In walking the Wales Coast Park, we don’t care if we attack it from west to east or north to south.
We do either start or finish exactly where we need to complete the whole length of the path. That is the rule.
We started this walk from the Pelican in her Piety Pub. We follow the road and then the path goes between the road and the river.
Past the car park at Ogmore Beach, we stop for a coffee at Coffi Pig, a converted horsebox selling really decent coffee.
I am not quite sure what happened after that – we seem to have lost the directional signs, were straddling the unfenced cliff and we looked as if we were going to be coasteering down towards the sea.
Scrambling up the slope on hands and knees seemed to be the safer option. We righted ourselves at The Barn at West Farm and continued in a more orderly fashion towards the charming enclave of Dunraven Bay.
Down the steps we go, first to the toilets and then the Heritage Centre. Going up the track we stop at the walled garden. The original garden was built in the 16th century, but later altered. A very peaceful spot for a well deserved picnic.
Dropping down steeply into the wooded area of Cwm Mawr and Cwm Bach followed by a relatively easy cliff path to Whitmore Stairs are impressive 70 metre cliffs . The path goes pretty close to the edge at Cwm Nash. Burial remains from the 14th to 16th century have been discovered here… there may have been a graveyard for drowned sailors or for people who could not afford to be buried in the churchyard. More remains were found in 2014 when storm damage uncovered further body parts!
Another easy stretch before a gentle descent to the roadway through to the car park near Nash Point.
LESSONS LEARNT: Don’t hurry along the path – stop and enjoy – pay attention to signposting and where these are minimal resort to a guide book or Wales Coast Path app (if you have a signal)