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Pembrokeshire Coast |
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CAMPING, OR SOMETHING LIKE IT
Nov. 7-8, 2002 |
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Bright and early Thursday morning, severely deprived of sleep and my sanity, we embarked for a camping trip in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The Pembrokeshire Coast is quite beautiful when it isn't so windy that it knocks you over the cliff. There is a path that runs to good stretch of the park, close to 299 km of winding footpath, some of if broad and flat, other parts steep and narrow all along the coast of Pembrokeshire (hence the name of the park). We were given coordinates and in between, 17km. I know, 17 km doesn't sound like a whole lot. But I assure you, when the road is quite steep, very muddy and you have 50 pounds of smelly camping equipment strapped to you, it is quite a distance. Anyway, our guides dropped us off at St. Justinians Car Park early that morning, then told us they would see us the following afternoon at Newgale Beach, with a smile and a quick "toodleydoo," we were off. The weather Thursday was quite fine, not too windy and the road winding, not too bad, at first - we were making decent time.. Our path followed the coast exactly, which is great because it acts as a constant assurance of your location, but the coast of Wales is quite jagged and cruising along the cliffs adds several miles to the journey. So to try and save time, we found a small path cutting straight across one of the peninsulas, saving us a few miles, so we elected to give it a go. |
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Oh yes it's pretty... just hope the wind doesn't knock you (or your tent) over the side!
Below: you can just barely make out the path
following the coast and over the stile |
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We found the entrance to the path, but after ten feet or so, we realised the path was no longer there and that it had probably sunken into the boggy mess in which we were quickly sinking. To try and save ourselves from wet and muddy socks, we tried hopping up to some small clumps of grass. These were not very stable and with a very large rucksack on one's back one tends to become quite tipsy - when several people have very large rucksacks on their backs, it becomes quite comical, as everyone is tipping over, and with their bulky bags, whacking over those who may have possibly made it safely. We eventually found ourselves back on solid ground and continued on our day deciding that from then on we would stay on the path and that the worst part of the trip most certainly was behind us. Well, we marched on a good several kilometers before coming to a fork in the path. And as most adventures of mine seem to go, we took the wrong path. Fortunately we caught this before walking all the way down to the beach where the tide was slowly creeping. We turned around and headed back and about five minutes later realised that we were missing a group member. This was quite unnerving for a long time, as from the cliff we couldn't see him down below, and it was a good 15 minutes before he showed up. We kept trekking and after ahwhile decided we should find a suitable campsite while we still had daylight. We picked a spot that was relatively shielded from the wind, but it itself was higher up, so that we would be protected from the rain sliding down the hills. This was great, we were going to set up, enjoy some food and relax.... So we put our kit down and began to unpack, broke out the tent and had it up in decent time. Stepped away for two seconds to retrieve the rain fly that goes over and it, when the wind very quickly cropped up. |
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I turned around and what I saw was quite surreal... my entire tent wafting a foot above the ground, spinning, heading in the general direction of the cliff. I tried to act, but I couldn't get my feet to move or my brain to function and it wasn't until the tent went over the side was I up and staring in awe as it bounced down to the beach below. I could have died, in fact, I was about ready to. From where we were, there was no way down to the beach, you would have had to trek around the little peninsula, make it down to the sand and then book it across to make sure the tide didn't get you.
As far as I was concerned, that evening would be spent in slumber on the cold wet grass..... Fortunately, the guy we had lost earlier took up a sprint into the horizon, and a few minutes later I saw him jogging across the beach and then emerging with his head and arms inside the tent, legs carrying him here and there with the gusts of wind, and back around. Thanks to him, my partner and I had a place to sleep that night, and it was just as well we had that, because what pride and dignity were now gone. |
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Some of the fun scenery along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path |
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