The Road to Carmarthen

This route was an unexpected delight, as was the cloud cover…

We left on the dot of 8:00 with at least one of us feeling rather uncomfortable after one beer too many, the after effects of some dodgy curry accompaniments, a disturbed nights sleep in another sauna, and a heavy breakfast, intended to provide enough fuel for the day.

But the morning ride was very gentle, along a lovely old railway track to the Loughor bridge, then round the coastal wetlands of Machynys, where Jim discovered he’d lost his bottle as we’d gone rattling over the boardwalk.  This was a slight diversion from the planned route and we were well rewarded with some tranquil and beautiful landscapes, which brought us into the Llanelli Bay Area, over the Millennium Bridge and the long coastal Millennium Cycleway as far as Burry Port (aka Porth Tywyn - meaning beach port).

The crossing of the Millennium Bridge prompted a conversation about how many such bridges existed in the UK, with estimates ranging from 400-1,000.  So it was slightly disappointing to find only 7 named in the Wikipedia page although Llanelli was missing from the list, so we’ll likely never know if 400 was even the closest guess…

At Burry Port we stopped for coffee and a breather; and for the second time in the morning, we glimpsed the most astonishingly large peak on any cycling hat.  The wearer was obviously not taking any chances in spite of the cloud cover, but openly admitted that air resistance was a significant issue.

The cool air and lack of breeze meant that progress was faster than at any time during the trip and pretty soon we arrived at Ferryside, where we knew the big climb of the day was coming.  At this point I decided the time was right to consume the emergency flapjack I had bought in Tiverton Station and which had, just about, survived 5 days of tropical heat.  Having been advised that the benefits of said confectionery would not be available for 15 minutes, I struck up a conversation with a local dog owner who was plainly looking for some entertainment from tourists who couldn’t tell the difference between Laugharne and Llansteffan.  Having corrected my geographical ignorance he was also keen to make us aware of the TV star they had in the village, informing us that that lady, by there, had been a famous presenter in Play School.  When challenged on her name, he offered three alternatives before calling her over and forcing her to introduce herself.  Jenny Kenna, she clarified, also giving us a litany of achievements, none of which included play school although she did direct and present a series for children’s television called Windfalls - stories about surprising truths in nature.  She also seemed very proud of a book called Quaking Pudding involving 18th century welsh recipes updated for the modern (2012) palate.  And in spite of being somewhere in her late 80s, she still appeared to have one or two other book projects on the go.

All very diverting stuff, but we eventually tore ourselves away to tackle the big climbs of the day.  Nothing too excessive, but annoyingly not a straight up and over.  Instead it was a single long climb followed by a series of dips, never quite down to sea level again, but occasionally up almost to the height of the first 440ft climb.  Carmarthen was reached much earlier than planned, another grubby Morrison’s lunch was consumed, and we headed for the station over two hours ahead of schedule.  We made a bid for the early train, in spite of there being four of us and three others, all trying to make use of the 2 available cycle places.  Maybe the weather, maybe the need to avoid a row after all the recent train disruption, but either way the TfW staff didn’t put up any resistance.  What a lovely surprise to end the journey on.  Tim and Jim successfully made it to Swansea for an early connection, while Den and I blagged our way through to Shrewsbury on advance single tickets for a later train.  Nice to finish on a high note.

Good food and great company made this another hugely enjoyable cycle trip, in spite of the challenging conditions.

Carmarthen to Pwllheli