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.

Around the Head 12/07/2008

I hope yesterday was not a one off, as today things were back to normal with winds force 4-5 occasionally 6.

With the tide starting to flow southward I decided to paddle around St David’s Head against the tide and see how things went.

On rounding the Head the sea was very confused with waves bouncing back off the cliffs and hitting the waves coming in.


Progress was very slow and challenging but good practice all the same .

For about a mile from St David’s Head there are numerous small inlets but as can be seen from the photos, not much room to land,

which is a shame as this cave looks worth exploring, though I wouldn’t fancy the climb down!

On reaching the point at Penllechwen the usual overfalls were already building to a fair side, but even though the tide flow was against me, I could surf the standing waves and was soon into the calmer waters of the small beach of Gesail-fawr where I had a well deserved drink and munch of an energy bar!



From here I was able to see right along the North East facing coast of Pembrokeshire with the lighthouse of Strumble Head just visible in the distance.

I decided to head back which should be a lot easier as the tide will be in my favour. The overfalls at Penllechwen were great fun and got quite a soaking.



I made rapid progress back to the head with Ramsey Island coming into view and then disappearing as I dropped into the troughs between the waves.



After rounding the Head it was then a leisurely paddle through the sheltered water back to Porthsele with Pencarnan caravan site above. This was a relatively short paddle of only 5 ½ nautical miles but quite a challenging one and great fun in the rough water.

Pencarnan from the sea

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!

First decent Easter paddle! 24/03/2008

Finally awoke to near silence compared to the last few days, and the caravan walls had stopped shaking!

Checked the trusty inshore shipping forecast to find N backing NW 5 to 7 decreasing 4 or 5 later, today's the day that I finally get back on the water.

Decided to take my usual route down to the south end of Ramsey Sound keeping quite close to the shoreline as the wind was still quite gusty.

On rounding St John's point Penrhyndalar comes into view, it's hard to believe that only yesterday the waves were breaking half way up the rock face reminding me to always have deep respect for the sea, and proving how quickly conditions can change for better or worse.

Carrying on past St Justinian where the St David's lifeboat is housed I reached the bottom of the Sound, as the tide was still on the ebb I decided to carry on round the coastline and paddle to Porthlisky as this section of the coast would be sheltered from the NW wind, and on my return the tide would be starting to flood and therefore aide me on my paddle back through the Sound.

Porthlisky is a shingle beach accessed via the coast path. Remote and unspoilt, making this an ideal lunchspot.

On my return paddle I noticed quite a large sail boat leaving the Sound and heading into St Brides Bay.As the tide was now starting to flood, I paddled with it, through the Sound, past Carreg-gafeiliog and onto St David's Head. Large overfalls were being created in places due to the wind against the ever increasing tidal flow.

Paddled to St David's Head, which is the most Westerly point of mainland Wales, and headed into Porthmelgan, with Carn Llidi in the background. Porthmelgan is an unspoilt and attractive sandy beach again accessed only via the coastal path .

From here there are good views back down through the Sound and Ramsey Island, and also a good view of Pencarnan situated just above Porthsele.

Ramsey Sound and Island viewed from Porthmelgan

Pencarnan and Porthsele

It's great to be back on the water again with a decent trip covering a distance of nearly 10 miles and reaching a speed of 8.5mph with the flood tide.