goo-ish mud that covers the bottom and the slopes of the outflow. The habitat is rich in molluscs and worms and, with the saltmarsh and the foreshore, are a magnet for wading birds. Moving on from the sluice the rain eased up again, although the wind continued to push in from the sea, the whup of it reverberating and echoing in the inner ear and icy splash continued to chill the face. Almost directly opposite the sluice on the far shore we could see the headland of Brean Down and the islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm. Above the sea on the horizon, a thin shallow line of very sky blue appeared, a small chink of light in anotherwise grey sky. For a short while we were able to remove the waterproof jackets and just walk in shirts. Beside a memorial stone to a local waterfowler, we stopped for a snack, delayed by the persistent rains. As we walked along the Peterstone and Rumney Great Wharves, we could see the clouds starting to gather in the direction of Cardiff. As the light deteriorated the rains came back and we were suited and booted again in very quick order. In the fast fading light we coud see some wild ponies on the saltmarsh, split in to two groups with one right down by the water's edge. As we approached one group came a little bit closer but they must have decided they didn't like what they saw and they retreated again deeper in to the saltmarsh. At the end of the Rumney Wharf the path turns inland to go up by the side of a water feature to go round Lamby Island and to start the approach to the city of Cardiff. Although there is an informal path round the island, in the atrocious weather conditions, we had neither the time nor the inclination to investigate it. Before the Rains At the top of the water feature, we left the coastal route to cut through the town via Pengam to catch our bus to the airport. From the seawall all the way up the watercourse and through the town, the heavens opened and the rain teemed down, thunder and lightening to boot. Already damp from earlier showers, it was not long before the water was literally running out of our boots and we were soaked through waterproofs and three layers of clothing. Needless to say the camera stayed away for this final section and it was two drookit wee bairns who finally made it on to the bus. Along the way we missed numerous turn offs that might have made our route a tad shorter, but with the heads down we did not see the signposts. At the airport, we just had time to change out of our wet clothes before we were called through for our flight. Despite what had been atrocious weather conditions we still felt a great sense of achievement at having finally started on the Wales Coast Path. We will be back in a week or two when we hope to at least complete the walk to and round the Gower Peninsula. From the Great Wharves
Another early start today and we have wakened to bright sunshine again but with lots of heavy cloud on the horizon. We have an early train journey back to Caldicot, where we finished up yesterday, which should see us actually start walking back to Newport about 8.45am. Forecast is for rain throughout the day with occasional thunderstorms. Travelling light, we are carrying only day packs with water, lunch and waterproofs. In the heat of yesterday, we drank four litres of water between us and still finished thirsty. The estimated mileage was sixteen, barring diversions, completed primarily by the River Severn, with an occasional move inland to go round water features. It ended up longer because we chose to go right round the nature reserve at Uskmouth. At you can see from the walk profile there is virtually no rise and fall to the walk, completed almost totally at sea level. The highlight of the day will be using the Newquay transporter bridge to cross the River Usk, one of the very few still operative in the UK. We used another one when we walked through Middlesbrough a couple of years ago. Should be interesting! There are a number of obstacles that stop you immediately returning to the coast on this walk. Just below Caldicot station there is a small arms shooting range and if the flags are flying you have to go round it. Prior to starting our walk I found it impossible to acquire information on the firing status of the range. On the day the flags were flying! You need to use a bridge to cross over the M4 motorway which means when you have to go round the range you have to walk down to the next crossing at Rogiet Moor. Moving on to Caldicot Moor, you cross over the West Pill Reen (watercourse) before turning down to cross the Rogget Moor Reen, finally joining the seawall. Fortunately, there are good walking paths and the tracks you are walking on hold little in the way of vehicular traffic. On a good day, I suspect there would be a wonderful sense of light and space by the river. For us, however, it felt very closed in as the clouds gathered overhead, reducing the light over the area substantially and appearing to draw in the edges and lower the heavens. For all that, there was an excitement about it as the wind increased and the waves grew ever larger and more forceful and the sky seemed to grow in rage. It was just like the calm before the storm. Fortunately for us the storm never really came to much, the worst of it seeming to dump on inland areas. While it cold at times