I was excited that one of my straight lines out of Hathersage reached the coast at Tenby. I spent my third birthday there on holiday with my parents and younger brother, and I believe it is my earliest memory. I’ve been back since but not for a really long time, so I was very keen to see it again. I remembered it as a lovely place and in today’s sunny weather I should be seeing it somewhere close to its best.
The problem with Tenby is that it is a very long train journey to get back home again, not to mention quite expensive. The latest train I could take to reach home before midnight was at 1541. But that should be enough time. I had something like fifty miles to ride today, albeit fairly hilly ones, and no really obvious places to hold me up en route.
It was a brisk start to the morning and I once again appreciated the winter clothing I had brought along, including full, thick gloves. As the morning went by and the sun cast its rays on the Welsh hills, I slowly lowered zips and removed layers. By early afternoon, it was nicely warm. The riding was all enjoyable and mostly along tiny, secluded lanes with almost no traffic at all. Towns around here are few and far between in any case, but I was making a bee line for St Clears that took me through almost nowhere. There was a lot of climbing up hidden valleys between high hedges. I seemed to be mostly in Carmarthenshire, where I found very little to report. All extremely pleasant, rural, undulating and all rather similar. The first three hours passed much like this, a highlight being the crossing of a large herd of cattle that held me up for five minutes, along with one other car. It was gridlock!
When St Clears – a big village with a good range of local services – finally arrived, I felt I should probably stop. I didn’t want to use up lots of time in Tenby sitting in a cafe, so I got that out of the way here in a craft centre, with a large jacket potato to see me through the long hours ahead. It turned out to be a good move.
I still had a couple of hours to go and the hills of Pembrokeshire somehow seemed bigger and steeper. This was noticeably the case once I came within sight of the sea. My last hour was along coastline that interchanged between sea level and cliff top, each offering superb views across the shimmering bay and into the sun towards Tenby, whose silhouetted outline faced me, still far away. It’s tall, distant church spire was the giveaway feature, impossible to miss on the horizon. The cliffs and broad sands swept away behind me towards Laugharne, of Dylan Thomas fame, and there we’re people out enjoying the weather in the quaint seaside places I passed through like Amroth and Saundersfoot. It was tempting to join them, but I had a journey to finish and a fast encroaching deadline. I wasn’t going to put my time in Tenby at risk.
When I arrived, it was every bit as lovely as I had hoped. The mostly terraced Georgian buildings are painted a rainbow of bright colours all around town. It puts Tobermory in its place. A lot of them stand high up on cliffs, looking down on sandy golden beaches far below. Off shore stand a couple of islets, reachable at low tide, and the much larger Caldey Island, reachable by popular boat trip, where you can visit the active monastery. The old town of Tenby huddles around the handsome church on a promontory behind its original town walls, significant stretches of which remain. There are various old gateways and traffic is effectively banned from the narrow streets. The shops and cafes reflect a general affluence among its visitors. It is an altogether lovely town with wonderful beaches, a colourful harbour and plenty to keep you happy. My time here was long enough to confirm all of that, but nothing like long enough to do it justice, as I knew would be the case. After a browse around the ancient streets, I was limited to a quick beer at a bar by the Castle Beach, watching as a boat arrived back from Caldey Island and a tractor backed a landing stage out into the water from the beach. It was a last ten minutes of sunshine before my long trip home. Such is the nature of this adventure, especially now as I near the end of it, and the good weather starts to run out. I vowed to return for a proper stay. This whole area is rewarding and attractive, especially the coast. It is just so far away! I was glad I made a good reason to see it again, and made it more likely to feature again in future travels.
I made the train and settled in for the duration. My changes in Swansea and Cardiff stations were tight, but we made them. The final change in Crewe was missed by a minute. It was annoying but I found another way home, avoiding Manchester, and wasn’t late, despite the hanging around. My biggest issue was the lack of catering on any of the Transport For Wales trains. I was forced to use the vending machines in Crewe, which shows that I was willing to eat almost anything available!
And so concluded my 15th Cardinal Spin. Only one – plus a tricky unfinished bit in the Hebrides – still remain. The end is getting closer.
