In the very good and free Pembrokeshire Coast National Park 'Coast to Coast' publication, we had spotted a guided walk from Trefin for today. The walk started from Trefin but immediately took a bus to Abercastle. Given that the walk didn't start until the afternoon, we decided to start mid-morning and walk to Abercastle by an inland root.
The day was overcast and it had rained overnight. This didn't cause a problem at the start of the walk but when we came to a field of very long grass we started to get very wet. Fortunately, it was quite warm and we knew that we would dry off quickly. After two fields of long grass we came to one that had been recently ploughed and planted. The path took us right across the centre of the field and this allowed us to do a little archaeological field walking. Shards of pottery littered the surface – unfortunately not pre-historic or Roman but plenty of 19th and early 20th century examples. It reminded me of my garden where I find lots of such pottery every time that I dig the vegetable plot.
On the way down to Abercastle we passed Careg Sampson, a burial chamber and discovered a popular Caravan Club Certified Location (CL) site with a view over the ancient monument. All five of the places allowed on CL sites were taken and this is not surprising given its proximity to Abercastle, the coast path and its wonderful sea views.
After wandering around the small village of Abercastle we had our picnic sat on a bench with views over the picturesque bay.
At 14:30 Philip, the Park Ranger, arrived with the group from Trefin and joined us and two others who had made their own way to Abercastle. After an introduction to the area and the mandatory safety warnings, we set off up the hill and headed to Careg Sampson where we learnt a little more about the monument. The stones used are 'glacial erratics', rock broken off and transported by the ice sheets in the last Ice Age and then dropped on the land surface when the ice sheet melted. There is a theory that the cap stone was selected because it reflected the profile of the hills of Strumble Head that can be seen behind it. Other cromlechs are said to have similar cap stones echoing the profile of their local geography. I will let you make your own mind up.
The walk is a short one but it was taken at a very gentle pace and we had many stops when Philip imparted his impressive knowledge and great enthusiasm. Wild flowers and birds were pointed out but the main thrust was about the geology of coastline. The effect of second homes (almost entirely negative) and holiday lets (mixed) were discussed and it was interesting to hear about Trefin when it was a thriving village with two shops and many craftsmen. Trefin is fortunately still a village with many full-time Welsh residents and Porthgain just along the coast is a thriving fishing village but many others, such as Abercastle have very few local inhabitants and many of the houses are empty for most of the year.
Philip is English and only arrived in Pembrokeshire a few years ago but he has taken Welsh lessons and, although not totally fluent, he is able to give his guided walks in Welsh – very impressive. He asked me where I lived and he said that he had moved from Somerset for this job. It turned out that he used to live within 3 miles of our house. He used to work for South Somerset District Council and was responsible for Ham Hill where he had overseen the purchase of much of the land on and around Ham Hill to create the park. He also created the path to the tower and reopened it to the public. I was able to tell him that we had climbed the tower to see the fantastic view and say how much we enjoyed visiting the park. A small world!
Photos: The pretty village of Abercastle; Philip, the Park Ranger, gives us a briefing at Careg Sampson; Careg Sampson.
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