D166: PWLL to CARMARTHEN
Tuesday 10th June 2025
Today miles: 26.0 Total miles: 2735.7
It’s a much longer day today and after downing my coffee I set off from the Airbnb just before 7am. It’s a flat start walking through the Pwll Lagoon nature reserve. Initially the walking was along a hard cement path which then ended and was taken over by a dry dirt track. I eventually reached Burry Port which has a sparkling new looking RNLI building. There’s then about a mile of dune walking before I reached Pembrey Country Park. There’s a good path through the park and several unusual sculptures to visibly check out as I walked along. There’s also an activity centre and dry ski slope, which is currently unused.
The route then reached the visitors centre and there’s open public toilets which I made good use of. I sat outside and made myself another coffee before making my way onto the beach. I noticed a local council worker who was busy emptying the bins, I would bump into him again an hour later on the other end of the beach.
The beach was nice and firm to walk along and I enjoyed the easy stroll. The beach was roughly around two miles long and the most interesting thing was the appearance of several large jellyfish on the sand. These jellies were unlike any other that I’ve encountered. These were oddly shaped and I thought rather scary looking. Before I left the beach I spoke briefly to the solitary council worker again and he said he’d found a tent in the dunes and he wondered if it belonged to me. Soon after I left the beach and began to walk through Pembrey Forest towards Kidwelly. It also began to lightly rain. It was only a quick light shower and there wasn’t any requirement for waterproofs. As I walked through the forest I could hear the silence dramatically disturbed by the loud noise of motorbike engines. A quick check on the map and I realised I’m walking fairly close to the Pembrey motor sports centre. Soon after I’m having to navigate through hundreds of cows and their calves who are standing on the coastal path. I just kept my head down to avoid eye contact and thankfully got through them unscathed.
I came across a low subway/tunnel running under the railway line so I had to remove my pack and duck down to get myself through. I’d estimate it’s around five foot high and I’m six foot tall. I enjoyed the walk through Kidwelly, there’s a nice park and the shops and houses were pretty and appeared to be well cared for. The official Wales Coastal Path climbs up for a mile towards the village of Llansaint but there’s a minor road closer to the estuary and I took this route instead. The road takes me all the way to Ferryside. I could have jumped on board a train into Carmarthen for the next seven miles but after grabbing a few snacks I felt re-energised and decided to just carry on. I had a nice message from the owner of tonight’s accommodation and she wondered what time I’d be arriving. There’s another mile of road walking before the route climbs uphill and then crosses several sheep filled fields. There’s an occasional copse of trees to plough through. The route once again joined a minor road close to the village of Croesyceiliog and this would take us all the way to the Southern edge of Carmarthen.
My accommodation for tonight is only a few minutes from the town centre. I had a wander around the town for thirty minutes to get my bearings and finally arrived at my guest house. After settling in I walked back into town and had a hot meal at Wetherspoons and visited a couple of other pubs. A deserved rest day tomorrow.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 