Weatherman Walking

Porthkerry to PARK TO LLANTWIT MAJOR BEACH

MILITARY DEFENCES 8

LLANTWIT MAJOR BEACH PORTHKERRY VIADUCT 11 1 FORMER SEAWATCH THE BLUE CENTRE ANCHOR FONTYGARY LEISURE PARK POWER AIRPORT 10 STATIONS SITE 5 4 2 1 Points of interest 7 POINT

3 Start PEBBLE BEACH 9 Finish FORMER LIME WORKS 6 Route

The Weatherman Walking maps are intended as a guide The BBC takes no responsibility for any accident or injury Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf to help you walk the route. We recommend using an that may occur while following the route. Always wear of HMSO. © Crown copyright and database right 2009. OS map of the area in conjunction with this guide. appropriate clothing and footwear and check weather All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number APPROXIMATE DISTANCE: Routes and conditions may have changed since this conditions before heading out. 100019855. guide was written. 10 MILES LLANTWIT MAJOR BEACH

For this walk we’ve included OS grid references should you wish to use them.

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This walk goes from the viaduct in Porthkerry Park, heading west along the coast path to the beach in the historic town of Llantwit Major, one of Britain’s most important religious towns. Waymark in the pebbles

Start: Distance: Parking: Travel information: Further information: Porthkerry Park Approx. 10 miles There is public parking at Porthkerry Park The 303 runs between Llantwit Major Visit Wales Coast Path website for more (free except Sundays) and Llantwit Major (approx. one mile from the beach) information and path diversions Starting Ref: Grade: Beach (free). and Rhoose or Barry Station. See www.walescoastpath.gov.uk/plan-your-visit ST 08582 66908 Easy local timetables.

Walk time: 3-4 hours

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Directions Porthkerry Park is accessed via Park Road, Barry. There is a drive through the park, about a mile long to get to the car park and café. From the car park, the viaduct is about 100 yards away and can’t be missed.

Porthkerry Viaduct

PORTHKERRY Porthkerry Viaduct (ST 08455 66909) VIADUCT The viaduct was built in the 1890s to transport coal to . It has 15 piers and 16 1 arches and is over 100 ft high, but the build wasn’t straight forward. The viaduct opened in December 1897, but just two weeks later, the embankment on the eastern end began to slip. Porthkerry Viaduct It looked like it was going to be an engineering disaster.

The viaduct was closed, and major repair works were needed. It finally reopened, and stayed open, a couple of years later and is still regularly used by trains today.

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Directions From the viaduct, follow the path to the seafront, which Porthkerry Boardwalk includes a new section of boardwalk. Porthkerry was once a bustling harbour until it was destroyed in a storm in the 16th century. Now the country park is a reclaimed wildlife haven and popular family leisure location. Just before the shoreline, the coast path turns right and runs parallel to the pebble beach. To the Pebble beach waymark north, just out of sight, is the perimeter of .

CARDIFF AIRPORT Extremity of Cardiff Airport Runway (ST 07669 66714) RUNWAY Cardiff Airport opened in the 1940s as a training base for Spitfire pilots,it then became a 2 commercial airport in the 1950s and is Wales’ busiest airport. The airport is owned by the and carries about 1.6 million passengers a year.

Porthkerry Boardwalk

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Airplane landing

Cardiff Airport Derek says, “I did a stint working for the Met Office at the airport when I was much younger. I was in the control tower and had to do 12 hour shifts, giving weather reports every 30 minutes to advise the pilots of the conditions. I enjoyed my time there and think about it each time I fly from Cardiff.”

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Directions On the coast path, the walk continues past Porthkerry Rhoose Point Leisure Park and on the southern side of Rhoose, one of the fastest growing villages in the Vale of .

The limestone rocks have been extensively quarried over the years, and where there were once cliffs, today there are housing estates and a nature reserve. Rhoose Nature Reserve

RHOOSE Rhoose Point (ST 06684 65540) POINT Rhoose Point is the most southerly point of mainland Wales. The currents here are dangerous, 3 so definitely not a place to try and dip your feet in the sea.

The Severn Estuary has the second highest tidal range in the world, with typically a 30-foot Rhoose difference between high and low tide.

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Directions Continuing west, the path passes over Fontygary Bay and goes right through Fontygary Leisure Park, where residents have some pretty spectacular views from their caravans.

Fontygary Leisure Park

FONTYGARY Fontygary Leisure Park (ST 04940 65886) LEISURE PARK The beach at Fontygary Bay is wide and pebbly and backed by light grey cliffs. The caravan 4 park is known for its warm atmosphere and friendly banter between residents.

Those with the best sea views joke that their static homes are in ‘Millionaire’s Row’.

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Directions Leaving the holiday park, there’s a steep walk down from Blue Anchor the headland to the shoreline, where a wildlife habitat has East been created. Just north of here is Aberthaw, made up of two villages, east and west Aberthaw, separated by the . It’s worth taking a short detour to east Aberthaw, about a mile inland, to visit one of the oldest pubs in Wales. East Aberthaw

THE BLUE East Aberthaw, The Blue Anchor (ST 03501 66682) ANCHOR The Blue Anchor was established in 1380, making it one of the oldest pubs in Wales. It was 5 once the beating heart of a thriving trading port. Aberthaw was at one time a more important port than Cardiff and Barry, exporting wool and food and importing wine, dried fruits, and leather from northern , and was even busy enough to justify a Customs & Excise Former industrial site presence. The name of the inn came from the distinctive blue marl (mud), which coated the anchors of the vessels that sailed the channel and anchored at Aberthaw.

