Wales Coastal Path

Environment Minister Jane Davidson today opened the latest stretch of the Wales Coast Path. The new 8km/5m section at Laugharne links existing rights of way and improves the level of access for users at this famous coastal village.

The Welsh Assembly Government is fully committed to the establishment of a continuous path of approximately 850 miles that runs around the coastline of Wales by May 2012. The project is on schedule, with sections being regularly opened.

Speaking about the new section of the path, the Minister said:

'I am impressed with the initiative taken by people here in Laugharne to embrace the benefits of coastal access. The Dylan Thomas Birthday trail, funded independently of the Coastal Access Improvement Programme, has caught the imagination and demonstrates the way ahead to other coastal communities throughout Wales. I am confident that the Coast Path will attract more visitors to the South Wales coastline and in doing so will provide a real boost to the local economy. The Coast Path is not just important for sustainable tourism. I hope that local people will make the most of opportunities to enjoy the scenery while walking along the path and that it will encourage people to live more active and healthy lives, in line with the Assembly Government’s Change4Life programme.'

Dylan Thomas lived at Laugharne for 16 years and in his poetry describes many local sites, including views across the Taf estuary which can be enjoyed from the Coast Path.

Carmarthenshire County Council executive board member for regeneration and leisure Cllr Clive Scourfield said:

'We are extremely keen to see the completion of our section of the Wales Coast Path. We have agreements to finish work on over 94% of the county, and are progressing with discussions for any remaining sections. Whatever the case, we should have the route ready by the spring 2012 deadline.'

While in Laugharne the Minister spoke of how work on the Path is progressing:

'The wonderful Wales Coast Path will be officially opened on Saturday 5th May 2012. Already, 80% of the route we plan to open next spring is available to walkers. Since the project began in 2007 we have created over 70 miles of new path and improved more than 240 miles of existing pathway.'

Under the Coastal Access Improvement Programme (CAIP), the Welsh Assembly Government is committed to creating a continuous path that runs right around the coastline of Wales, and has been investing in access improvements in partnership with the Countryside Council for Wales. CAIP funding of £2 million per year has since 2009 been backed by the European Regional Development Fund which totals £3.9m over 3 years, to support development of the Coast Path by 2012.

Malvern Hills

With excellent weather conditions (clear blue skies and bright sunshine) arrangements were made to travel to the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border to climb the highest peak in Southern England.

Butterballs had a chest infection, RGB had a golf commitment and the Super-fit fifty-something from Cynon Valley was in work. So it was the Duke of Twynyrodyn and Wandering who left the Principality at 9.00am, arriving at the British Camp car park 75 minutes later.

A previous visit to British Camp in August 2010, contains all of the historical details of the site and it was the Duke who posed at the top of the Herefordshire Beacon (at 383 metres) before Wandering decided to head off in completely the wrong direction! He quickly defended his decision by explaining to the Duke that it was important to seek the source of the walk past Hangman Hill and Broad Down.



So it was a case of 'there and back again' to the car park, across the road past the Malvern Hills Hotel and an hour after starting the walk we began the climb of Black Hill, the first peak of the Malvern Hills that stretched out in the distance like a dragons back, dominating the Severn plain.

After reaching the top of Black Hill we could see that the thermal currents above Pinnacle Hill had attracted a large number of para-scenders. With 15 in the skies above Little Malvern and more climbing the hills to join in the fun, we decided to take our first break of the day to watch the entertainment.



A plaque advised us that the Duke of York had officially attended the re-naming of Jubilee Hill in 2002, to mark the year of the Queens accession to the throne 50 years earlier. The next section was the ascent of Perseverance Hill.

After crossing the Upper Wyche Road (B4218) to climb the last peak (with the longest approach ascent!) the number of people walking the hills dramatically decreased and it wasn't too long before we were able to reach the Worcestershire Beacon (at 425 metres) that marks the highest spot of the Malvern Hills.



Both Elgar who wrote his Enigma Variations in the shadows of the hills and Tolkien, who visited the area frequently, have both taken inspiration from the surroundings.

The beacon itself was probably a fitting tribute to a spectacular location with stunning views across Herefordshire, Powys, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. All along the ridge you were able to see the town of Greater Malvern with the Three Counties Showground nestling at the base of the Hills and the farmland of Herefordshire rolling west to the Welsh border.



Leaving the Worcestershire Beacon we descended to St. Anns Well for light refreshments but it was closed - only opening on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays - so we continued our journey into Malvern itself. Finding a quaint tea-room where we enjoyed fruit cake and ginseng served in very 'camp' surroundings!



A quick visit to the Tourist Information Centre to establish the times of the bus to take us back to the start point and we returned to British Camp after an extremely cheap bus journey and a short walk by 4.00pm.



Beverages were quaffed in the Malvern Hills Hotel before the journey back to the Pearl of the Valleys via Ledbury in the late afternoon sunshine after an extremely enjoyable day.

Photographs taken on this walk can be viewed here. Select 'slide-show' for automated viewing.

Spring Equinox

Today marks the Spring Equinox that occurred at 11.21pm this evening in the UK.

