Dunraven Bay to Aberthaw 10/05/2008

Leaving Dunraven Bay which is the beach below Southerndown, just as the incoming flood tide was starting to lap onto the rocks, I paddled SE around the headland of Trwyn-y-witch and along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.


The cliffs along this stretch of coastline are totally different to Pembrokeshire but no less impressive.

The next point of interest is Nash Point with it's two lighthouse towers. This was built in 1832 following public outcry after the passenger steamer Frolic was wrecked with heavy loss of life in 1830. Only one lighthouse is in use today. Large overfalls can form here but today it was flat calm.

Paddling eastwards I pass St Donat's Castle which now houses Atlantic College and the Atlantic College Inshore Lifeboat.

Just before Tresilian Bay there is a large impressive cave which almost looks man made due to the layered rock formations. It is rumoured that the caves around this bay were once used by pirates. This one really took my breath away.

Passing Col-Huw point, the beach at Llantwit Major, the tide is now full in and all that is visible of the beach is a steep bank of pebbles. I paddle on to Stout Point where I have a short break. I then carry on around Summerhouse Point and the scenery changes for the worst as Aberthaw Power Station comes into view. The paddle along this stretch was a drag as the tide had changed and was flowing against me. I then paddled out to the concrete tower and into the main tidal stream to start on my return journey back to Dunraven Bay.

My progress is very rapid averaging 5 1/2 knots with little effort.

On the way back I get a good view of Tresilian Bay and it's numerous caves.

Before I know it I have reached the two towers of Nash Point lighthouse.

On passing East Nash Buoy, which is straining at it's moorings, due to the rate of the tide, I achieve my top speed of 8 knots.

Soon my peace and tranquility is shattered. As I enter Dunraven Bay the beach is full of people, very different from the deserted one I left nearly six hours ago, anyone would think summer had come early.

I had a great paddle today and covered 19.5 nautical miles (just over 36km) on a near perfect day.

Ramsey Island 05/05/08

Better conditions today although there was a sea mist threatening to come in so I decided to paddle across to Ramsey Island and take it from there.

On reaching the northern end of the island there was nowhere near as much swell as yesterday and the tide was still ebbing which I could use to my advantage to take me down the western side.

Looking towards Trwyn Drain-du

On rounding Trwyn Drain-du I left the mist behind and paddled across the largest bay on the western side, Aber Mawr, which is usually inhabited by a large number of seals and their pups during the pupping season. I didn't stop here today as I wanted to push on before the tide changed.

After leaving the relative shelter of Aber Mawr I come across the most exposed section of the island, which is southwest facing and gets the full force of the prevailing southwesterly winds and weather.

The cliffs along this part of the island are some of the highest sea cliffs in Wales and are the nesting grounds of Razorbills, Guillemots and Kittiwakes. The birds are constantly flying back and forth from their nests out to sea and already the cliffs are slowly changing colour around their nest sites. It amazes me how they manage to nest on such sheer cliffs especially in high winds.

Padddling further southward I reach the storm beach of Porth Lleuog which is a very steep pebbled beach, also used by seals and their pups. This stretch of coastline is riddled with numerous caves which I didn't explore today as there was still a slight swell.

On rounding Trwynmynachdy conditions were massively calmer than yesterday and my escape route was much less accessible due to the state of the tide. The picture below shows what I paddled over yesterday to get back into the Sound on my aborted trip.

I now pass Cathedral Cave but didn't enter it as there were many birds nesting above it and didn't want to get too close, I will have a chance to explore more at a later date (hopefully!).

Next is the only part of the trip where I have some adverse tide conditions, this being the 'Devil's Hole', the gap between Ynys Cantwr and Ynys Bery. There were no standing waves today, just tidal flow, and with a sharp sprint I was through into Ramsey Sound.

By now the tide had started to flood so it was in my favour as I paddled northwards back up through the sound towards the Bitches where the sea mist started to reappear.

Now at a leisurely pace I made my way to St John's point where I stopped and looked back at Ramsey which was already half enveloped in mist. It was a good feeling to have finally made it around Ramsey Island as normally by this time of year I have done this trip a couple of times already.

Failed attempt 04/05/08

For the second time of the year I thought I would attempt to paddle around Ramsey Island. Although the conditions weren't ideal I was becoming a bit frustrated due to the lack of decent paddling trips. The wind wasn't too strong but there seemed to be a large swell, well I could only try....

I set off as usual from Porthsele with the tide just starting to flood and headed southward through Ramsey Sound just on the edge of the main tidal flow to Pen Dal-aderyn. Here I had to paddle very hard to get across the tidal flow to stop me being taken down past the Bitches as I wouldn't have been able to paddle back through them.

