D161: PORTHCAWL to PORT TALBOT
Thursday 5th June 2025
Today miles: 18.7 Total miles: 2639.8
Gemma and Alfie had joined me for the first few miles into Porthcawl town centre. We all left the caravan park around 8.30am and as per the weather forecast dark clouds were already gathering over Southern Wales. The first mile was through the low sand dunes and just as we entered the amusement park the rain began to fall, heavily. After passing through the arcades we came across several cafes close to the marina, despite being almost 9am many of these are still closed. We found one Italian themed cafe open and we each grabbed a coffee and a bacon roll. We sat talking to a group of local men for around thirty minutes before we set off again. Gemma back to the caravan and me continuing along the coastal path. The rain had also thankfully stopped. After skirting around Porthcawl I reached Royal Porthcawl golf club. There’s an excellent path made on decking boards on the edge of the golf course which I enjoyed. Is was misty out across the Bristol Channel but I could still make out the hundreds of sea birds that were feeding on the mud flats. An hour later as I reached Kenfig Sands I could clearly make out the huge Port Talbot steel works which I’d be passing by later today. There’s an excellent stone track across Kenfig Sands. On reaching the edge of the steel works the route heads inland across Margam Moor. There’s several small wooden bridges crossing narrow streams through the moor. The local council have recently condemned a handful of these bridges due to there poor condition and there’s warning notices on each of the bridges. Unfortunately, the council haven’t provided any alternative route so I carefully crossed each bridge, without any drama.
The official coastal path runs adjacent to the M4 for a couple of miles, it was very noisy and I decided to play music on my earbuds to try and block out the traffic noise. When I finally arrived in Margam I dropped into the Aldi store and picked up some snacks and fizzy pop before then entering the pretty public park for an extended break. The route continues beyond the Parkway train station and then finally I left the road behind and head towards the edge of River Avan.
I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the walking was skirting by Port Talbot. The huge furnace at the Port Talbot steel works was decommissioned recently with the loss of several thousand jobs. As I looked back towards the works you could get a clear idea of just how enormous the site is. It’s around two more miles until I reached the edge of the River Neath. There’s a good solid path along the side of the river. Close to Brunel Park the route was blocked by several huge concrete blocks which had been placed across the path. I noted that a path had been worn into the river bank but it didn’t look particularly safe so I chose to instead clamber over the blocks. I spoke to a dog walker a few minutes later and I informed that the council had placed the blocks due to an uneven section of path, more overreach. She also said the blocks had been there more than two years. It’s only a mile along the river before you reach a bridge. I only need to reach the start of the bridge as Gemma’s going to pick me up from a nearby McDonald’s restaurant. Having arrived at Mackies I ordered myself a coffee and sat down to wait for Gemma.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 