and we did have some rain but, as they say, it could have been worse. The walking on the seawall was good, albeit a little bit rough in places. The grass had not long been cut and the grass cuttings removed which made the walking a lot easier than it could have been. It had been a long time since we walked the seawall and we have lovely memories of the miles we walked on it down through Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Despite the poor weather, there was a vibrancy to the colours of the land, dominated by rich reds and browns and, when the light could break through, it was produced lovely silver effects on the waters. Just off the wall, we could hear the cries of the Peewit and on a couple of occasions were able to stop and admire their aerial acrobatics. There were also large flocks of geese in the fields to our right, steadily winnowing their way through fields of rough grass and ever present in the trees and shrubs were the trills of the songbirds. As the clouds lightened, we were rewarded with some lovely light effects over the waters of the River Severn, a herring silver-darling effect rippling across the wavetops. As the weather improved, on the opposite shore, we could just make out the headlands of what we think were Sand Point and Brean Down. Approaching the low point at Gold Cliff, the route turns inland again to go round the three Goldcliff Lagoons, part of the Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve. Just before you turn in you can see in front of you Hill Farm, which marks the location of a Benedictine Priory, established in 1113. The monastery survived in one shape or another until the Dissolution (1536-1541) at which time the lands were in the hands of Eton College, which is where they still remain. In the distance you can see the tall chimney of the power station (Uskmouth B) that sits right on the mouth of the river. Built in 1959 / 60, the B station was to be converted to burn biomass, after the coal-fired version was closed in 2014. As of November 2018, contracts have been issued for the next phase of the conversion. The A station, built in the early 1950's, operated until 1981 and lay derelict until it was demolished in 2002. Both the A & B stations were originally coal-fired. The site of the A power station is now hosting the Severn Power gas fired power facility, operated by Calon Energy, containing two identical gas turbines and two steam turbines. The nature reserve is very distinctive in that it is all located on very low lying land, situtated as it is at the mouth of the River Usk. It includes various wetland features including the said lagoons, as well wet grassland, reedbeds, saltmarsh. There is extensive flora and fauna on the reserve to keep you interested including, if you time it right, lovely orchids. We were captivated by a family of ducks swimming tranquilly on the lagoon and decided to walk the whoe reserve, adding another few miles to an already long day. Passing to the north of the lagoons you are walking on seawall again after touching the edges of the village of Goldcliff before going down the Goldcliff Pill. The path goes up and down a bit here as you move round different features, before it drops back down again to the seawall to pass by some of the main pools of the nature reserve. From the Point, just below the power station, it is a long walk up through the middle of the nature reserve to below Pye Corner, bypassing a number of industrial sites on the bank of the river, before turning west to head to the River Usk. We expected the Newport transporter bridge to dominate the skyline for most of the approach but, in fact, you actually see it quite late and you are very close to it before you have a decent photographic opportunity. Built in 1906, the Newport Transporter Bridge was one of only 18 built world-wide. It is one of three remaining in the UK the tother two being at Warrington (in poor condition) and at Teeside, Middlesborough which is fully operational and on which we passed over the River Tees as we walked the East Coast. There are only eight bridges remaiing world-wide. The Newport bridge was closed in 1985 following concerns about wear and tear. Following a major overhaul, it re-opened in 1995 and is now a major tourist attraction for the city. As well as being able to cross over in the main gondolla, it is also possible to climb the structure and walk over on the main gangway, or just to climb to the top of the tower to enjoy the view. There is a nice little mseu-cum-information centre on the west side of the river that records the history of the bridge. Once back in West Newport, we had a long walk through the town to return to our accommodation. After having walked nearly twenty miles, we paid little attention to our environs, intent on trying to beat the rain which had had been threatenign for the past hour or so. As it turned out, we had just turned in to our street when it came on and it stayed for the rest of the night. Although the walk finished up at twenty miles, it was nonetheless a vice and pleasant walk that on a day with better weather, you would be writing home about it. Crossing the River Usk by transporter bridge was the icing on the cake. Sadly, these structures are becoming a rarer part of our town landscapes as they are cleared to make way for more modern solutions.