As I paddled towards the southern tip of Ramsey the sea became a lot rougher and I began to have my first doubts. On reaching the Midland Gap, also known as the Devil's Hole, between Ynys Bery and Ynys Cantwr there were large standing waves, this is not unusual at this section of water so I carried on.

My initial doubts were then confirmed, as normally the conditions subside after a couple of hundred yards, but today all I could see were large standing waves as far up as Trwynmynachdy. At this stage of the tide I knew that there was an escape route between Ynys Cantwr and the southern tip of the main island where, even though the tide was against me, I was able to surf and paddle furiously through the gap and into the relatively calmer waters of the Sound. Once again I was strongly reminded of exactly who was in control of who!!!

After a well earned breather I paddled a bit downheartedly back to the Bitches where I was greeted by a swarm of playboaters. They were not having much luck surfing the Bitches due to the large swell which was causing the wave to peak up and fade making it difficult to stay on.

With the tide at it's full flow I paddled off back through the sound towards St John's where I reached a top speed of 11 knots and saw a couple of porpoises on the way. Which as usual were too quick to capture with a camera.

Tide stream with St Justinian in the background

On reaching Porthsele I met another paddler coming from the direction of St David's Head, who turned out to be Patrick Winterton, on his way from Tywyn to meet up with another fellow kayaker to accompany him across to Ireland. He decided to stay at Pencarnan for a couple of nights before setting off. This chance meeting made up for the disappointment of my failed Island trip. Good luck, safe paddling and thanks for the tips!

Exploring Ramsey Sound 03/05/08

I left it late setting out today and as a result the spring flood tide was already flowing quickly through the sound. With there also being quite a strong wind my options were limited. I decided to explore the mainland coastline of Ramsey Sound as I hadn't done this for a while.

The first of the many small coves along this stretch of coastline is Porth Cadnaw pictured below. As you can see this section of the cliff is constantly disappearing into the sea causing the coast path above to be constantly moved further and further inland. This cove is usually home to at least one seal pup per season.

Paddling towards St Justinian I pass a few more little coves and then reach Ynys Dinas which is a small outcrop of rock. I usually have to paddle round this to get into St Justinian but as I was closer into the coastline than normal I noticed a small channel between Ynys Dinas and the mainland which led through into St Justinian bay. This is what I love about sea kayaking, being able to go where other boats are unable to access.

On passing St Justinian, the home of the St David's lifeboat, the next point of interest is Ogof Mary. This is a sea cave with natural springs above that pour down into the cave entrance.

Inside Ogof Mary

Straight after leaving Ogof Mary there is a Natural Arch which can be paddled through just before and after high water.

Paddling through the Arch from Ogof Mary with Ramsey Island in the distance

Looking back towards Ogof Mary

The next stretch of coastline is riddled with numerous caves and even smaller coves than before, the one pictured below is also often used by seals and their pups.

It was at this point that a large Bull Seal decided to accompany me on the next part of my journey, it was almost as though he was keeping an eye on me, making sure I wasn't about to invade his territory. During breeding season it can be quite eerie paddling this section as all you can hear is the spooky wailing of the pups echoing around the caves.

Just before you reach the bay of Carn ar Wig there are the remains of some form of winching gear and what looks like a small man made jetty. Whether this is something to do with the nearby Treginnis Copper mine, I don't know, and have not had much luck in find out any information on this.

Carn ar Wig is usually sheltered from the prevailing Southwesterly winds and again is used by seals to have their pups.

From here it is only a short paddle to Penmaen Melyn where I meet the north flowing flood tide which, by now, was flowing at it's fastest rate. I paddled into it and let the tide take me back down to St John's point and back to Porthsele.

I reached a top speed of 9.5 knots whilst paddling back on the flood tide and travelled 5 nautical miles on this round trip.

Not such a good day....14/04/2008

Another windy day and with the wind coming from the north it was also very cold. Last day here today so decided to paddle to over to Whitesands and out to St David's head, to hopefully escape the northerly wind.

When taking photos I usually drop my skeg to help keep the boat still, unfortunately shortly after taking this picture my skeg cable jammed, (bad luck number one!).

After rounding Trwynhwrddyn, more commonly known as the Ram's nose or the saddleback, I entered Porth Lleuog which is a small isolated beach with high cliffs and numerous inlets and caves.

One of the numerous inlets between Porth Lleuog and Porthmelgan that is only accessible by the sea and as a result seal pups are often born here.

Entrance to cave near Porthmelgan

Inside cave

Looking out of the cave

On leaving the cave it is only a short paddle to a small headland and round into Porthmelgan.

Shortly after taking the photo above bad luck number two struck, my camera packed in! Paddled on to St David's head and as bad luck usually comes in threes thought I better cut my losses and head back for Porthsele!