St Davids Weekend Report

Once again Doug has organised another great weekend away, this time enjoying some of the coastal delights offered to us by St Davids.

We started the weekend by gathering at the YHA Youth Hostel in St Davids. We used the new annex in the hostel. It is somewhere I have stayed a couple of times previously, but the new Annex is an excellent addition to what has always been a basic but charming smaller hostel.

Doug cooked the evening meal on Friday, a vegetarian Chocolate chili and rice, and after drinking a reasonable amount of wine and beer, Steve introduced us to some Party Games. Most notable was Cereal Boxing, a simple game of elimination where the contenders had to pick up an empty cereal box with their teeth, keeping both feet on the ground and not falling over. After each round an inch was cut from the top so making the feat of agility and balance more difficult. The game was a draw between Steve and Doug, when all that was left of the carton was a small piece of cardboard.

Eventually the full compliment of Doug, myself (Rob), Steve, Cat and Graham from the Trekkers were joined by Chris, Raquel, Anne, Matt and Nick from the Black Country walking group.

The weekend walks were made up of two classic walks taking in stretches of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, on Saturday we walked from the city centre of St Davids out towards St Non's well and then picked up the coastal path and followed this as far as St Justinian and the lifeboat station. We then turned inland and back towards St Davids. We were outstandingly lucky with the weather, dispite the forecast being somewhat fierce, we were only hindered by a few sharp showers that emptied down on us, but we were spared the persistent rain that was threatened. We were rewarded by fantastic views of the islands of Skomer and Grassholm in the distance as well as Ramsey Island and the angry swirling torrents of Ramsey Sound. On our return, we had some time to contemplate the majesty of the Cathedral and its somewhat eccentric archtecture.

That gave us some time to unwind and prepare for a night out in St Davids. Some of the contingent entertained themselves with a game of Trivial Pursuit, while others took some time out to relax for a while. The taxi booked for 7.15 came along at 8.00. We must remember we are in Pembrokeshire and the generally chilled atmosphere means not too much attention is paid to precision timepieces, and headed down to the Farmers for some desparately needed food and drink. The food was reasonably priced, well prepared and plentiful, you can't really ask for more than that, and we left the pub well satisfied.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a somewhat shorter walk from the Youth Hostel itself, around the side of the rocky outcrop of Carn Llidi that serves as a backdrop to the hostel and back along the coast towards Whitesands Bay stopping off to investigate some of the bays and headlands along the way. We induldged ourselves on an ice cream at Whitesands and some of us braved the winds and headed towards to the top of Carn Llidi. We were rewarded by some outstanding views of the St Davids Peninisula thanks to the fantastic clarity of the air.

After sorting out the Hostel, we all departed, the Black Country mob having a five hour journey ahead of them to get up to Stafforshire from the most westerley point in Wales. Doug and I, since we were somewhat closer to home, took the opportunity to call in the Gwaun Valley near Fishguard, (well a detour really) to visit one of the most Famous Pubs in Wales, the Dyffryn Arms in Pontfaen and Bessie the Landlady. On asking Bessie what Beer she had in she replied "Well that Beer!", pointing a finger at one of the pints she had just served to one of the other customers who had arrived there at the same time. There is only one Beer (it was Bass by the way) served in Bessie's, carefully served from a jug. This place is special and defies description, for more information on this little gem read this article.

It was another one of those weekends when everything came together helped by the typical Pembrokeshire weather. It is place I have visited many times, and I do not expect to tire of visiting the area any time soon.

Christmas Curry - Sat 2nd Dec

Tawe Trekkers Christmas Meal - 2nd Dec @ Miah's


It was once quoted in one of the lesser known parts of the Bible...

'And so Jesus walked up the long stony path to the house of his enemy, and rather than drawing his dagger, or the sharp edge of his holy tongue, did taketh from a humble stone pot a dish of fowl, boiled in the most spiced of all sauces in the land, and from a humble sack did produceth half a bowl of yellow-coloured rice grains, and half a bowl of fried potato pieces. The two men did eat the dish together, and washethed it down with a chalice of ale, and the warming flavours of the food and the affecting of the ale did breaketh down the barriers of foeship for good...'

And who ever said curry has nothing to do with Christmas!?

This Saturday, 2nd December the Tawe Trekkers will be celebrating this great act of Jesus' kindness by having their Christmas Meal at Miah's Indian Restaurant on St.Helen's Road.

We'll be meeting at the Westbourne Pub from 6:30 (pm, obviously) for a real ale or two, then moving on to Miah's at 7:30 for the curry.

There is no walk with the Trekkers this weekend, but this event should provide you with the usual dose of sparkling conversation and camaraderie. No doubt some of us will be going out for more drinks afterwards as well!

