of wonderfully rugged coastline, which is followed via Aberaeron, New Quay and Aberporth all the way to Mwnt before the way turns inland along the Teifi Estuary to Cardigan. The path follows many sections of pre-existing and often improved rights of way, as well as a number of specially created sections.
Cardigan to St Dogmaels
A short link on the south side of the estuary, via field paths and roads, leads to St Dogmaels and the official start of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
The Story in the rocks
One of the delights of the coast path is its ever-changing scenery, resulting from the varied underlying geology.
Between Porthmadog and a little north of Broad Water you encounter the oldest rocks along the path. These are called greywackes: hard, dark sandstones, alternating with softer slate and mudstones, formed 544 to 510 million years ago during the Cambrian period. Folded into a dome (the Harlech Dome), much eroded since its first formation, they rise from the coast towards the Rhinogs.
Subsequently the landmass that included Wales drifted north some 3000km (1865 miles) from the southern regions of the planet. Mudstones, siltstones and sandstones formed during this time occur along the coast between the Teifi and Ynys Lochtyn near Llangrannog.
Between Ynys Lochtyn and Borth the rocks of the later Silurian period comprise great thicknesses of greywackes, formed in fast-moving currents. The larger sand grains would settle out first, with finer muds on top, a sequence repeated many times and seen in layer upon layer of alternating strata in the cliffs. Most striking of all, between Cwmtydu and Borth, are the so-called Aberystwyth Grits, nowadays considerably contorted as a result of mountain-building forces.
An outcrop of Aberystwyth Grits at Allt-wen, south of Aberystwyth (Day 9)
South of Tal-y-bont to Llanaber, the path runs over much younger clays, silts, sands and gravels formed a mere 55 to five million years ago.
The land we see today has been modified by erosion and glaciation. As the ice retreated, and especially with the last retreat about 12,000 years ago, large amounts of glacial moraine and till were left behind, of such quantity as to overspread the low-lying coastal tracts. New stretches of coastal plain were formed, leaving former cliff lines inland. You can see this in the coastal strip between Aberaeron and Llanrhystud, for example. In some places the glacial debris is of such depth that it has formed its own coastal cliffs, such as at Llansantffraid. At Wallog, moraine forms the remarkable bank of Sarn Gynfelyn, stretching way out to sea, a survivor of thousands of years of tides and storms. Further up the coast, under the sea, lies the similar bank of Sarn Badrig.
At some places, such as off the coast of Borth, evidence of former land lies in the remains of submerged peat banks and old tree stumps still in their original positions, visible at low tide.
Undercut glacial cliffs near Mynachdy’r-graig (Day 10)
The processes of erosion and deposition are never-ending. We can see where the coastline is being changed today by the silting-up of the estuaries, or where marsh has formed and become vegetated, such as in the vast raised bog of Cors Fochno near Borth. And we can marvel at the huge dune systems formed in the last few hundred years, often as windblown sand has gained a toehold on the pebbles and gravels carried north up the coast by longshore drift.
History
Early settlers
By the time melting ice had finally cut Britain off from the rest of mainland Europe in about 5000BC, early colonists had already arrived on these islands. The first to leave visible evidence on the landscape, during the period from about 4000BC to 3000BC, were the Neolithic peoples. A number of Neolithic burial chambers are to be found in Gwynedd, a fine example being at Dyffryn Ardudwy. A number of stone circles, several near the coast, date from this time through to about 2000BC, as civilisation moved into the Bronze Age.
The Celts, who arrived in Wales from about 600BC, were warlike and had a culture steeped in legend. Their language (the various tribes speaking different versions of the same tongue) gave the basis for modern Welsh. The latter part of the first millennium BC saw the development of numerous hill forts, such as at Pendinas above Aberystwyth and at Pendinaslochdyn near Llangrannog.
Seen across a shimmering sea, Pendinaslochdyn appears in silhouette (Day 13)
The Roman invasion
The Roman invasion of Britain from AD43 made relatively little impact on West Wales. There was known to be one fort, near the path at Pennal, but roads were largely absent and the Celtic peoples carried on their way of life much as before.
After the Romans
The history of West Wales after the Romans departed is often shrouded in mystery. Irish tribes began to settle here; then, according to tradition, early in the fifth century one Cunedda and his eight sons came from Southern Scotland, subjugating the Irish settlers and imposing the Welsh (Brythonic) dialect of the Celts. It is perhaps no mere coincidence, then, that the conquered areas bear the names of Cunedda’s sons. Dunawd, for instance, is said to have given his name to Dunoding (an area that included the coast between present-day Porthmadog and Barmouth, the land of Ardudwy); Ceredig to Ceredigion, and Merion (the son of Tyrion, who had already died) to Meirionydd between the Dwyryd and Machynlleth. These are some of the oldest names in Wales.
At about this time, in the fifth and sixth centuries, there was a growth of monastic communities associated with powerful families, comprising a church and simple dwellings within an enclosure (a llan). Here religious men led a life of prayer and frugality. Along the route of the coast path the most famous of these men was Padarn at Llanbadarn (on the edge of present-day Aberystwyth), this llan later developing into the abbey and important bishopric of Llanbadarn Fawr. Many disciples who came to these llans went on to set up further churches, associated with the founder. Thus of the St David foundations there is Llan-non, named after David’s mother St Non, and Llangrannog, named after St David’s grandfather Carannog.
St Crannog watches over Llangrannog village (Day 14)
The Norman Conquest and the Wars of Independence
In the following centuries various attempts were made to create a wider unity in Wales, as, for instance, by Rhodri Mawr (844–878), his grandson Hywel Dda (c900–950) and others, but without long-term success.
A major change to the political map came with the arrival of the Normans, although in West Wales the conquest did not fully happen until the time of Henry I (who reigned from 1100 until 1135), when, for example, he gave Ceredigion to the powerful Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, who built the castles at Cardigan and Llanbadarn. In the succeeding centuries the history of West Wales is complex as various rulers arose to drive back the Normans, only to be overthrown themselves.
Among them, towards the end of the 12th century, was Llewelyn the Great, who by 1234 controlled all of North Wales. After his death Henry III once more took control of many of the Welsh territories, including Llanbadarn. But by 1257 Llewelyn’s grandson, Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, sought to restore the former position, notably in the two wars of 1276–1277 and 1282–1283. With Llewelyn’s death on 11 December 1282, defeat was on hand.
