Prior to leaving home we spend a lot of time planning adventures, trying to cover all the bases, but still things go wrong at the last minute. We found out yesterday as we were leaving home that the ferry we had hoped to use to cross over the River Towy has been taken out of the water for repairs. We don't have time in a neat schedule to walk up and down the river so will need to put the thinking cap on over the next couple of days to find a solution.
Our train to Gowerton this morning left at 7.50am, so an early start for us if we wanted breakfast before our departure.
From Gowerton train station we walked back along the B4295 to meet up with the Wales Coast Path where it turns off Bryn-Y-Mor Road on to Pont-Y-Cob Road heading towards the Afan (Afton) River. There is a small bridge over the Afton just below the railway. Turning right after crossing the river we continued along a small country road before turning up a lane to cross on a footbridge over the A484. This was followed by a short, pleasant enough cross-country / woodland section, running parallel to the road and joining up with the WCP, heading for the next bridge over the more substantial River Loughor. Risingin the remote uplands of the Black Mountains, the Loughor has a number of major contributaries including the Rivers Lash, Amman, Gwili and Morlais. The river had a reputation as a good fishery for wild salmon and sea trout.Since about 2010 there has been a gradual decline in salmon numbers, while the figures for sea trout are slightly better, but not good.
Also on the approaches to the river crossing are the remains of the South Wales Railway Viaduct designed by the famous engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The viaduct first opened on 17 September 1852 and is the only surviving timber rail bridge in Great Britain. Although much changed over the years, it is still an impressive site today. The photograph below shows an original section of the viaduct now standing in splendid isolation in a field beside the river. The old wooden structure was replaced in 2013 with a new bridge, designed for the modern railway with two tracks, as opposed to the single track on Brunel's bridge. Just below the bridge the River Loughor discharges in to the beautiful Cefn Padrig Bay, before making its way in to the more extensive waters of Carmarthen Bay beyond.
Returning to the coast, crossing over the railway again on the way, there was a lovely section along the edge of the water with stunning views across the bay to the Gower Peninsula. From this perspective you understand why the Gower is sometimes likened to a sea serpent lying across the top of the water. There are various wildlife habitats here including mud flats and a section of salt marsh with a substantial wading bird population.
Out in the open now with no shelter, there was a very cold wind blowing that chilled to the bone. Only minutes before, walking behind a hedgerow, we had commented on how lovely and warm it was! Despite the rural location, the walking surface stayed firm on a packed earth path. At the end of this section you are forced inland to go round the many water features of the Wales National Wetlands Centre. The town of Llanelli lies just to the north.
We had been looking forward to a break at the visitor centre at Seaside, Llanelli, but unfortunately it appeared to be still under construction or further development. Fortunately, there were Portaloos on the seafront and at least one need was taken care of.
We passed the small marina and went round the old harbour area then followed a path out towards and behind the location of the old Pembrey harbour and canal. While there is little that remains of the harbour now, in its day it was very busy with traffic from the inland coal mines as well as traffic passing through from the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canals. Built in 1819 at the location of an old creek , the writing was on the wall for the Pembrey harbour with the building of the Burry Port harbour in 1832. Another major cause of its demise was the constant silting up of the harbour, ultimately restricting its use to larger vessels.