D162: PORT TALBOT to OXWICH BAY
Friday 6th June 2025
Today miles: 21.9 Total miles: 2661.7
Gemma dropped me off at McDonald’s and we quickly said our goodbyes. Despite the massive urge to grab another coffee I resisted and just set off walking instead. The short pedestrian bridge across the River Neath is also a road bridge running adjacent to the M4. Thankfully the road and associated noise is left behind fairly quickly once I reached the banks of the Tennant Canal. It’s a beautiful route along the Southern bank with extensive reed beds on one side and dense forest on the other. Not sure why, but I began to feel extremely emotional and despite only just separating two hours ago I was missing Gemma and feeling home sick. It’s not something that I’ve ever experienced to this extreme before and I even considered calling Gemma to come and pick me up. I eventually managed to calm down and just continued walking. I left the canal at Port Tennant and then walked through a light industrial area before arriving at the Prince Charles Marina on the South Eastern edge of Swansea. Ten minutes later having noticed a low tide I took to the sand on West Cross beach. Unfortunately in some sections the sand/mud was much too soft to walk across and I ended up with mud covered shoes. The entire four mile route towards Mumbles Head was very busy and pleasant walking with plenty of cafes and other facilities.
After a quick refreshment break at Mumbles Head I climbed up a set of stairs to ascend onto Limeslade Cliffs. The route across the cliffs was straightforward. There’s a two metre wide concrete path which I expected to run out after a few hundred metres but it continued for around two miles all the way to Caswell Bay. After Caswell Bay the path became more up and down and there were lots of slow ascents. The views whilst climbing were pretty decent and this made up for the leg pain.
The crowds that I had experienced between Mumbles and Caswell Bay began to dwindle as I travelled further along the coast. At Pennard Burrows and Pennard Pill (the river) I lost the coastal path momentarily and wandered along the river bank looking for the stepping stones. I contacted Nicholaston Farm campsite to confirm my booking and then walked the final two miles to the campsite which is positioned right next to the WCP overlooking Oxwich Bay. The campsite at Nicholaston Farm has excellent facilities including a small shop and laundry facilities. After a hot shower and a hot meal I settled down to watch Netflix and ate my way through a family bag of Haribo sweets.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 