You don't have to try hard to enjoy Wales’ most westerly
county.
Welsh rugby fans are in high spirits this weekend after
their side’s record defeat of Argentina at the Millennium Stadium. Away from
the bright lights of the autumn internationals, a long weekend on the
Pembrokeshire coast will give you something to cheer about too.
Taking the plunge
I stood on the edge and looked down at the water. The drop
seemed much further from above. I looked up to an even higher ledge, where a
young boy was about to jump.
‘I didn't drive all this way to be upstaged,’ I thought,
ignoring the trembling in my knees. I took a step forwards and threw myself
into space.Time seemed to slow as I fell, my face contorted into an
involuntary gurn. I hit the water at speed and sank quicker than a stone. The
rush was addictive and I swam around for another go.
The Blue Lagoon, near Abereiddy in Pembrokeshire, is entry
number one in the Wild Swim book and its position in first place is well
deserved. Formerly a slate quarry, the sea has now broken through the walls to
create a sheltered pool, which despite its name owes its green hue to the
mineral content in the rocks.
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| The Blue Lagoon, Abereiddy, showing the ruined quarry buildings in the centre |
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| The quarry walls have been breached and the ocean flows in |
As I waited for my second jump a man in a wetsuit (everyone
was wearing wetsuits apart from my girlfriend and I – more foolhardy than
hardcore) told me that the Red Bull cliff diving championship was to be held
here in a few weeks.
‘Right here?’ I asked, as school aged children swarmed
around me chattering excitedly.
‘No mate – up there.’ I followed the man’s finger to the top
of the quarry wall. It was almost 100ft high and not vertical so it would take
a superhuman leap to clear the rocks at the bottom and avoid certain doom.
‘They build a platform sticking right out over the water,’
the man continued. ‘I’d love to be here to see it.’
The prospect of scrumming down with the Red Bull cavalcade
made me shudder so I contented myself with another death-defying leap of mine
own before scrambling onto the beach to warm up.
Holy dozers
Two days earlier, on Friday evening, my girlfriend and I had
set off from London in Gerty, my VW campervan. I didn't fancy tackling the
whole 300 miles in one go and arriving in the wee hours, so I used the
satellite imagery on Google Maps to locate a place just over the Severn Bridge
where we might find a secluded lane for a bit of a kip. My girlfriend dozed as
I drove down back roads in the pitch black, listening to a podcast about a
voodoo curse. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and there
was not a cosy lay by in sight.
It’s hard to locate a good sleeping spot when you can only
see as far as your headlights but soon the lane emerged into a small town and
we parked in the driveway next to a church. Perhaps I was seeking sanctuary
from the disquiet of the spooky story. I wondered if we would forfeit
protection from evil spirits by peeing on the hallowed ground.
The next day we were away early before we could be told off
and were soon breakfasting in Sainsbury’s in Swansea, whose cafe was suffering
from a plague of wasps. Was it the voodoo or the vicar catching up with us?
With plenty of food onboard, we also needed gas for the
stove so I didn't have to think of an excuse to detour via Go Outdoors, the
Mecca of the camping equipment world. So hypnotised do customers become by the
rows of head torches, portable showers and inflatable kayaks that there are
members of staff on hand to guide the bumbling fools towards the exit, after relieving them
of £27.99 for a floating key ring.
High, dry and no Wifi
Saved from any wallet-melting buffoonery by my level headed
girlfriend we carried on towards Hillfort Tipis, which, like other sites I have
found using coolcamping.co.uk, did not disappoint. Located on farmland in
Pembrokeshire National Park near to the town of Fishguard, the site sits above
the coast with views down to the headland and the Irish Ocean. We drove in and
were directed to park in the middle of a field by the owner, John. There was
not a motor home in sight and there were acres of space between the nearest
guests and us. If you like your camping more bumpkin than Butlins then Hillfort
is perfect.
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| The view to Strumble Head from Hillfort Tipis campsite |
We got to know John a little during our stay - he delivered
firewood every evening in his battered Vauxhall Corsa and he asked us,
jokingly, if we could find him a wife in London. He went on to lament that
people rarely come to settle in these rugged parts, despite the outstanding
scenery. It is true that city dwellers like to experience nature in bite-sized
chunks and few would forego their friends and jobs to move away permanently.
We were soon on our way again, driving to St Davids, the
UK’s smallest city, for a boat tour around Ramsey Island. As we stood on the
slipway next to Fishguard lifeboat station waiting for our captain, a claxon
sounded, warning us to stand clear as the lifeboat was about to be deployed.
‘Who are they going to rescue?’ Asked the little boy,
looking up at his dad, his eyes wide with excitement.
‘The previous tour group,’ I chipped in, fixing the
youngster with an evil glare.
