Tuesday 30 April
East Angle to Pembroke
Another soggy day in my home county, Pembrokeshire. Not exactly the dry, balmy weather I'd hoped for but crack on soldier!! Despite the deluge I knew that today was going to be nostalgic as I'd be walking beside many childhood memories. As a family, when I was growing up, our special days were Sundays, the only day my dad had off from work. In the summer we spent it on the river in our 15ft, clinker-built, ex-Navy/RAF tender which was powered by a noisy outboard engine. Depending on the tide times we'd either go up-river or, better still, down to Angle to swim and picnic at West Angle Bay or go cockling off the boat, on the mudflats, at low tide. Very Swallows & Amazons!! The sun always seemed to shine in my memory!! In the other seasons we walked the abundant quiet lanes, picking blackberries and sloes or foraging for mushrooms. Sometimes we even found the odd pheasant snared by some poacher - we had been known to release the poor, dead creature (& later eat it, roasted!!) This was the setting for today's walk.
My starting point was East Angle Bay.
So eager was I to start that I forgot to switch on my gizmos or get Denise to get out of the car (in the pouring rain) and take a start photo. Needless to say, she didn't remind me!!
I'd walked almost a mile before I remembered to switch on & take a photo!
At this time I'd been sheltered by trees but, as I carried on I decided to use my umbrella to keep the worst of the rain off.
Fortunately the wind was a mere puff compared to yesterday.
My route took me all the way round the edge of the bay, not particularly to report other than the incongruity of the massive Valero Oil Refinery dominating the skyline. I felt and still feel sorry for the residents of Rhoscrowther and Pwllcrochan; the installation was large when first built when I was a young teenager - it has grown even larger since then.
As I walked past Sawdern Point I turned and took a picture of my Start Point (see green arrow)
Angle village, Angle Point and the lifeboat station are barely visible in the rain and mist. As for a view down the haven of the Stack Rock Fort and Dale Fort on the northern shore at the mouth of the haven, they were shrouded in a cloak of mist.
I walked on towards Popton Fort which was completed in 1864 as part of the inner line of defence of Milford Haven. It has tapering hexagonal ramparts with pentagonal bastions at the angles. It is surrounded by a large clear area of sloping ground to the front, and a ditch on the south side. It comprised two batteries, Moncrieff Battery on the west side and Open Battery on the north. It was abandoned at the start of the 20th century it was used again by the military during the Second World War. It was ought in 1957 by BP to be used as an oil terminal & was renovated but was closed to the public. It is now part of Valero's Angle Bay Refinery & still closed to the public.
I climbed the steep road on the northern side of the fort and then headed down the Coastal Footpath with the Haven on my left and the Refinery on my right. I had to pause at the top whilst I was "interviewed" by Richard Hatch of BFBS Afternoon. This picture was my view! I think that my interviews (3 so far) have gone out at around 1330hrs on Thu 25th, Fri 26th and today. On all 3 interviews I have tried to plug the WRAC Association being free to join but know it's been edited out at least once!! I'm going to try and put a link and see if it works!! It will take you to a new page.
https://radio.bfbs.com/catchup/bfbs-afternoon
Nostalgia hit me as I came upon Bulwell Bay. I well remember as a child/youth mooring in or near the bay at low tide and squelching around in the mud picking cockles. You could feel them with your toes so could then bend down, pick them up, give them a bit of a wash and throw them in a bucket. We'd take them home, let them soak in salt water for a day or so to clean them and then cook & eat them!! Yummy, especially when bottled in vinegar.
I made my way down the muddy lane to Rhoscrowther church with the view of the refinery burning off excess gas!!
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