Chance to explore beaches and rolling countryside
THE Carmarthen Ramblers had two walks over the weekend of January 12 and 13.
On the Saturday, Bob Millington and Maud Jones led the Carmarthen ramblers on a pleasant 5.5-mile walk in the Tenby area. The walk involved both the North and South beaches, an area of marshland, muddy tracks, footpaths, a bridleway and some good views. The weather was quite mild with hardly a breeze but with brilliant sunshine at times and also one inconvenient little shower.
On the Sunday, Jim Cunningham led the group on an eight-mile circular walk in countryside behind Clydach in the Swansea Valley.
The walk went from one valley – Cwm Clydach – over the hill into another – The Tawe Valley and included a beautiful woodland valley, a riverside path, open moorland, a visit to a well preserved isolated chapel and some good views.
The Saturday walk started from the North Beach car park in Tenby from where they walked the footpath up to The Croft for the first view of the seaside at the North beach. They followed the road passed the Cliffe Norton Hotel and located steps down to the to a lower level walk that led to Castle Square.
From here they took the footpath towards the lifeboat station then cut up onto Castle Hill to the national memorial to Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
They then made their way past the museum and walked along it in a southwesterly direction for about half a mile exiting from the beach at Black Rock that took them across the Golf Links into Kiln Park Holiday Centre.
They walked through the park and reached the remains of the old lime kilns. At the junction with the Tenby to Penally Road they located a footpath that led for about half a mile across the marsh at Holloway Bridge across Nabb’s Bridge to meet the B4318 Gumfreston road.
A hundred metres along the road towards Tenby they passed through a kissing gate and here the terrain changed as they accessed a very muddy lane that ran around the remains of Scotborough House.
In the afternoon, they left the estate to reach the A4218 at Serpentine Road and from there they reached the highest point of the day in Lady Park.
From this point they accessed a bridleway through Upper Hill Park to meet the road where they turned left back into the North Beach Car Park to finish the walk.
The Sunday walk started from the RSPB nature reserve car park near Craig Cefn Park and initially followed the Lower Clydach River northwards up river through a wooded valley.
They crossed a footbridge to a footpath that climbed the side of the valley to reach a farm road at Cathelyd-ganol where they steadily climbed and then contoured around Allt-y-fanog.
Turning to a southerly direction they met Mynydd Gellionen Road to reach the highest point of the day from where there were good views.
The group followed the road northwards for about a quarter of a mile before turning right as they started to descend the hillside until they reached Ty’n-y-pant where they located a bridleway that continued down Craig Trebanos to meet a road that took them into the village of Trebanos.
Here the group crossed the B4603 to pick up the tow path/cycle that runs between the River Tawe and the Swansea canal near Craig-y-Duke and walked towards Clydach until they reached the Trebanos playing field.
In the afternoon they continued along the canal path a very pleasant mile long stroll stopping for a while at the Clydach Heritage Centre on the edge of Coed Gwilym Park where they were given a little local history whilst they viewed the three weathering steel cut out statues of local characters (the local Midwife Lillian Smith, Derek Bevan - the international rugby referee, the scientist – Harry Grindell Matthews – Dr Death Ray).
They stayed on the path passing behind the Mond factory until they reached the confluence of the Tawe and Clydach in Clydach then walked through the village and just before the leisure centre their route aligned with the river Clydach for the last leg of the walk as they followed the footpath up river for about a mile through the Lower Clydach Valley past the wonderful waterfalls at forge Fach to meet the B4291 road at the New Inn where they turned right into the RSPB car park to finish the walk.
The next walk will be on Saturday, February 2 when Andrew Padfield will lead a six-mile walk along paths and tracks in the Kilgetty area.
■ Further information is available on 01267 230923.