The Celtic Trail takes the cyclist from the eastern gateway to Wales at the Severn Bridge through to Pembrokeshire in the west. I had already cycled the eastern section so was waiting for a fine weather window to complete the western half of the route. As the prevailing winds are generally westerly or south westerly I figured it would be better to start in the west at Fishguard and pedal back to Llantwit Major with the wind. So an early start on a slightly overcast Thursday morning, saw me stumbling onto the train from Bridgend to Fishguard with the bike laden with 2 panniers and a front rack bag - I'm not sure why I needed so much... I was only going to be away for 2 nights. On reaching Llanelli to change trains, the over indulgence of the night before celebrating Johnson's 61st birthday, had just about worn off. The journey from Llanelli to Fishguard was uneventful with the only thing worth mentioning was that I was the only passenger on the train for the entire journey the journey - luxury travel.
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| Fishguard & Goodwick Station Cafe |
The station cafe in Fishguard and Goodwick seemed the perfect place to seek sustenance and time to review the day's route choice. I had opted to take the inland route which basically follows NCR 47 as opposed to the longer coastal route which is NCR 4 - they both start in Fishguard and loop round to Carmarthen. My destination for the first leg of the journey was to be the Youth Hostel in Manorbier so I was crossing from North Pembrokeshire to South Pembrokeshire. I realised that there would be a certain amount of uphill pedalling to be done but the rise from Fishguard to the point at which I left NCR47 at Henrr'y Moat to head south, seemed to go on for ever and got steeper with every turn of the pedal.... real battery sapping stuff this I thought but at least the sun was shining. The uphills got less steep and less frequent and the decent to Clarbeston Road was on quiet country lanes. After crossing the busy A40 I was pleasantly surprised to follow a traffic free section through Canaston wood which brought me into the small town of Narbeth. Time for some liquid refreshment in the garden of the Angel Hotel where I basked in the sunshine with a couple of pints of Gower Gold! I was tempted to sample the Felinfoel Double Dragon but with still 30km to ride, abstinence got the better of me. More down hills and a few steep short climbs and I was soon in St Florence, a pretty village close to Tenby. Onwards and downwards into Manorbier with its imposing castle meant it was time to find the Youth Hostel.
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| Manorbier Youth Hostel |
The hostel is situated a couple of kms outside Manorbier in Skrinkle Haven. It is also adjacent to an MOD establishment that is used as a firing range! Upon my arrival I was greeted by what sounded like a Exocet missile being launched but was assured by the young warden that this had been going on for a couple of days and that the drones in the sky were making sure nobody encroached into the firing line! A comfy bed with en suite facilities and breakfast for £33 was a bargain and if you're ever visiting the area be sure to call in to the Hostel's cafe for coffee and cake and some fabulous views.
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Day 1 Fishguard to Manorbier
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Day 1 Stats - Distance 70km - Climbing 1160 m
Looking out over the cliff tops at Skrinkle Bay on the Friday morning with ominously dark clouds appearing , was a sure sign that I was going to get wet at some point during the day's ride from Manorbier to Llanelli. Even more climbing than the previous day lay ahead of me and the route was a tad longer as well! I left the Hostel with a cheery wave from 4 motorcyclists who had shared the breakfast buffet with me and after a short climb out of Manorbier onto the Ridgeway I was back into the groove. The descent into Tenby was quick and dry and then the route followed NCR4 along the coast through Saundersfoot and Amroth before climbing up to St Clears. Arriving in St Clears still dry, the next section meant cycling on the cycle path alongside the A40 against the oncoming traffic - somewhat disconcerting so I was pleased when the road once again headed south and followed the lanes through the Cynwyn valley with the pungent smell of wild garlic in my nostrils. Next stop was Carmarthen, the county town of Carmarthenshire which sits on the River Towy and boasts as one of it's own none other than the the comedian Rhod Gilbert.
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| Carmarthen |
A stop for lunch in a greasy spoon cafe was most untimely because as I left the rain started. Battling uphill and into a strong head wind I eventually reached the summit of what I thought was going to be the final climb of the day - a fast descent into Ferryside with my eyes clenched half shut against the raindrops, meant that I missed a turning, so with the Komoot instructions insisting that I do a U turn and that my route was 400 metres left of me, I chose to battle on figuring that the coast road would get me back on track and into Kidwelly. I was sadly mistaken - another climb appeared before the aforementiond coastal route so by the time I reached Kidwelly I was soaked to the skin with the battery indicator almost in the red zone. At this stage the route became very flat, the rain had stopped and the wind was behind me so I flew along through Pembrey and Burry Port like a galleon in full sail.
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| Burry Port Lighthouse |
My arrival in Llanelli was heralded by the sun emerging from behind the clouds and the glorious Millennium Cycle Path made for easy riding.
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| Millennium Cycle Path |
I eventually found my hotel very close to the Parc Y Scarlets, home of Llanelli's eminent rugby team. Not quite the £33 I'd paid the night before but at least for the £70 I had paid, I had been allocated the disabled room on the ground floor. So I was able to get my bike into the room without too much of a struggle and being able to sit down on a plastic stool in the shower under the jets of hot water made life very passable, very passable indeed.
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| Day 2 Manorbier to Llanelli |
Day 2 Stats - Distance 98km - Climbing 1319 m
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| The Loughor Estuary |
The early start on Saturday morning gave me the opportunity of seeing the Loughor estuary at its finest. The views across to Gower over the desolate sand banks must be some of the finest coastal views that Wales has to offer. NCR 4 was the chosen route for most of the day. Across the Loughor Bridge, into Gowerton and down through Clyne Valley Country Park into Swansea was easy traffic free cycling. I have to admit getting lost in Swansea Marina when the route was blocked off over one of the docks but once I found my way I was soon heading passed the vast Amazon Warehouse en route for Baglan and Port Talbot. The NCR4 signage in Port Talbot has caused me problems on more than one occasion and once again I got lost... but I did find a great cafe in Taibach run by a lovely gentleman of Italian extraction by the name of Marco, which served a great breakfast but didn't find the Banksy portrait.
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| Bankys Portrait in Taibach |
The route home from Port Talbot is a well ridden one so no more tricky navigation or sign searching was required, just a pleasant Saturday morning pedal passed Margam Park, Bridgend and back to from whence I started.
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Day 3 Llanelli to Llantwit Major
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Day 3 Stats - Distance 81km - Climbing 530m
