among other places, Ceredigion. Edward I, already building new castles elsewhere in Wales (as well as strengthening a number of existing Welsh castles, such as Llanbadarn) now initiated a further phase of castle-building, including Harlech Castle.
Houses of most of the monastic orders had come into Wales by now, paramount being the Cistercian house of Strata Florida, inland at Pontrhydfendigaid, under the patronage of the lords of Deheubarth and holding significant areas of coastal land at Dolaeron, Morfa Mawr and Morfa Bychan. Whitland Abbey in Carmarthenshire held coastal land at Porth Fechan (by Aberporth) and at Esgair Saith (by Tresaith). Cardigan and Llanbadarn were Benedictine foundations.
The Glyndŵr revolt
At Machynlleth the coast path reaches the place most closely associated with Owain Glyndŵr. He was born in around 1354, was well-read, spoke English, knew the legal system and became a soldier loyal to the English king.
Wales was turbulent in the 14th century, with much anger still emanating from Edward I’s subjugation of the country and from more recent swingeing taxes. The revolt arose from a local dispute with the English Lord Grey of Ruthin, who had apparently seized some of Glyndŵr’s land. The courts failing to back him, Glyndŵr took up the cudgels and, having been declared Prince of Wales in 1400 by the insurrectionists, first attacked Ruthin with some 4000 men, then moved on through Oswestry to Welshpool.
Machynlleth’s Parliament House is a Grade I listed building (Day 7)
Henry IV’s two expeditions of 1402 to quell the uprising, and the introduction of punitive laws, simply caused an escalation of the revolt. By 1403 Glyndŵr controlled much of Wales, and in 1404 he was crowned ruler of a free Wales in Machynlleth.
Glyndŵr, keen to form alliances with other sovereign nations, courted the allegiance of the French king and set out to demonstrate, in the Pennal Letter, his allegiance to the Pope in Avignon. But inexorably the Welsh were overcome, and by 1407 the rebellion was fading. Glyndŵr fled into hiding and died, it is believed, in Herefordshire in about 1416. He was unquestionably a man of vision, for had the rebellion succeeded some believe Wales could at that time have had its own church and university. However, the Welsh economy was left in a parlous state, and many churches and at least 40 towns had suffered significant damage.
This monument to Owain Glyndŵr stands in the park at Machynlleth (Day 8)
Henry Tudor
The next historic event of note along the coast was the progress through Wales of Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII). It was the usurpation of the English throne by Richard III, after the death of Edward IV (1483), which brought Henry into prominence. Landing at Dale in Pembrokeshire on 7 July 1485, and with considerable support from the Welsh, he made rapid progress up the coast, arriving at Cardigan on 9 August, Llanbadarn on 10 August and Machynlleth the following day, on his way to Bosworth.
The uniting of England and Wales
Under Henry VIII’s Act of Union of 1536, initiating the uniting of Wales and England into a single state, the boundaries of the modern shires were largely determined by those of the old Welsh divisions. Merionethshire included the coastal plain of the old lands of Ardudwy, while Cardiganshire (as the area was now called) conformed surprisingly closely to the ancient lands of Ceredig, son of Cunedda, a remarkable continuity down the centuries.
Second World War tank traps still line the beach at Fairbourne (Day 5)
Wildlife
The varied habitats found along the coast path – the cliffs, dunes, saltmarshes and woodlands, as well as the sea itself – support a wonderful array of plants and creatures. There are several nationally important nature reserves, and large tracts of the coast have been afforded special protection. Stretching 30km (19 miles) out to sea, the whole section from the Llŷn to Clarach has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation, as has the section from Aberarth to Cemaes Head in Pembrokeshire. The Dyfi Estuary has been designated as Wales’ only International Biosphere, with protection for the dunes, the extensive raised bog of Cors Fochno and other habitats.
Four sections of the Ceredigion coast (from Borth to Clarach, Twll Twrw to Llanrhystud, New Quay to Tresaith and Pen-Peles to Gwbert) have also been designated as Heritage Coast and are managed to conserve their natural beauty.
Offshore, Cardigan Bay supports an amazing variety of marine plants and animals, from bottlenose dolphins to the humble reef-building worm. Along the coastal margins, the sandbanks, reefs and caves are also hugely important for wildlife, with their attendant populations of grey seals and lampreys.
Sea pinks and birdsfoot trefoil are found along the coast path during the spring and summer months
From spring into summer a wealth of wildflowers thrives along the cliff sections of the path, including orchids, sea pinks, birdsfoot trefoil, thrift and bladder campion, with drifts of bluebells here and there. The common gorse is prolific, adding splashes of bright yellow to the landscape in the season. Butterflies also do well in these areas, and the cliffs are important breeding grounds for birds such as the razorbill, fulmar, guillemot and kittiwake, as well as gulls, and there are also populations of chough. Certain rocks are favourite places for cormorants to perch and hang their wings out to dry. You would be unlucky not to see red kite along the coast either side of Llanrhystud.
By contrast the shingle beaches may seem devoid of life, but a closer look will reveal plants such as the sea campion and sea holly thriving. The shingly flats near Broad Water, where the Dysynni reaches the sea, are a good place to see sandwich terns, eider ducks and turnstones, especially at high tide.
Large tracts of the extensive dunes, especially along the Snowdonia coast, are National Nature Reserves, owing to their rich wildlife (including orchids) and their butterflies, other insects and birds such as the shelduck and curlew.
The fragrant, bell-shaped flowers of bladder campion
The path crosses several areas of saltmarsh and runs beside estuarine flats such as those of Traeth Bach, the Mawddach and Dyfi – good food sources for waders and winter migrants such as redshank, wigeon and oystercatcher. In the Traeth Bach area look out all year round for the red-breasted merganser, and in winter for peregrine falcons, whooper swans and water pipits. Osprey have been breeding in the area for several years and you may be lucky enough to spot one diving for fish. The grasshopper warbler and common whitethroat can sometimes be heard around the Mawddach Estuary, and offshore from the Dyfi Estuary in winter you may spot red-throated divers, long-tailed ducks and the common scoter.
The various areas of woodland (found, for instance, in the coastal cwms and dingles) are locally important for wildlife, while much of the more extensive Maentwrog oakwood above the Afon Dwyryd has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation, supporting hundreds of species of mosses, liverworts and lichens, rare bats, and birds such as the pied flycatcher, redstart and wood warbler.
Commerce along the coast
The boatbuilding era
All along the coast (and especially south of the Dyfi) from the later