The term 'equinox' actually refers to the moment that the sun crosses directly overhead at the Earth's equator and some consider this to be the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator.

Definitely a time to consider pulling on those walking boots!

Someone Like You

Music can be very emotive. You instinctively know when the lyrics of a particular song are so powerful that you remember a specific or personal incident or relationship in your life and you can really feel the painful story that it actually tries to tell, perhaps just hearing this song will help to delve into your sub-conscious.

Desert Trek for Comic Relief

Watch the epic story of what happenned when nine celebrities attempt the ultimate endurance challenge for Comic Relief - a gruelling 100km trek across a desert in Northern Kenya.

Fighting exhaustion, blisters, scorpions, stomach bugs and temperatures pushing 50 degrees Celsius, it is an adventure they will never forget.

With Dermot O'Leary, Lorraine Kelly, Kara Tointon, Ronni Ancona, Craig David, Olly Murs, Nadia Sawalha, Scott Mills and Peter White.

You can now watch the programme on BBC iplayer

South Wales Three Peaks

This is an annual challenge walk which takes place on Saturday 26th March 2011, the event is organised by the Cardiff Outdoor Group. The Walk which was first held in March 1963 is the third oldest event of its type in the UK.

Last year £4,766 was raised from the the 48th Three Peaks Trial. This was split between the Longtown Mountain Rescue Team, the Elenydd Wilderness Trust to help maintain the remote Ty'n Cornel and Dolgoch Youth Hostels and the National Trust, owners of Sugar Loaf and Skirrid Fawr, for footpath maintenace.

The proceeds from the 2011 Three Peaks Trial will again be split between: Longtown Mountain Rescue Team (50%), the Elenydd Wilderness Hostels Trust (25%), the National Trust (10% for the repair of footpaths) and the Ruperra Conservation Trust (15%).

The Gold Route is the original challenge, a circular walk of about 20 miles and 5000 feet of ascent, which crosses the three prominent peaks around Abergavenny:

Blorenge, Sugar Loaf and Skirrid.

The Three Peaks Trial is now firmly established on the walkers calendar and regularly attracts as many as five hundred entrants.

For more information see Three Peaks website

Walking the Amazon

A date for your diary - Friday, 24th June 2011 - another opportunity to spend an evening at the theatre, this time in the company of British explorer Ed Stafford.



When he set out to walk the entire length of the Amazon river in April 2008, everyone said it couldn’t be done. He was told he would probably die, that it was too far, that he would be ill or that the dense forest, biting insects, snakes, bogs, jaguars and fearful tribes would be too much. But he went anyway. Two and half years later, (18 months longer than he thought it would take), Ed finally emerged from his epic trek reaching the Atlantic Ocean on 9th August 2010 to become the first known person to walk the 4,000 miles length of the Amazon river from source to sea.

In ‘Walking the Amazon’, Ed recounts his epic 860-day journey with images and footage from his expedition. He uses the experience to inspire and motivate audiences to achieve their own personal goals and shows that is it possible to succeed even when faced with seemingly insurmountable hardship.

'My aim is to inspire others and to make people feel that they have a connection to the Amazon, its wonders and its problems. I also hope to motivate others to believe they can achieve their dreams, by listening to my story of what it takes to strive to become the first man ever to walk the entire length of the Amazon River.'

His laid back, humorous style educates and enthralls. The presentation will be a mixture of narrative and pictorial anecdotes and documentary filmed by Ed himself in the jungle. He will take the audience with him back to the jungle via his presentation and help to inspire them to see life ahead as an adventure ready to begin.



'A stupendous achievement, right up there with Hillary’s ascent of Everest and the conquerors of the poles.' Daily Mail

'Truly extraordinary...in the top league of expeditions past and present.' Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Beacons Way Improvements

Almost 100 miles (161km) of footpaths in the Brecon Beacons have recently experienced major improvement. The extremely popular Beacons Way route across Powys, Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire has been upgraded thanks to current wardens and volunteers.

The path has been eroded by heavy rainfall, with bridges and walkways near area's of waterfalls also being improved. Funding of £92,000 for the project came from the Countryside Council for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The improvements were made to three sections of the Beacons Way, which traverses nearly 100 miles across the national park from Skirrid Mountain, near Abergavenny, to Bethlehem in Carmarthenshire.

The first section of repairs started at the foot of Craig y Fan Ddu in the central Beacons. A second section - the path from Llyn y Fan Fawr to Fan Brycheiniog - was also upgraded to minimise erosion and improve the experience for walkers. While a third section of the footpath in Carmarthenshire received a new non-slip walkway, along with way marking and sign posting improvements.

Richard Ball of the national park authority said: "The three footpath sections that we've improved along the Beacons Way are strategically very important and will have a significant impact on the walkers who use this route regularly - particularly the Craig y Fan Ddu section of the Beacons Way walk which stretches from Llangynidr to the Storey Arms. This steep and popular section of the route was identified as being in poor condition and in desperate need of repair by walkers and national park staff who survey the route annually."

Whiteford Sands

A tentative plan was initially hatched on Friday evening, although the decision on the actual destination was not made until the morning.

