From the bay we had good views out to the defensive forts on Stack Rock and Thorn Island. Above and slightly to the west of Gelliswick Bay lies a large oil refinery and the area is littered with structures related to the oil and gas industry, in particular the two enormous jetties that jut out from the mainland in to the Haven. The bay is a port of call for tankers that serve the refinery and over the years there have been a number of ecological disasters of one kind or another. The Milford Haven in general is known for the number of ship wrecks that lie off the coast and the bay is no exception. As we left the bay behind and moved in to the open countryside the hedgerow was well populated by Stonechats and we heard their distinctive cry as we walked along the clifftop. It sounds a bit like two pieces of wood being rubbed together.
On the land above South Hook Point is located the South Hook liquefied gas terminal which ships gas from Qatar and processes it in Pembroke.
As you turn the corner at South Hook, you have sight of the first water crossing of the day at the Sandyhaven Pill. The Sandyhaven Pill area is locally important geologically because there is visible evidence here of the switch between the marine and desert conditions that dominated in the local area at different geological times. It can be seen in an area on the upper reaches of the Pill where Silurian-era marine deposits have been wrapped in the Old Red Sandstone of the desert-like Devonian era.
The route continues along the cliff to the old ferry crossing, but we dropped down on to the beach just below the reservoir for a nice walk across the sands The planning of my walking companion had judged it right and we arrived at low tide meaning we could use the sunken bridge over the Pill and thereby avoid the long walk up the Pill to Rickeston Bridge, the next feasible crossing. There used to be stepping stones here but they have been replaced by a wooden bridge.
We were soon back on the clifftop and on the section that leads out to Great Castle Head, identifiable from the radar station on its summit and which we could see from the shore at the location of its wee brother, Little Castle Head. Great Castle Head contains the remnants of yet another Iron Age fort which was located to the south end of the headland, protected on three sides by the cliffs and to the north by a ditch and bank.
Coming out of the woods we found that the skies had greyed over and as a consequence the views were slightly bleaker than they had been, the lack of white light flattening everything out. Nonetheless, we could still see right back to South Hook Point, the towering structures of the refinery at Angle Bay peaking over the hilltops. Forward, we were looking in to the Dale Roads, the name for the waters just off Dale Point, and the cliffs running out from Dale to St Ann's Head.
While the path here was slightly narrow it was still good walking and coming along here on a bright, sunny day would be, I think, a lovely day's walking.
From the cove the path goes uphill again very quickly through a small copse of non-coniferous trees. The edges of the path were covered with wild flower with plenty of tall, stately Red Robin and pert Bluebells. The trees, although small and somewhat stunted, had a wonderful sense of age about them with some unique shapes as well. Through breaks in the trees we had lovely views all the way back to Milford Haven and, closer to home, to the Dale Point Field Centre at Dale Point. Passing the disused quarry just after Monk Haven the path became overgrown for a bit with grasses, nettles and wild flowers all tugging at your ankles at near to ground level. It soon cleared, however as we neared Musselwick Point, where we dropped down on to the beach to approach our second river crossing of the day at The Gann.
Earlier in the day as we were leaving Milford Haven we had been passed by an intent young woman who, after the pleasantries of the day had walked on ahead of us to enjoy the solitude of solo walking. We caught up with Claire at the lime kilns and enjoyed a chat and some snacks before completing the walk together. We subsequently had dinner that night in the local hostelry where we were very fortunate to secure a table in the very busy restaurant.
While we were there, there was a kerfuffle on the water as it seemed a boat had come adrift from its mooring and was free-wheeling across the water and theatening to run up against the rocks below the cliff. It was quite exciting watching all the services running about. When we finally went to our campsite we mentioned the incident to the owner who immediately stopped his grass cutting, jumped in his car and made off for the harbour. Turned out he was also the moorings officer. He told us later it was the boat of a friend who had been onboard preparing to sail but had been knocked off in to the water. He was successfully recovered from the water and so was the boat.
While he was off securing the drifting boat, we pitched up using the super-duper tent pegs the site kindly provides because the ground is so har. Tent up and gear stowed, we took advantage of the very good showers on site, in preparation for a fine dining experience in the Griffin restaurant. We met up with our new friend, Claire and all enjoyed the lovely food. For your information the Hake, red pepper and chorizo is wonderful.
After dinner, Jo and I wandered about the village for ten minutes before walking back to the campsite in the dark for a good night's sleep.