Surfs up at Stackpole

The beach clean team.
Photo: Mike May

The Surf Ambassador Scheme launches at Stackpole in Pembrokeshire.

The National Trust at Stackpole is one of the partners that look after one of the most stunning parts of the Pembrokeshire coastline; Freshwater West. This beautiful wind swept beach attracts a huge number of visitors all year round, but it is also known as one of the most consistent surf destinations in Wales, providing ideal conditions for the sport. The Welsh Surfing Championships have been held here, the latest in 2012, and the Pembrokeshire Surf Ryders held their recent Surf Ryder cup at the beach earlier this month.

So, Freshwater West was the natural focus for the Stackpole team and National Trust Surf Ambassador, Raife Gaskell a local to the area, to launch their first event working together.

A pre-release screening of the British surf movie 'The Endless Winter' was shown at the Stackpole Centre followed by a beach clean at Freshwater West the following day.

Tickets to watch the film were sold out whilst over 80 people turned up the following day to help collect as much litter as possible off the beach totalling a fantastic 117 bags.

The Surf Ambassador scheme was originally formed to support and promote the conservation work carried out in the surfers' playgrounds along the Devon and Cornwall coast and now the scheme will be involved in the Trust's work along the Pembrokeshire coast.

Rebecca Stock, operations manager at Stackpole said "the Surf Ambassador Scheme will help us at Stackpole to build relations both locally and regionally and give us the opportunity to engage with a much wider audience. We were absolutely delighted with the turn out to both events this weekend which was purely down to Raife and his influence within the surfing community. I'm really looking forward to working with Raife, who is passionate about the work we do, to organise more events and further raise the profile of the work we do in preserving the beautiful coastline here in Pembrokeshire"

Following our Founders' Footsteps in Barmouth

On Saturday, I came across one of the strangest sights I've seen on my travels around the Welsh Coast.  

On a rugged and gorse-covered hillside hundreds of feet above the roofs and chimneys of Barmouth were a group of Victorian ladies and gentlemen enjoying an afternoon tea.

L-R: Fanny Talbot, Robert Hunter, Octavia Hill and Hardwicke Rawnsley

In an imaginative play on the concept of 'open-air sitting rooms', my colleagues in Snowdonia had staged the event at Dinas Oleu as part of this month's celebrations of the life of a remarkable woman who was a driving force behind the founding of the National Trust. 

Octavia Hill, social reformer and champion of open spaces for the benefit of the public, had visited Barmouth on at least one occasion.  She had travelled there to meet her friend and fellow-philanthropist, Fanny Talbot, who had kick-started the fledgling National Trust by donating the hillside above the town as its first acquisition.

In a letter that was written in 1911, only a year before she died, Octavia Hill wrote:

 I visited in the spring the cliff at Barmouth, which was the first possession of the National Trust.  It was given by Mrs Talbot, a great friend of Mr Ruskin’s.  It is steep and wild, the path along its face is cut in the rock high above town and sea; at one place the path is widened, a semi-circular seat is hewn in the face of the cliff, and above the seat is an inscription telling of its dedication to the people for ever.  As we stood there the rain clouds suddenly parted and cleared off; the sun broke out and lighted up the whole magnificent view of sea, and bay, and headland; and one felt what an abiding possession such a view was for the townspeople, and the many visitors from all parts of England.

This Saturday turned out to be a similar day.  It had rained in the morning, but after enjoying some of the celebrations in the town - including a re-enactment of a meeting between Mrs Talbot and the Trust's three founders and talks about Octavia Hill and the town's history - a group of us walked up in sunshine to admire the 'magnificent view of sea, and bay and headland'.  

L to R: Rhodri Wigley (Area Ranger), Dame Fiona Reynolds (Director General) Vanessa Griffiths (Wales Countryside Assistant Director of Operations) with her children Quinn & Róisín, Jane Richardson (Wales Head of Membership & Supporter Services) and Trystan Edwards (General Manager, Snowdonia & Llyn). At the cairn built in 1995 to commemorate the centenary of the Trust's founding. 

I was reminded of the day we unveiled the centenary viewpoint cairn 17 years ago when I took a photo of Fiona's predecessor, Martin Drury, together with the Trust's Chairman, Wales Chairman and Wales Director, sheltering from the wind on the same spot.

Perhaps it should be made obligatory for every Director General to pay a pilgrimage to Dinas Oleu.  I'll suggest that our new Director General, Dame Helen Ghosh visits in her familiarisation tour.  

But I can't guarantee that there will be a sofa and tea to greet her when she arrives. 

Autumn Walks in South Wales

Autumn is undoubtedly the best season for country walks.  Perhaps it's the quality of the light, the absence of crowds or the promise of nature's hedgerow harvest.  And it's not only the colours that are mellower: people seem friendlier and the pubs and cafes seem cosier.  

But most of all, the dying days of summer lend a wistful retrospection that I find so conducive to appreciating landscape.  Like tunes, I find that the best walks are in the minor key.

So it was my good luck that last week's visit to South Wales gave me an opportunity to further my quest to walk every section of the National Trust's 200 miles of Welsh coast.  And appropriately enough, both of them are featured in our Great Welsh Walk, which runs until the end of October.

The view of the secluded cove of Pwll Du, on Gower's south coast

The first walk, which takes you past this wonderful viewpoint to the hidden cove of Pwll Du on Gower's south coast, rewarded me with a glimpse of a kingfisher - darting up the stream in Pwll Du Wood - and gave amazing views of the south Wales coast as far as Porthcawl to the east and north Somerset and Lundy to the south.

