Misty and I started at 6am from Tanybwlch Beach at the south end of Aberystwyth in slightly breeze conditions, but still warm enough for t-shirt only. Our aim was to get to Cardigan and then return to Aberystwyth on the Bus. The route would be about 46-50 miles and we left about 12 hours so it was always going to be tight. I made the decision to take the time to eat and to take photo's and if that meant a reduced distance, so be it.
I have spent 6 months living near Southampton, 3 years in Stoke on Trent, 1 year in Birmingham, 6 months in California (total work time spent over the last 13 years) which leaves near 37 years living in Aberystwyth. It is therefore shameful that I had not taken the time to explore the 50 miles of coast line to the south. Given how well I know Snowdonia and Pembroke, or even parts of the Scottish coast, Saturday was the day to start to redress the balance.
I knew some of the 1st section, but I was quite surprised at the scale of the cliffs past Morfra Buchan. Thought less than 400ft in total hight, they still had some grandure and a lot of bird life. There were also the only place where I went off route into a section of Dwarf Oak, which was interesting none the less.
I left Aberystwyth with 20 quid, a some energy gel, a visa card and phone for emergencies, a thin waterproof, water, a camera and a spare pair of socks, so we travelled quite light. My plan was to eat and drink at least 4 times on route and the 1st stop was the Shell station in Llanrhysted for a coffee and some welsh cakes. In hind sight rather than following the signs back into the village, I should just have gone along the beach avoiding the Caravan park. Llanrhysted to Aberaeron where a lot flatter. I saw a side of Llanon which you don't see from the road, very pretty. A little further on by a maize fields were scores of white butterflys.
I aimed for a target pace of 4 miles an hour including stops, so I got to Aberaeron at at 10.30 and stopped for about 15 minutes to have a cup of tea, a bacon sandwich and change my socks. Aberaeron went about its saturday morning business as passed over the bridge in the habour.
Some quite nice houses on the south side of Aberaeron.
More hills, though nothing too bad on the way to New Quay where there is a good mile of sand which you run along when the tide is not high, very nice.
If you wish to join my internet campaign to have New Quay floated out into the Irish Sea and then sunk, please vote
here. The classy end of New Quay is the fish factory to the south. Apart from a cheery girl in the Spar, everyone else I encounters were miserable as sin and just wanted your money. Full marks for the RNLI life guards spotting that Misty is a dog, but explaining the probability of her choosing to dump on their 50m beach after 22 miles left more than adequate time for me to clear off while they processed the concept with a confused look that people might run along a coast path with a dog and be just passing through, rather than using their 50m of beach to exercise their dog. Sweating bloke, panting dog, bum bag, lack of bucket and spade would suggest to most I was not intending to stay beyond the 30 seconds it took to cover their area of beach.
The coast south of the the wart on the backside of Ceredigion is wonderful, though a lot more up and down. What was were is now a jumble in my head, but 3 great accessible beaches and 2 that had no road near them, but were super and had a very quick swim in one. No shortage of tea and cake opportunities. This section of coast is just stunning and also excellent training with a lot of hill. I would love to read the risk assessment for digging this section of path which is just wide enough for 2 people to walk side by side, but being a 360 degree excavator owner myself this is a scary place to use a rock breaker. If it did start to slide, you would roll down to the sea before you knew it. Very impressive indeed.
We got to Aberport and the bus times just did not work to go any further. I had hoped to get to Cardigan, but with 2 1/2 hours left and well over 10 miles, it was too much of a risk that I would have to call up Myra to get me having missed the last bus at 6.30. So we got the bus back from Aberport.
I was chatting to a retired couple in Tresaith who wonder if they should call the N.S.P.C.C. because the dog was being made to run too far. I suggested they were welcome to do so, but that madam was always ahead, had plenty to drink and if she could talk the only words you would hear her utter was about how slow I was. There was also the small point that the N.S.P.C.C has a target market of beneficiaries which are children. They did reflect that she looked very happy.
36 miles and I guess about 6-8k of up and down in 9 hours of moving and an hour of tea drinking time (once we had decided at Treseith we were not going to make the bus in Cardigan, we chilled out a bit). Getting better at eating and drinking on the move and only eat real foot and some chocolate, giving the gel and sports drink a miss. Writing this on Monday evening, my legs are nearly ready to run again and my head certainty is.
It was really nice to do something which is not mountain based once in a while, but still is good BGR training, but what a coastline!
- Monday 3 x 500ft hills reps hill fort to bus stop and back up with a lung bursting best of 12.02 1500ft.
- Tuesday rest
- Wednesday 5 miles of running round a field which included some hills sprints as well. Probably 1000ft in total.
- Thursday : In London all day and having a excavator delivery at short notice put pay to my plans to do the Long Mynd Valleys course.
- Friday rest
- Saturday : Aberystwyth to Aberport along the Ceredigion Coast path. 36 miles and between 6k and 8k at a guess climb.
- Sunday : Ice-cream and Football : playing football of course with kids, not watching it.
