Amroth to Saundersfoot - 1
Posted by Paul Allyn Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:59:00 GMT
After a hugh Welsh breakfast – breakfasts are one of the true joys of these trips – we waddled down the hill – that is to say, after breakfast I tend to waddle for a while – to the trail. The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path is pretty well way marked, but as always, you really need a map close at hand and a bit of common sense to translate what’s on the map you are looking at to where you are actually located and the real world you are looking at. Not every way mark is as obvious as this one. Although, on a coastal walk, it is pretty darned difficult to get lost. From Amroth to St. David’s all we had to do for the most part was keep the water on the left.
At the Public Facility at the bottom of the hill we headed back up hill along the path. But not before taking notice of the posted warning. I love the signage in GB. It’s just different enough to me – being from the US to cause me to smile. The message is clear, “If you go near the cliffs, you could well die. And it would be your own damn fault. Have a nice day.” Most of this walk is along cliff tops, which is one of the things that makes it so charming. And the cliffs tops are, I would say, on average, about 200 feet, making for a great view, but a lousy fall. Kathy was always dragging me back from the edge while I muttered, “A little bit closer and I’ll bet I could see the beach below.” She responding, “A little bit closer and you could eat the beach below.
It was a bit of a dreary day as we set out, not cold, but misty and light rain from time to time. Kathy started with her rain coat on, but after a 30 or 40 minutes of walking she shed it. 
This picture is from the cliff top overlooking Amroth and gives you an idea what the morning was like. Even the weather adds to the sense of adventure as we start out. I must say it is way easier to have a sense of adventure at the beginning – or even the middle – of a long walk. On the last day of another long distance walk the temperature was about 45F, and the noahidic deluge rain was being driven off the North Sea at 40 – 50 MPH. I said, “Screw it. Let’s take the bus.” And we did. Got soaked anyway.