So I can update Miah's on how many are turning up, could you please ring/text/email me by Friday to say you're coming. You can call me on 07766652837.

P.S. Don't forget it's also our regular pub meeting in the Brunswick on Thursday (30th Dec).

All the best and see you soon,

Doug

Newsletter - Pembroke and one or two other things

Hi there,

You might be thinking that there is not much happening this weekend......but you'd be wrong. We are heading down Pembrokeshire this weekend. But don't forget that there are other walks going on in the area if you can't join us in Pembrokeshire.

Tawe Trekkers/BCG Joint weekend in St Davids.
Its all systems go for our weekend away in Pembrokeshire, food is bought, walks are planned, hot water bottles on the ready. There are still a couple of places for anyone who would like to join us on, give Doug a call on 07766 652837 to let him know that you would like to come. We have a 9 miler planned on the Saturday with a shorter one planned for the Sunday, plus an opportunity to sample the delights of St Davids.


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West Glamorgan Ramblers walk
If you are unable to come to St Davids, have you considered joining any other walking groups in the area? This sunday, the West Glamorgan Ramblers are having an easy walk led by Zetta Flew (01792 232060) in North Gower. There promises to be Fields & quiet country lanes with panoramic views of the estuary. Meet at 10.30 a.m. at car park Station Rd Llanmorlais GR 529947. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on this walk.

There are lots of other walks going on, have a look on the walk finder on the Ramblers Association website.
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Swansea Outdoor Group - Use your paths challenge
Also on Sunday, the Swansea Outdoor Group are organising a "Use Your Paths" challenge, a scheme to walk all the paths in a given map grid square. This is a scheme organised by the Ramblers Association, and it is a challenge to walk all the footpaths in Wales. An area will be picked and an attempt is made to walk every footpath within it, helping to keep them open and reporting any problems we may find. Location to be confirmed but will be Gower or North of Swansea. You can contact Sue from the SOGs on 01792 296219.

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Christmas Curry
After much soul searching, it was decided that we should sample some of the UK's favourite food for Christmas - curry. Doug is organising a Christmas Curry night on the 2nd of December in Miah's curry house. If yo want to join us, give Doug a call on 07766 652837 to join us.
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That just about wraps everything up for now, I'm looking forward to St Davids. There is another Brunswick night a week on Thursday meeting up at 8.00. Hope to see you there,

Rob

Brunswick Meeting - 16th November

Just a quick reminder that there is a Brunswick night tonight (16th November) at 8.00pm, our regular fortnightly gathering in this distinguished hostelry. Here is a map on how to get there

It is an opportunity to catch up on stuff, meet new members and ..... sample a few of the fine beers on offer behind the bar!

Hope to see some of you there.

Newsletter - Porthcawl and Pembrokeshire

Hi folks,

The days are getting shorter and colder, but don't go into hibernation mode just yet! Remember the Trekkers have walks on all year round, and here's two events not to be missed.

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Walk on Sunday 19th Nov - Porthcawl

Marie will be leading a varied walk around Porthcawl area and the Merthyr Mawr dune complex. There are also three ancient wells for the historians amongst us! It's a long-un at 14 miles, but no steep hills you'll be glad to hear.

Meeting at Swansea County Hall Car Park at 0930 or if you want to meet us at the start of the walk...
Start Point: OS Explorer 151, Grid Ref: SS 83597/77487

To get to the start aim for Newton which is at the Eastern end of Porthcawl. We can park in the carpark of the Ancient Briton Pub and Marie has secured permission for us to do so.

Dogs are welcome, and although it is a long walk and may be getting dark towards the end, the final stretch is lit so we should be able to find our way back without walking into any ditches.

For detailed directions or for any other info on the walk you can give Marie a call on 07867833464.

P.S. Unfortunately the funfair won't be open, so you'll have to bring your own candyfloss.

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Pembrokeshire and St.Davids Weekend - 24th to 26th Nov

For those that are coming to Pembrokeshire, here's some info that should help things along. This is a joint walk with our old friends the Black Country Group, so we can look forward to seeing a few of them there too.

If you haven't yet put your name down but have now decided that you'd like to come, then please get back to me or Rob as soon as possible as there are a few spaces left.
We have booked a whole building for ourselves at the hostel and the more we fill it, the cheaper it is for everyone! At the moment we have 12.5 people on the list which works out at about £24 each.

There are also 2 - 4 people who are staying in B&B accomodation (because they don't want to slum it with us scabby hostel dwellers), so we should have quite a good crowd out on the walks.

Accomodation

St.Davids YHA is about 2 miles north east of St.Davids itself in Llaethdy. To get to it leave the A487 (Fishguard Road) just outside St. Davids, turn left onto the B4583 and Whitesands Bay. Turn right by the golf club, then left and follow the YHA sign.

