I went for an awesome walk at the weekend. I was hungover as shit after being out to see Pale Angels at Le pub the night before. I've been trying to tick off pieces of the Welsh Coastal Path. At the weekend I did Barry Island to Rhoose Point. I set off along the old harbour (the boat graveyard) saw this old wreck called Menace II Society (see movie of same name from the 90s)
This is Watch tower bay just out towards the knap passed the old harbour, lush when the tide is out.
This is the Watchtower, my dream home, I found out this morning it went under auction last week and sold for £60k, which I would have paid in the blink of an eye, had I had it.
Some awesome distressed type at Cold Knap pumping Station, spoilt by shit graffiti.
A rather unusual but awesome plant on the path, sometimes the patterns in nature blow my tiny mind!
I love the coastal path markers too, however, sometimes they can be a bit tricky to find. This is one of my fave spots as the path climbs up from the Knap towards Porthkerry the views behind are stunning. I saw my first Dunnock on the path today.
Once you get to Porthkerry, after the golden stairs, saw my first Goldcrest on the golden stairs so it will always be a special spot for me; you drop down into Porthkerry Park a stunning park.
I stopped for lunch in Porthkerry park. I had a delicious flask of Festive Chai (note favourite Scrabble Flask) Cheese & Gherkin sangers, crisps, a granny smith apple and a cereal bar. As soon as I sat down for lunch Buzzards started circling overhead.
After Porthkerry as the path heads towards Rhoose there are some stunning views again. At one point there is a stile, leading to a small secluded pebble beach, perfect for naked wild swimming. There is also this amazing sign about Bulwarks Camp an ancient Iron Age encampment.
When the path reaches Rhoose point you are officially at the Southern most point of mainland Wales which is amazing. They have reclaimed an old quarry and filled it in and put in some reed beds to attract wildlife. There were Mallards, Swans and a Little Grebe there that day but you can see Linnets, Peregrine, Ravens and Oyster-catchers.
There is a Welsh slate monument in a stone circle with a Celtic symbol to mark it being the Southern most point.
The sign marking the Southern most point of Wales Rhoose Point.
There is then a gap in the cliffs leading to another small secluded beach.
The final marker of the walk. Probably my favourite stretch so far such a nice surprise at the end.
On Friday, I met up with two of my olde butties, the enigma otherwise known as Pugs and Kev. Me and Pugs met in Cardiff straight after work, over a Barry Island IPA at the Duke of Wellington. We also sampled an Anchor Street Porter at the City Arms, which was delicious. We headed to Newport on the train I had an M&S Belgian Cherry Wheat beer which was excellent. We met Kev at the Olde Murenger House, one of the oldest and coolest pubs around. We opted firstly for a Extra Stout which is rich, thick and delicious. We also sampled an organic wheat beer and a scotch each.
Le pubs beer selection is pretty damn great now too. We had a Celt Golden Age and a Bushmill's chaser. I also over the course of the night sampled. Butty Bach from Wye Valley (See Iolo Williams State of Nature on Youtube), Welsh Pale Ale from the Kite brewery, probably my fave on the night so I stuck with that. We headed upstairs to watch the bands... Luuv features an old friend and probably one of the best all round musicians South Wales has produced Sami Hunt. So I knew from the off, going from his previous pedigree (see Harbour, Night & the City of Broken promises..., The Keep, Bedford Falls, Blackbeard, Chain of Flowers, From This Moment on, Of Noble Blood and the list goes on) that I was probably going to "Luuv" them (pun master).
I was not wrong they take me back to when I first got into music and first started going to Le pub actually, they have elements of Echo & the Bunnymen, Wire and Jesus and the Mary chain going on all good in my book. Bit of fuzz, grunge, indie and a bit of goth for good measure.
Pale Angels features another dear friend Jamie Morrison of The Arteries, Mike from Static Radio and on this tour, Reza from The Cutups on drums (Reza also played in Blackbeard for a while) Pale Angels play fuzzy grunge, are heavily influenced by the likes of Nirvana and Dinosaur Jnr. I've seen them twice now and they've been great both times check out their debut album Primal Play out now on Specialist Subject records, you can listen to it now on their bandcamp page.
This morning when I woke up, I witnessed one of the romantic spectacles I have ever seen, right in my back yard. A pair of Magpies were gathering nest material. Firstly, I thought they were looking for food. However, they were both on my hanging baskets, on either side of my shed.They were pulling the lining out of the hanging baskets simultaneously, to use as nest material. The male then moved to the wall to keep lookout, whilst the female gathered what they had dropped and some moss from the ground. Needless to say, it was an awesome start to a Monday morning. At the weekend, I also managed to get so close to a Goldcrest, had I been faster I would have been able to catch it, it flew right over my shoulder and perched on a tree a few feet in front of me. I have been attempting to get better at recording, identification and behaviors, as I see them. I often enjoy seeing birds, even if i don't know what they are. I am currently using a trusty notebook (Betty), the WP checklist app, the RSPB bird identifier and a copy of "Hamlyn guide to birds of Britain and Europe".
On the weekend I managed to tick off Coal tit, a bird again I had previously seen but not correctly identified. I enjoyed watching a small group of these birds, foraging on the pine trees, in the wooded area, at the base of Friar's point Barry island.
Last weekend, after some words of wisdom from my spiritual shaman Rhodri Desmond Cording, I fixed my bike, a vintage Raleigh racer named Nancy (after Nancy from Oliver Twist) . I took Nancy for a spin from the island to the Knap. As I crossed the old Harbour causeway (see Causeway rocks by Annalise) I stopped to have a look what birds were on the flats, as the tide was out. To my surprise, there was a lone, Little Egret foraging in one of the pools, I hadn't seen one there before. I cycled down to the Knap sat at the lake and watched the ducks and swans for a bit. Then I sat on the pebble beach and listened to the waves crashing in for a bit. When I got home, I decided to document the Little Egret sighting using Indian Ink.
My current listening has included:
Also, the sun coming out has meant I have been flying my kite on the beach and I managed my first triple loop de loop, naturally I rewarded myself with a chip butty (sand optional).
Also, the sun coming out has meant busting out my fave desert boots
A Thousand Arrows The other night, one of my favourite UK bands of the past few years hung up their boots. I think I loved them so much because four people with often very different music tastes, but a shared common ground, and it was reflected in their sound. They take elements of At the Drive In, Refused, Quicksand, Helmet, yet when they play together, you can here all of their own individual influences, coming together to form their unique sound. I have many fond memories of the band, namely playing with them/putting them on at Halloween, they dressed as Zombie Nurses, we played as dead sailors, our dear friends Attack Vipers! also played that night too. Also playing travel scrabble on the way to support AC4 in Bristol.
Their last gig was at The Full Moon in Cardiff and they went out in style, I think Daf's writing style and guitar sound is also what gave them an edge. Fave song on the night: Anchorite If you haven't already check out their album Defaillance They will be sorely missed. RIP ATA
After Porthkerry as the path heads towards Rhoose there are some stunning views again. At one point there is a stile, leading to a small secluded pebble beach, perfect for naked wild swimming.
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