We had not been walking long on the moor when we came upon a Wall Butterfly basking in the sun. Once quite widespread, the Wall is in decline in many areas and in Wales it is one of the butterflies that were at one time widespread, but now rapidly declining. At first we thought it was one of the fritillaries with which it is often confused. It was only when we returned home and were able to look at the photographs that we could properly identify it. Thrilled to have found it as it is not to be seen in my area of Scotland.
The route goes through a housing estate, sometimes on back lanes / residential streets, so you are not always walking beside heavy traffic. On your right as you walk this section is the Mynydd Margam range of hills that runs along the back of Margam up to the banks of the River Avan. The view as we walked up from the moors was the first time we had really gained a sense of the hills and valleys so redolent in the folklore of Wales. There are a surpising number of walk trails on the Margam hills and we have marked it as a place to return to in the future .
At the end of the industrial section we continued through mainly residential areas to now go round the docks that sit on the eastern edge of Port Talbot. As we passed through Sandfields East we diverted in to the town to find a place to eat. Spying a cafe advertising 'all day breakfast' we called in on the off chance it was still on. There was about two minutes to spare before the service stopped and, thankfully, they accepted our order. In conversation the owner told us that, with the docks and the steel mill nearby, on most days they could do up to three hundred full breakfasts.
We stopped for a few minutes going up here to photograph a butterfly perched on a yellow wild flower. In the face of our patience, it refused to open out its wings to aid in identification. Despite that, I would hazard a guess that it is a Grayling. It is widespread on coasts and heathlands in England, but reducing in numbers in the inlands area. In flight its brighter orange-yellow bands can be seen on the upper wing but we hated to disturb it just to get a photograph and it stayed remarkably still while we were in its company.
Once on the local roads we had a walk of a mile or so to reach our Airbnb accommodation. We made it just before the heavens opened and the rain that had been threatening all day engulfed the village.