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Derek and Andrew Coleman at the Blue Anchor

The Blue Anchor Derek says, “Being a Barry boy, I used to visit the Blue Anchor with friends in my youth, and it hasn’t really changed at all. I met up with one of the owners, Andrew Coleman, who told me there were lots of rumours linking the pub to smuggling in times gone by.

There waseven a tale of a secret tunnel linking Aberthaw Bay with the Blue Anchor, down which all manner of contraband might have been transported. Unfortunately, no such tunnel has ever been found.”

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Directions Back on the coast path, the walk continues on low level. To the right, you pass an attractive small lake and the former Aberthaw Lime Works.

Old Lime Works

FORMER LIME Former Lime Works (ST 03810 66114) WORKS The Aberthaw Lime Works, opened in 1888, quarrying the local lias limestone, which sets 6 underwater, making it useful for building lighthouses and canal locks.

Regular wildlife visitors to this area include bass, smooth-hound sharks, oystercatchers and turnstones.

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Directions At this point, the landscape is dominated by the former power station. The coast path follows its external boundary around the front of the site.

Former power station

POWER Power Stations site (ST 02423 65845) STATIONS SITE There were two power stations on the site. Aberthaw A, which started operating in 1960 was 7 the most advanced coal-powered power station in the world at the time and it operated until the 1990s when it was demolished. Aberthaw B opened in 1971 and was finally closed in March 2020. The future of the site has still to be decided, but for now, it’s fenced off and secured.

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Directions To the west side of the power stations site, you walk along a long gully with a high wall to the left and the industrial works on your right. Along the walk, there are occasional openings in the wall and steps where you can climb up and take a peek at the view of the . The path emerges next to a small car park at Limpert Bay. leaving the power station behind It’s now part of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Heading west past a ruined building, you Military defences walk along an area of rough grassland before arriving at some powerful MILITARY Military defences (ST 01473 66444) military defences. DEFENCES During the Second World War, it was believed there could be a German invasion via Ireland, 8 and the coast was at risk. Between 1940 and 1941, a defensive mile-long wall of pillboxes and anti-tank cubes was built along this stretch of coastline. The beach would have been defended by the local Home Guard, who were expected to slow down a German invasion to give the regular armed forces time to mount a proper counter-attack.

Some sections of the cube lines and pillboxes remain. Some of the cubes are signed by the soldiers who worked on them and represent a very personal history of the Second World War.

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Directions Walking on from Limpet Bay, there’s a section of the coast path which has been brought Summerhouse Bay pebble beach closer to the sea recently. At one time, it went around a farmer’s land but now joins up with the existing footpath to follow the shoreline. After passing along the bottom of two fields, it veers left onto the beach at Summerhouse Bay.

PEBBLE BEACH Pebble Beach (SS 99575 66423) It’s unusual for the coast path to cross a pebble beach, and you have to pick your way across 9 the fairly large stones to avoid breaking your ankle. It’s a short section of the walk, just a few hundred yards, but does slow down your progress unless you are pretty sure-footed. The positive side is that it does give you uninterrupted views of the coast at ground level.

Summerhouse Bay pebble beach

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Stone Stacking

Stone Stacking Derek says, “Visiting lots of sections of the Welsh coast, I often come across stacks of stones. Historically, piles of stones (cairns) were used to indicate a particular route or direction. In recent years they have become a hobby or temporary memorial to a loved one. There are now European, and even World Championships, and the top stone stackers have managed to pile up as many as 40 stones.

My efforts weren’t quite as successful. After a few attempts I managed to pile up ten stones, which I was quite pleased with. Ok, some of them may have been tiny, but they were still pebbles from the beach! The advice to stone stackers is to leave the pebbles where you found them when you go.”

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Directions Leaving the pebble beach behind you, the waymark Headland approach to Llantwit leads you to the right and up some fairly steep steps at Summerhouse Point.

Former Seawatch Centre FORMER SEAWATCH Former SeaWatch Centre (SS 99325 66461) CENTRE The Seawatch Centre, Summerhouse Point, , near Llantwit Major, was once a HM 10 Coastguard lookout station for the busy shipping lanes of the Bristol Channel.

It was decommissioned and then used as a Maritime Interpretation Centre, set out as a ship’s bridge and equipped with radio receivers, navigational and meteorological instrumentation. It is currently closed. Next to the Seawatch Centre is the site of an ancient fort. It is thought to be Iron Age but may have been built on the site of an earlier fort.

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Directions The final approx. 2 miles is along the headland, passing Stout Point, New Way Stair – a stepped part of the cliffs – and Pigeon Point before dropping down a zig-zag path, with spectacular views, towards the beach at Llantwit Major.

Arriving at Llantwit Major Beach

LLANTWIT Llantwit Major Beach (SS 95634 67477) MAJOR BEACH The beach is about a mile south of Llantwit Major, a pretty small town that is well worth a 11 detour or walk extension. It was one of the most important seats of learning and religion in the world in the 6th-century.

A monastary and college were set up in the town in 500AD and among those said to have studied here are both St Patrick and St David. For many, it’s been a place of pilgrimage. Llantwit Major beach is mainly pebble and rocks with some small areas of sand, backed by cliffs. There is a large car park, café and toilets.

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Enjoying the walk

End of the Walk Derek says, “This was a nice local walk for me and, although I had done sections of it before, I’d never actually walked the length of it and seen how the landscape was changing. It’s great to see some of the former industrial sites being brought back to nature.”

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