St Brides Bay - Day 2 29/05/2009

Waking early to another overcast day but with brighter weather forecast, I pack up and take a few photos before I am back on the water and paddling out towards Stack Rocks, a small outcrop of rock NE of St Brides Haven.

The smaller rock to the left of the top picture with the hole is shaped like a camel at certain levels of the tide which can be seen a bit better I think in the bottom picture with the head and neck to the left and the humps to the middle and right.

Leaving Stack Rocks the clouds begin to break and at Borough Head I have to take off my cag and apply the sun cream, it could be a warm one.

Looking west from Borough Head back towards Stack Rocks, the vegetation grows right down the cliffs due to it being protected from the prevailing South Westerly gales.

Pausing again at Little Haven, a picturesque village, once a working harbour with ships docking to collect coal mined from the adjacent cliffs.

Again looking westward across the Goultrop roads towards Borough Head, the vegatation is even more dense with it growing almost down to sea level.

The Goultrop Roads have been the site of many a shipwreck even though ships used to anchor here to avoid the prevailing south westerly gales, occasionally though the wind would veer to the north leaving the ships to rely on their anchors which sometimes would not hold causing the ships to be pounded onto the rocks.

Paddling across Broad Haven the aptly named neighbour of Little Haven, the cliffs start to get more rugged and the vegetation becomes more sparse.

At Den's Door, a large stack pierced by two arches, one which is easily accessible and another smaller one which is not so easy to spot today and was inaccessible due to the height of the tide.

Paddling further northwards I get to Black Point where a large part of the headland is slowly detaching itself from the mainland.

Just past Black Point the cliffs get higher and through a narrow tongue of rock is Haroldston Bridge, a large natural arch.

The cliffs between here and Druidston Haven show quite a bit of evidence of the effects that the weather and sea have on the landscape.

Next I paddle across the sandy beach of Nolton Haven, which was once one of the main coal exporting points of the area.

Reaching Rickets Head, the easily recognisable shaped headland at the very south of Newgale, I decide to paddle straight across to Green Scar, the largest rock to the south of Solva and then straight across to the southern end of Ramsey Sound without stopping, to hopefully get through the sound before the southerly flowing tide gains too much speed.

I make good progress to Green Scar and the smaller Black Scar.

Paddling for about an hour I round Carreg Fran, the rocky headland to the east of Porthllysgi Bay and the southern end of Ramsey comes into view.

Reaching Pen Dal-aderyn, the tide is just starting to run against me but staying close to the cliff I get through and am now able to have a well deserved rest.

Whilst stopped I notice another kayak approaching, it is Martyn returning from a paddle round to Porth Clais. He has made the long drive down from Sheffield for a long weekend, the lengths some people will go to to have a paddle, I guess I don't know how lucky I am living reasonably close to the sea.

We both paddle back to a crowded Porthsele ending a paddle of just over 19 nautical miles again and a total of 38 nautical miles over the two days (approx 44 miles or 70.5 km.)

Todays route is black on the above map with yesterdays in the red.

Thanks to Martyn for the above two photos its not very often I get photos of myself.