Another early start and we have wakened to sunshine again but with lots of heavy cloud overhead. We have a train journey back to Caldicot, where we finished up yesterday, which should see us start walking back to Newport about 8.45am.
Forecast is for rain throughout the day with occasional thunderstorms. Travelling light, we are carrying only day packs with water, lunch and waterproofs. In the heat of yesterday, we drank four litres of water between us and still finished thirsty. The expected mileage is sixteen, barring diversions, which will be completed primarily by the River Severn, with an occasional move inland to go round water features. The highlight of the day will be using the Newquay transporter bridge, one of the very few still operative in the UK. We used another one when we walked through Middlesbrough a couple of years ago. Should be interesting! We flew down from Scotland yesterday and spent a night in the Hilton Garden Inn, Bristol, prior to a three-day walk from Severn Beach to Cardiff, Wales. The original plan had been for a longer adventure but we are both still struggling to overcome tiredness after our recent walk from Sidmouth, Devon to Severn Beach, South Gloucestershire (over six hundred miles). With Joanna Elizabeth now back at work, we only have a free weekend to complete three fourteen / fifteen mile days with the intention to return in August to play for a little bit longer. The weather is forecast to be exuberant over the next few days, with a mixture of extremely sunny and extremely wet conditions, but neither will not stop us from enjoying either the walking or the fact of finally reaching Wales from our start point at Montrose in Scotland. With an early morning start, we caught the early train (7.00am) from Bristol to Severn Beach, to take up where we had left off a couple of weeks ago. We could not believe how cheap this journey was, just a couple of pounds for a single journey. The profile for today's walk is mainly flat, with only a couple of gentle rises on both sides of the old Severn Bridge. There are routes marked on both sides of the river with the Severn Way taking us from Severn Beach up to the Severn Bridge and, on the other side of the bridge we meet up with the start (or end) of the Wales Coast Path coming down from Chepstow. At Severn Beach we visited the fine little bakery there, just one street back from the riverfront, to acquire packed lunches for the day. Once down on the promenade, just south of the new Severn Bridge, again we had fine views up and down the river. Already in the early morning the day was warming up and it was obvious it would be a hot one. Our route stuck to the coast as we headed for the village of Aust where we would access the pedestrian crossing over the old Severn Bridge. Before the days of the Severn Bridge, the old ferry service used to run from Aust to the Beachley Peninsula. Passing through the hamlet of New Passage we moved on to a section of sea wall. On the edges of the wall we were fortunate enough to have a glimpse of the lovely Gatekeeper Butterfly which was sunbathing on the long grass at the field edge (apologies for the photograph). Athough not currently a threatened butterfly, like butterflies generally it is under pressure from a loss of habitat as more and more rough ground is lost. We had a little blip at Aust where we took a short detour to view the Red Cliff, believing we could walk through to access the bridge. Unfortunately, the path and the stairs up to the bridge have been closed off so we had to backtrack to Aust and take the long way round to the bridge by road. Nonetheless, it is a detour worth making as the cliffs are interesting in their right. Laid down in the Triassic Period when the local area was much warmer , closer to the equator and varying between desert-like conditions or shallow sea, the cliff layers are a wonderful reminder of the age of some of the local geographical features. In their presentation, the cliffs have similarities with the cliff faces we saw in the inner canyons of the Grand Canyon, Arizona during our expeditions backpacking there and where the history of the world is written on the cliffs. In Aust, from the red and green bands of the desert era, to the black and yellow bands of the shallow seas, each tell a different part of Earth's story. The cliff and the seashore at the botton of them is popular with fossil hunters as cliffs sometimes give up both fish and insect specimens. We were crossing the bridge by about 10.00am, but already the sun was blistering hot. The walk across the bridge was interesting, with wonderful views up and down the river. Passing over the small island of Beachley you have tantalising glimpses of the remains of the small church of St Twrog's. It was with a great sense of achievement that we set foot on Welsh soil and were pleased when we joined up with the Welsh Coast