Ceredigion Coast Path, Wales

After I finished the PCP I thought I would like to stay on the coast for a bit longer so I skipped a few kilometres north of Cardigan to walk most of the Ceredigion Coast Path northwards around Cardigan Bay to Aberystwyth and Borth. I wanted a break from carrying my pack and I worked out a plan to stay in Cardigan and then Aberystwyth and use buses to get to and from the trail.

9 May I took the bus from Cardigan to Aberporth and walked out of the village climbing above the sandy beach, a line of headlands ahead and the fog I had in Cardigan had lifted. The path undulated along the top and descended to Tresaith, a pretty village on a sandy beach. The path was seriously up and down, not a flat stretch although the cliffs were much less rugged. I came down to cross a little stream in a wooded glade with ferns and then climbed for a view over another Traeth Bach - a rock curiously slanted away from the main line of cliffs and two little sandy beaches.

More climbing and walking alongside unfenced grass and I came to Llanrannog descending past a statue of St Carannog surveying the beautifully scalloped cliffs. (The beaches along here were all sandy.)

Coffee break in the brief sunshine. The coastal villages seem prettier than in Pembrokeshire.

The path was very remote and steep after that, up and down and finally climbing to 164 m on heather clad slopes. More elevation changes than anything on the PCP with constant descents to sea level bridges crossing streams in valleys and back up to the cliff tops. To stay on top would have meant going a long way inland. I eventually descended in woodland to Cwmtydu pebble beach.

I thought it would be easier going now but after a brief respite the climbing resumed with constant returns to sea level and shingle beaches. The wind picked up and the sea was rough. There had been a lot of walkers earlier on but almost nobody here. I climbed a monster cliff and trundled along on top until I could see the colourful houses of New Quay far below. The descent was steep. With difficulty I located the bus back to Cardigan. 22 kms

10 May From Newquay I walked two kilometres along the beach, the wind was cold, and then some lanes and woodland. I returned to undulating on cliff tops but these were much lower cliffs and the valleys were not deep. The stream in one valley had little falls and there were sea caves. When I got to Aberaeron (brightly painted houses) I had an ice cream, but I was under time pressure because of the infrequent buses back to Cardigan.

The path was on very low cliffs above a shingle/pebble beach with silhouette views of peaks beyond Cardigan Bay. The sea was all churned up and brown. I went past a village, back to grass and low cliffs, and at the next village I had to make a long irritating detour inland because there was no coast path. When the path resumed it was a mixture of track through fields and cow paddocks and on a high pebble embankment behind the beach. I rushed along a minor road into Llanrhystud and made the bus in time. 24 kms

11 May I took the bus to Aberystwyth, dropped off my bag and took another bus back to Llanrhystud. I returned to the coast at a massive caravan park for a lovely few hours of walking mostly on grass with sheep for company,

starting on high cliffs with views of northern peaks and Mt Eryri. The wildflowers were good (thrift, bluebells, pink campion) and there were seagulls catching thermals as I've seen so often. Little chiffchaffs squawking. Looking back I could still see New Quay. There was a last set of high cliffs (Penderi)

before the cliffs were lower like yesterday's above rock platforms, but the path went high on the hillsides to avoid a few farms.

I descended steeply to a cabin park and then climbed onto a ridge where I soon had views of Aberystwyth, several headlands away. By now it was very windy, the wind was cold, and the extremely steep descent off the ridge wasn't enjoyable.

I reached Aberystwyth South beach, a long curve of shingle

where the pebble bank seemed to be mostly covered by sand, and then the harbour.

16 kms

12 May I waited until the weather cleared and visited Aberystwyth castle ruins then walked along the promenade towards a big hill, which I climbed. It was very windy. The path was again a roller coaster on high cliffs and crossing valleys with streams.

One larger valley held a cabin park and I walked along the shingle beach. It was low tide so further along I saw rock platforms from above and I watched oyster catchers diving out of the sky and circling.

After a while I could see Borth spread along a bay but I had several headlands to negotiate first; the terrain seemed steeper here than before.

There was a pebble bank behind the beach in Borth and I walked on it for a bit but the wind was so strong I found it nicer walking through the town. The trains weren't running properly but I got a bus back to Aberystwyth almost immediately. 11 kms

Total 74 kms