It’s a brisk and windy morning in the Welsh fishing village of Fishguard. For the past eleven days I’ve been walking along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path of Wales. It weaves its way along 200 miles of spectacular coastline passing through beaches and villages along the way. Most of the trail is atop coastline cliffs with wide open views but it’s imperative that one watch each step closely. In many places just a step or two off the wrong direction will send a walker over the edge and into the sea….
For the first 9 days I had the good company of fellow Camino de Santiago walker Debs. We met on the way to Finistere, Spain last Fall. Since she lives in England it was convenient for her to join me. While walking with Deb we took advantage of favorable weather and utilized the enitirety of everyday to stop at a village pub and/or beach for a leisurely break. It wasn't uncommon to find us at a pub in the evening before walking up the path a bit, right before dark, to find somewhere to camp. Given the regularity of villages it would be easy to stay in B&B’s, Hostels, or Camping Barns every night but for a budget traveler camping is the way to go.
Aside of the beautiful scenery and friendly Welsh people, pubs are equally a highlight. Every village has at least one pub which is almost always the center of social activity. In a odd way every pub is different and every pub has a vibe. For the first night Deb and I camped near Tenby. It’s a fairly large place with several pubs. We visited all of them. Some are modern while others are old and what locals refer to as proper. The first pub we visited was old and proper with a good vibe. We then visited a couple of others but as soon as we walked in we walked out. Not the right vibe. We found one pub that boasted to be friendly and warm so we decided to give it a chance. After one drink we found it to be quite the contrary. Although we did have a beer we wished we hadn't. Bad pub vibe. After that we went back to the pub where we originally started our tour and had dinner. Often times when there is more than one Pub to choose from it’s best to go with your initial instinct…... All in all most pubs are good and the staff quite friendly but all pubs have their own unique character and characters….. One of the best Pubs Debs and I visited was the Point House at Angle Point. It’s around 400 years old and the fireplace has allegedly been lit for over 300 years. Warm, friendly, and proper with the best curry fish chowder I’ve ever had….
Well, today I’ll walk a relatively short 11 miles to the village of Newport. Yesterday I walked an honest 20 miles and at this point with only 27 miles to go I have no need to rush…
For my next post I’ll address the issue of just how crappy American Beer really is and how nice it is to not have to tip……
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