For detailed directions, go to http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp and type in your starting point and the hostel post code which is SA62 6PR. From Swansea it gives the travel time as 1hr 44mins. Sorry Black Country guys, but it's going to be a bit further for you!

Travel Arrangements

There are 5.5 people going from TT, so we should fit everyone into two cars. I'm taking mine as I owe Roberto a lift, and we'll probably need another volunteer to drive from Swansea. Get back to me if you need a lift or are able to drive and I'll do my best to coordinate lifts. (Btw, my number's 07766652837).
We'll have access to the hostel from 4pm onwards on the Friday. If you get there first and can't find the manager (Paul) anywhere, his number's 07908090036.

Food

People have the option of using the hostel's cooking facilities, or eating out in St.Davids. After talking to people on the Llanwonno walk, we thought we'd do a group meal in the hostel on the Friday night between the TTs. I'll get the ingredients and then those who take me up on the offer can chuck a couple of quid my way.
On the Saturday the idea is to go a bit more upmarket and eat out...

There's not a great deal to choose from in St. Davids, with it being so small. Morgan's Brasserie, 20 Nun St (01437 720508) is good for locally-caught fish, while The Cartref, Cross Square (01437 720422), has reasonably-priced local dishes. The Farmers Arms, Goat St (01437 720328), does decent pub grub, with last orders for food at 9pm.
I rang the Farmers Arms and asked them if they could take a crowd of 14 or so, and they said yes as they are quite big.
Please get back to me soon with any thoughts as we'd be best off booking places if there's going to be a lot of us.

Remember also to bring stuff for packed lunch and breakfast.

Walks

My current proposals are a 9 miler from St. Davids on the Saturday and a short 3.5 miler on the Sunday.

Saturday's walk would be fine coastal walk heading down to the coast from St. Davids and then following a wild and lonely stretch of coastline from St. Non's Bay to Porthstinian. It will consist of relatively easy paths with only a few modest ascents.

Sunday's route is a short jaunt to St.David's Head and Carn Llidi, and is right on the doorstep of or hostel.

If there are any queries about the trip whatsoever, please give me a call. If you're umm-ing and aar-ing over whether to come, I can assure you the coastal walking in this part of Wales is not to be missed, and a good time will be had by all.

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That's it for this week, but before I go we've pencilled in the 2nd December for the Christmas meal and are thinking of Miah's Restaurant. More on that coming up in later installments.

All the best,

Doug

Newsletter - Llanwonno 11 miler, 12th November

Hello Everyone,
Thankfully the firework season is coming to an end and we can go outside without feeling we are living in a war zone!
It's that time of the week when we start looking forward to the weekend ahead, and this weekend, I am leading a walk in Llanwonno near the Rhondda, and a Lis is giving a talk about environmental art at the Environment Centre.

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Llanwonno walk - 12th November

This walk takes place high on the ridges between the Rhonnda and Cynon Valleys. There are fine views, the potential to view a variety of wildlife, the odd waterfall or two, a variety of woodland, both coniferous and deciduous alongside the historical artifracts.

Meet point - As usual, County Hall East Park at 9.30. and then at 10.30 at ST 03338/95943, the start point of the walk - a car park set in woodland. Easiest approach by car is probably via Penrhiwceiber. We should be at the start point of the walk by 10.30

Dogs - As usual, if you have a hairy member of your family you can bring them along, as long as they keep their owners under control!
Refreshments - The Brynfynnon Hotel in Llanwonno for a post walk drink.

Please remember to bring along apporpritae equipment on any walk we organise. Please don't wear jeans, when they get wet, they get cold and horrible, and if you trip and sprain and ankle (or worse) , at this time of year you will soon start to suffer the effects of hyperthermia. So please take time to read the equipment list located at the end of the programme.

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Environmental Art.
Apologies Lis for the short notice, but Lis is delivering a talk on Environmental art at the Environment Centre in Pier Street at 7.00pm Wednesday 8th November. The talk is followed by a practical hands on workshop where you have the opportunity to get your hands dirty constructing your own sculptures from driftwood etc. Call the Environment Centre in Pier Street Swansea for further details on (01792) 480200.

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Gallery Photos
Martin is always on the look out for pictures of walks, if you have any that you think would be suitable for the gallery, then send them to martin via his email address martin@wwtl.co.uk so they may be posted on the website. Possibly, if you are a frustrated writer, you may want to report on a walk for the newsletter. If so, get creative and send it along to info@tawetrekkers.org.uk.

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That's everything for this week, hope to see some of you on the weekend, no Brunswick night this week, but next week we will be meeting there at 8.00 on Thursday 16th November.

Keep walking, it good for you,

Rob