We arrived in the village of Cheriton, a mile from Broughton Bay on the north-west of the Gower Peninsula at 12:30, parking opposite the local community hall.

Before we reached Whiteford Burrows we needed to walk across the top of the man-made dyke that separates the Llanrhidian salt-marshes from the freshwater river. The undulating sand dunes were negotiated with Steve complaining that it would have been easier to get to Dunkirk! Whiteford Burrows is owned by the National Trust and is classed as a national nature reserve.



We were able to leave the dunes descending down a 20 foot wall of sand, before reaching the two mile expanse of the most northerly beach on the Gower, sitting on the edge of the Loughor estuary.



The beach has no direct access by car and it's relative inaccessibility compared to many other beaches on the peninsular makes it very quiet.

The main target for the walk was Whiteford Lighhouse. Built in 1865, by the Llanelli Harbour and Burry Navigation Commissioners to mark the shoals of Whiteford Point, it is the only wave-swept cast-iron tower of this size in Britain. The tower is 44 feet high and stands just above low-water level. The base is about 24 feet in diameter and rises gracefully to a diameter of 11 feet six inches at lantern level. A pitched stone apron has been laid around the base of the Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse is listed by Cadw as Grade II*, as a rare survivor of a wave-swept cast-iron lighthouse in British coastal waters, and an important work of cast-iron architecture and nineteenth century lighthouse design and construction. It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.



Operation of the lighthouse was discontinued in 1920, when responsibility for the light was transferred to Trinity House, who decided to establish a new beacon at Burry Holms. However, after pleas from local yachtsmen, the light was re-lit in the 1980s. This gave an additional point of reference when navigating the waters between the Gower Peninsula and Burry Port. On dark nights, boat crews often found themselves on top of Whiteford Point before realizing the fact. The new light was fully automatic and switched on when daylight faded to a pre-determined level.

After a failure of the solar unit, the light was removed and not replaced. However, the Lighthouse still has navigational value in daylight. The Lighthouse is now owned by Carmarthenshire County Council.

With the tide extremely low we were able to walk to the base of the lighthouse and enjoy a cup of tea, some cake and biscuits.



Returning across the huge expanse of open beach we only saw about half a dozen people all day.

The excellent meal in the Greyhound Inn at Oldwalls was throughly enjoyable after a day spent in the exhilarating sea air.

Photographs taken on this walk can be viewed here. Select 'slide-show' for automated viewing.

Referendum

Wales has said a resounding 'YES' in the referendum on direct law-making powers for the Assembly.

When the last result was declared, all 22 counties minus one - Monmouthshire - backed change. Turnout is provisionally put at 35%.

The final result saw 517,132 vote Yes, and 297,380 say No - a 63.5% winning margin.

The vote will now give the Assembly direct law-making power in 20 devolved areas, such as health and education. First Minister Carwyn Jones told celebrating supporters in the Senedd, the Assembly building in Cardiff Bay: "Today an old nation came of age". Deputy First Minister and Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said it marked "the beginning of a new era of Welsh devolution - the decade to deliver for Wales".

River Daze

Although the clear blue sky gave the impression that spring is on the way the temperature was only nudging 1 degree Celsius. This particular walk is a regular of Butterballs and the last time I accompanied him on New Years Day 2010, the battery on the camera was flat (this had absolutely nothing to do with the celebrations the previous night!).



Perhaps it was a little optimistic to expect to catch a glimpse of the heron's that frequent this section of the river, and although there were lots of dippers, blue tits, coal tits and ducks the elusive heron's failed to put in an appearance.



The start of the path passes in the front of 'Bridge House' at Pont-Y-Cefn, you are then only ever a few feet away from the river itself on both sides of the bank. Deciding to ignore the signs and risk the wrath of anyone felling trees, although it must have been their day off because there was no sign of any arboricultural activity whatsoever, the route takes you under a bridge which is part of the extremely busy Heads of the Valley road (A465) and runs almost parallel to the Taff Trail, only at a much lower level.



I assume that this must be the feeder to the lake that requires the tree maintenance. This is one of 44 regional projects sponsored by the Valleys Regional Park and funded through ERDF, to restore the historically important Cyfarthfa Lake Feeder and enhancement of the adjacent equally important old tramway to provide 1 kilometre of new pedestrian access between Cyfarthfa Park and Taf Fechan Nature Reserve. The feeder was used as a leat to top up the lake in Cyfarthfa Park to power the Crawshay iron works between 1786 and 1910.



There was a large group of elderly walkers on the entry to Rees's Wood also enjoying the route today. After crossing Pontsarn bridge the path takes you underneath the seven arch span of the Pontsarn Viaduct (which was walked across in November).



Crossing a footbridge at the furthest part of the walk you return south past the famous Blue Pool, a popular spot for swimmers during the summer months. Passing below Trefechan you once again enter the woodland section at Coed Llaindir which is part of the Cwm Taf Fechan Nature Reserve, eventually crossing a bridge over the weir before returning to the start.





There are extremely dramatic sections of the river where it has cut through the rocky strata to create narrow fast flowing waterfalls, while in significant contrast other sections are wider, flat and calmer.





The walk was 6 miles and took about 2 hours.