When nature doesn't nurture
We sped around the island nature reserve on a twinned-engine
RIB (rigid inflatable boat), pausing to admire basking Grey Seals, wheeling
Guillemots and curious rock formations. The captain handled the powerful craft
with skill, manoeuvring deftly across The Bitches, a treacherous reef, which
has sunk many ships over the years and is now a popular spot for white water
enthusiasts to pit themselves against the rushing currents.
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| AGrey Seal basks near Ramsey Island |
Tragedy struck the Bitches in
1910 when 3 lifeboat men lost their lives after rescuing the crew of stranded ship, which had been delivering coal to Ramsey Island. There has been
a lifeboat station at St Davids since 1869 and the volunteers manning it would battle the gales and high
seas in little more than a wooden rowing boat, until 1912 when the first motor lifeboat was introduced. The bravery of the crews is well
documented on the plaques that line the walls of the station and each of the
330 lives saved gets a mention.
The sea was calm as we looked
down on it from our pitch that evening. When we asked John if were allowed to
build a fire, his response was typically relaxed.
‘That wall over there’s two
hundred years old. Grab some stones from it and make a fire pit.’
We carefully undid the work of
long-dead hands and cooked our supper over charcoal before lying on our backs
to watch the stars sparkle in the black sky. Our quiet enjoyment of the
celestial display was disturbed intermittently by things slithering over our
legs and hands – the damp grass was a paradise for slugs.
Unsung hero
Ellie and I had agreed to be
prepared for bad weather; ‘It always rains in Wales,’ but we were lucky,
which is why the next day found us swimming in the Blue Lagoon and lunching in
the tiny harbour at Abercastle where the tidal reach is long, the sea sucked in
through a gash in the cliffs and lapping at the crab traps parked on the beach.
The village was the landing site of the first single-handed sailing of the
Atlantic from west to east in 1876 by the Danish fisherman Alfred Johnson, who
spent sixty six days covering over 4,000 miles from shore to shore. Why is
Alfred’s remarkable achievement not more widely known? Perhaps because the
story of his adventure is out of print and the one new copy remaining costs
£405 on Amazon.
Taking a considerably smaller
risk, we spent a couple of hours stretching our legs along the Pembrokeshire
Coast Path, heading west as it followed the fractured outline of the cliffs
perched above inaccessible beaches battered by waves.
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| The Pembrokeshire Coast Path near Abercastle |
That evening there was little
else to do but relax. We made gin and tonics and took them
up to the highest point of the campsite to watch the sun set across the smooth ocean. As the light faded the beam of Strumble Head lighthouse
swung around, warning ships away from the rocks.
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| Sunset over the Irish Ocean, and yes, those are VW vans on my mug |
All too soon it was Monday
morning and we bid farewell to John and Hillfort Tipis, driving west again to
pay a visit to the car boot sale near St Davids. The reformed hoarders and
cottage entrepreneurs lined up on either side of a rugby pitch like opposing
armies with their wares spilling out of vehicles that wouldn't have looked out
of place in an episode of Wacky Races.
Crab-racadabra
Just in time for lunch we arrived
at Solva and pulled over at a sign announcing ‘Fresh Crab Daily’. We followed
the arrow on foot until another sign pointed through a gate into a back garden,
where we were greeted by furious barking. We waited nervously, wondering if we
were about to be attacked when a lady appeared and ushered us inside where
piles of dressed crab were on display. Her husband catches the crabs on his
days off; a canny way to diversify his livelihood during these economically
challenging times.
Down by Solva harbour we sat in
the sea breeze, scooping crabmeat out of the shell while watching families pile
into wetsuits and onto the water in kayaks, canoes and sailing boats. A stroll by the water following the receding tide took us past a collection of limekilns. Built
in the 18th and 19th centuries, these large ovens
would have been used to heat limestone brought in by sea, creating lime to
enrich the local soil.
Further down the coast we stopped
at Newgale, where there is a 3-mile stretch of sandy beach. The flat expanse
is a popular place to learn to surf and kids can splash around in the gentle
swells. We reclined with ice creams and savoured the final doses of Vitamin D
before the long drive back to London.
The camping season is sadly over,
as temperatures dip below zero and most sites close for the winter. While Wales
will be hoping that they can build on the victory against Argentina in order to try and retain the 6 Nations title in 2014, I'm looking forward to
spring and another fine performance from the cliffs and coves of Pembrokeshire
National Park.
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| Grazy days on the Pembrokeshire coast |
Pembrokeshire resources to make your stay:
Where to stay http://hillfort-tipis.co.uk/
Red Bull cliff diving at the Blue Lagoon http://www.redbullcliffdiving.com/en_DK/video/cliff-diving-wales-stop-motion-film
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