Path coming down from Chepstow. Over the next few months of walking we will follow it, in two or three stages, for over eight hundred miles. Coming off the bridge the path immediately turns inland to go round an industrial estate before turning down at the village of Mathern to head for the coast. You pass a lovely wooden sculpture on this section of an historical king of Gwent, King Tewdrig and the church dedicated in his name. Tewdrig was said to have dreamed of his own death prior to a battle against the Saxons, which was said to have come true. There followed a cross-country section as we made our way back down to the river, following footpaths that cut across fields full of golden cereal crops, crossing the railway line just below Wallstone Farm. From the railway, it is a short walk to take up station on the sea wall for a nice walk along the riverbank with lovely views up and down that take in both Severn Bridges. The walking was quite good here, albeit occasionally it was trifle overgrown on the seawall. Nonetheless, it did not stop us observing another beautiful butterfly, this time the Comma Butterfly, distinctive with its scalloped-shaped wings. Rounding the point at Sudbrook, we passed underneath New Severn Bridge, before, shortly after, turning inland again to cross a bridge over the M4 Motorway to our journey's end at Caldicot. This last section had been a pleasant meander along a seawall, blighted only by the intense sun. Making good time in the fine walking conditions, we fleetingly considered walking all the way to Newport. Common sense prevailed, however, informed by the hot afternoon sun and the threat of thunderstorms and we ended our first day at the train station at Caldicot, from where we travelled to Newport. We stopped for lunch at a lovely little Italian cafe in Newport, before heading for our accommodation in the town. As we walked the rain started. Tomorrow, we take the train back to Caldicot to then walk back to Newport, a meander of some fourteen or fifteen miles. Walking with only day packs, it should be an easier day, but with heavy thunderstorms forecast, it could be a long one.
With Joanna Elizabeth, I am sitting in the Hilton Garden Inn in Bristol, prior to a three-day walk from Severn Beach to Cardiff, Wales. I had hoped to be on a longer adventure but I am still struggling to get back to full fitness after our recent six hundred mile walk. As it is, three fifteen mile days will suffice for now with the plan being to return in August to play a little bit longer. We expect weather extremes over the next few days but that will not stop us enjoying either the walking or the fact of having reached Wales from Montrose in Scotland. Watch this space!
I have made a number of changes to the section of the website titled 'Stages of the Walk', which should make it easier to consult the section and to navigate the Walking Journal, which is where the record of individual walks is held.
With so many walks now in the journal, resulting in a very large amount of data, it has become unwieldy and slow to download. The changes that I have made should do away with this problem, as well as make it easier to access individual walks in the journal without having to troll through whole sections to find one walk and slowing down your computer in the process. First off, I have broken the section down into something akin to regions, apart from Scotland which I have retained as a single unit, primarily because it is still a relatively small section in terms of walks completed compared to the other sections. The smaller sections should make it easier to load the data. Second, in each of the new sections, I have linked the individual walks with their entry in the Walking Journal, which means you can access specific walks with only a double click of the mouse. Previously, you had to go to the journal, find the relevant year and month and go through the entries for that month until you found the one you were looking for. The stages I have used are purely administrative and fit in with how I have walked the coast. They do not comment on whether you are a Geordie or a Yorkshire lad, a 'Weegie' or a 'Son of the Rock'. It doesn't mean Scotland is any more or less important than the regions and counties of England and, later, Wales. It is purely administrative. I will maintain a 'whole record' of the walk for my own purposes, but you need no longer download it unless you want to. The easiest and quickest way to access the individual walks will be to go to the relevant section in 'Stages', find the walk you are interested in and double click on the stage number (first column) which is now in green and it will take you directly to the chosen walk If you have the time, I would be grateful for feedback on the changes or a note if any of the links do not work. Enjoy! |
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