Video clip of my description of the Pennard to Pwll Du walk:

The second walk was in Pembrokeshire's wonderful Cleddau woods, near the picturesque village of Lawrenny.  This walk had the benefit of starting and finishing at one of the cosiest of cosy autumn cafes, the Quayside Tearoom at Lawrenny Quay.  I had been told that it was one of the best in the county, and I was not disappointed.

The perfect combination: Lawrenny woodland walk and afternoon tea at the Quayside

To follow in my footsteps and sample the hidden delights of these two walks click the links:

Pennard Cliffs, Southgate, Pwll Du and Bishopston Woods

Lawrenny Woods

If you've enjoyed these walks as much as I did, why not use this blog's 'comment' facility?

A Taste of the Sea at Porthdinllaen

As I approach the village by sea, I can see the crowds in front of the Ty Coch

The picture postcard village of Porthdinllaen is amazing whichever way you approach it.  But by far the best way, is by sea.  And that is how I arrived at Porthdinllaen this afternoon, on my way to join the first Blas y Mor (Taste of the Sea) festival.

The event was organised the National Trust as part of the Llyn Coastal Festival and included seafood cookery demonstrations from local cooks Mary White, Selective Seafoods, Heather Jones, Gegin Grug, Nick Grimes and Russel Smith from the Woodlands Hall Hotel and Mel Thomas, Hafan Hire.

Other activities included beach games, free canoeing trips with Llyn Adventures, face painting and a fascinating exhibition about the area's rich seafaring history, provided by the Nefyn Maritime Museum.

I've visited Porthdinllaen hundreds of times over the years, but I don't think I've ever seen it so full of life.  After catching up with colleagues, family and friends - and sampling some of the cook's dishes - I paddled out to see the new Porthdinllaen Lifeboat, the John D. Spicer, on her mooring out in the bay, before heading for home.

Below are some photos of the event, and a video in Welsh of Coastal Ranger, Laura Jones.

Hundreds pack the beach in front of the the famous Ty Coch Inn

Russel Smith dishes out his tasty Cawl Cranc Llyn - Llyn Crab Soup.

Three happy members of the Llyn Visitor Services Team: Val, Steph and Joan, in front of the Ty Coch

A group of youngsters head off for their first taste of canoeing, with Llyn Adventures 

Ceidwad Arfordirol Llyn, Laura Jones yn siarad am gwyl Blas y Mor

(Video in Welsh only)

The Menai Strait's Other Engineering Wonder

Small but perfectly formed.  Anglesey's hidden hide.

In my first Welsh Coast blog post, made five months ago after an inspirational visit to Glan Faenol with Warden John Whitley, I promised that I would return to share with you more of his handiwork.

Well, today I found that I had an hour to spare in between meetings, so I popped over to take a look at another of his hand-made buildings.  Rather than writing about it, I thought I would post a video of my visit instead.

To take a look at another of John's creations, click here to download a walk.

Ceredigion by Bike

You too can enjoy the tracks and byways of Dyffryn Aeron.  Photo Credit: Janet Baxter

By happy coincidence, one of Wales' most attractive coastal towns is connected by an easy cycleway to one of Wales' most fascinating country houses open to the public.

The town is Aberaeron, with its wonderful architecture and equally wonderful ice cream and chips, and the country house - you've guessed it - is that miraculous survival from our rural past, Llanerchaeron. 

And now you can enjoy both these attractions without having to resort to the usual necessary evil of the motor car.

Since January, a cycle hire firm has teamed up with the National Trust to establish its base at the car park at Llanechaeron.

I met Simon Firth, the enthusiastically friendly proprietor of this little business, the other day on my travels. With his dog Woody (my "trusty side-kick") sitting patiently at his heels, Simon explained how he'd been approached by Paul Boland, the Trust's Property Manager about a year ago.

"I was working at a bike shop at the time, and Paul put the idea into my head. Although it’s taken a while for people to realise I'm here, I've not looked back."

Simon, who took up cycling on his doctor's orders to combat chronic back pain, is a convincing advocate of the restorative powers of cycling.

I asked him about the route to Aberaeron - which opened as a foothapth and cycleway 14 years ago when the track-bed of the Aeron Valley Railway was awoken from 40 years of neglect.

"At three and a half miles, it's such an easily-achievable distance.  Naturally, its popular as a safe peddle for families, but I've noticed how retired visitors have told me that its the perfect cycle for anyone who’s not been on a bike for a while."

Of course, when you get to your destination, there's no shortage of things to do: there's the ice-cream and chips for a start.

I wonder how many calories you burn off in three and a half miles of cycling?


Simon has a wide range of British-made bikes, trailers for people of all ages.  To contact Simon, phone 07896 895366 or email him on silikesbikes@gmail.com.  To download a leaflet, click here

Anglesey Visit: From Conservation Grazing to Nuclear Powerstations

An 'informed welcome': Warden Bryn Jones in action

How to establish an NT presence on NT beaches managed by a third party?

What's involved with organising conservation grazing?

How should we respond to the building of a new nuclear power station on our doorstep?

All questions raised during a fascinating day with our Warden Bryn Jones visiting National Trust sites on the north coast of Anglesey. 

Read the captions to the pictures on facebook to find out more > Click here