Porthgain And The Blue Lagoon 24-04-2011

With yesterday's paddle cancelled due to the wind increasing, a crabbing excursion to Solva and a visit from Eurion and the youngest 2 of his clan, I was back on the water paddling NE along the North Pembrokeshire coast.

As is often the case paddling around St David's Head was a little lumpy but on reaching the headland at Penllechwen conditions calmed.

The coastline is very rugged with high cliffs and few places to land with the 500' summit of Penberry still visible from sea level.

At Porth Tre-wen the geology changes from the hard igneous rock to the softer black slate and shale.

There are numerous channels and caves created from erosion by the sea and in places slate quarrying.

In 15 or so minutes I am paddling into Abereiddy and toward the entrance of the Blue Lagoon, an old slate quarry that is now flooded.

I paddle past the remains of part of the wall that used to keep the sea out of the quarry and into the calm bluey green water of the Blue Lagoon.

Paddling out of the Blue Lagoon and round the headland of Trwyncastell I encounter the first adverse tide of my paddle which slows my progress to the small harbour of Porthgain.

Porthgain was once a busy harbour from th 1830's till the 1930's exporting stone, slates and bricks but now it is home to a few small fishing boats.

On my return paddle I head out away from the cliffs to make the most of the increasing ebbing tide passing quite close to Monkey Rocks which are about half a mile out from the mainland causing a hazard to passing boats.

I make very good progress back aided by the tide and I am soon back at St David's Head with Ramsey Island coming into view.

Rounding St David's Head it is only a short paddle to Porthsele completing a round trip of 15 nautical miles.

Porthgain via a Blue Lagoon 18/04/2009

With it being another not too windy, cloudless sunny day I decided to use the last of the flood tide to take me NW up to Abereiddy or possibly Porthgain, and then use the first of the ebbing tide to bring me back to Porthsele on my return.

On reaching St David's Head I was quite surprised how choppy the sea conditions were so instead of paddling quite close to the cliffs I stayed a few hundred yards offshore.

Although I would miss exploring the numerous small coves and inlets on the way I would get the full benefit of the tidal flow and avoid the confused water near the cliffs.

Progress was quite rapid passing the 175m high peak of Carn Penberry and the rocky outcrop of Carreg-gwylan-fach.

Before I knew it I was entering Abereiddy bay dodging the numerous flagged buoys marking the spider crab nets.

The tide was just right to pass the remains of the old workings and through the narrow gap into the now flooded Abereiddy Slate Quarries now called the Blue Lagoon. The water is so blue due to the effect of the slate on the water.

This is an ideal place to have a rest as it is nearly sheltered from all directions. It is hard to imagine that in the 19th century the lagoon was a hive of industry, now it can be quite eerie especially like today when it is deserted.

Passing back out through the narrow entrance I look up to the 18th century stone tower on the headland of Trwyncastell.

After paddling between the rocky outcrop of Cerrig Gwylan and the mainland the sea conditions become a bit rougher around the headland of Penclegyr, but not enough to stop me going through the narrow arch which leads through Penclegyr and into Porth Dwfn and back again.

It is then only a short but quite choppy paddle to the small harbour of Porthgain with its now disused brick hoppers which were used to store crushed granite.

After another rest it is back to the return leg. I again decide to stay away from the cliffs. With the tide having now turned I make good progress and before too long I am back at the impressive high cliffs of St Davids Head and then Ramsey Island comes into view.

It is now a paddle across Whitesands Bay and back to a quiet Porthsele with Pencarnan campsite above.

A paddle of nearly 15 nautical miles (17 miles or just over 27km) exploring a lot of Pembrokeshire's industrial past.

Abereiddy - A Waterfall and a Watch Tower 22/08/08

With the south westerly flowing ebb tide just starting I rounded St David's Head with the intention of rounding the headland of Penllechwen, which is about 1.5 miles from St David's Head, before the tidal flow became too strong and flowing at it's fastest for my return paddle.



As usual the waters between St David's Head and Penllechwen were confused with quite a large swell but as yet not much adverse tide.



On reaching Penllechwen there were the usual overfalls but increasing my paddling speed and using the standing waves to aid my progress, I was soon through them and into the calmer waters beyond. It is amazing how within just a few hundred yards the sea conditions change with the water now calm and with little tidal flow except at a few of the protruding headlands.



From here there are impressive views along the cliffs of the North Pembrokeshire Coast all the way to Strumble Head in the distance with Carn Penberry towering dominantly above the coast.


The coastline is very rugged with high cliffs and very few places to land safely. When I reach the headland of Trwyn Ddualt which lies in the shadow of Carn Penberry 175m high, I see the change between the grey hard igneous rocks to the South West and the softer black shale/slate cliffs to the North East.



On reaching the small beach at Porth Tre-wen and round into Aberdinas the cliffs become even more weird and jagged with numerous small caves which can only be entered at or near to high tide.

Above these wild cliffs is the Iron Age Fort of Castell Coch.

It is then a straight paddle into Abereiddy passing a few waterfalls on the way which are flowing quite fast due to the recent heavy rain.

Abereiddy is a small beach with black sand and a cluster of small cottages behind the beach and to the north a row of crumbling quarrymen's cottages, all that remains of the once thriving community of the Abereiddy Slate Quarry.

The quarry was operational from about 1830 to 1904 with the slate originally being shipped out from the beach and later from the harbour at Porthgain via a 3 mile narrow gauge tramway.


At the beginning of the 20th century the quarry flooded creating the Blue Lagoon which wasn't quite accessible today as the tide was too low.

On the headland of Trwyncastell overlooking the Blue Lagoon is an 18th century stone tower which I am not sure whether it was built as a light tower or a harbour entrance marker.

It is now a leisurely paddle back to Porthsele with the south westerly ebb tide flowing nicely in my favour with some more impressive views back along the coastline to St David's Head.

This was a good way to start my week down West covering a distance of 12 nautical miles (approximately 13.75m or 22km) with a maximum speed of 7 knots coming back around St David's Head.