Porthkerry to Llantwit Major

WeathermanWalking

The Weatherman Walking maps are intended as a guide to help you walk the route. We recommend using an OS map of the area in conjunction with this guide. Routes and conditions may have changed since this guide was written.

Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO. © Crown copyright and database right 2009. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100019855.

CARDIFF AIRPORT RUNWAY

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PORTHKERRY VIADUCT

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RHOOSE POINT

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FONTYGARY LEISURE PARK

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THE BLUE ANCHOR

51 Points of interest

Start

Finish

Route

For this walk we’ve included OS grid references should you wish to use them.

POWER STATIONS SITE

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FORMER LIME WORKS

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MILITARY DEFENCES

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APPROXIMATE DISTANCE:

10 MILESLLANTWIT MAJOR BEACH

PEBBLE BEACH

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The BBC takes no responsibility for any accident or injury that may occur while following the route. Always wear appropriate clothing and footwear and check weather conditions before heading out.

FORMER SEAWATCH CENTRE

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LLANTWIT MAJOR BEACH

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Waymark in the pebbles

Start: Porthkerry Park

Starting Ref: ST 08582 66908

Grade: Easy

Distance: Approx. 10 miles

Walk time: 3-4 hours

Parking: There is public parking at Porthkerry Park

(free except Sundays) and Llantwit Major

Beach (free).

Travel information: The 303 runs between Llantwit Major

(approx. one mile from the beach)

and Rhoose or Barry Station. See

local timetables.

This walk goes from the viaduct in Porthkerry Park, heading west along the Wales coast path to the beach in the historic town of Llantwit Major, one of Britain’s most important religious towns.

Further information: Visit Wales Coast Path website for more

information and path diversions

www.walescoastpath.gov.uk/plan-your-visit

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Porthkerry Viaduct

DirectionsPorthkerry Park is accessed

via Park Road, Barry. There is a

drive through the park, about a

mile long to get to the car park

and café. From the car park,

the viaduct is about 100 yards

away and can’t be missed.

Porthkerry Viaduct (ST 08455 66909)

The viaduct was built in the 1890s to transport coal to Barry docks. It has 15 piers and 16 arches and is over 100 ft high, but the build wasn’t straight forward. The viaduct opened in December 1897, but just two weeks later, the embankment on the eastern end began to slip.It looked like it was going to be an engineering disaster.

The viaduct was closed, and major repair works were needed. It finally reopened, and stayed open, a couple of years later and is still regularly used by trains today.

Porthkerry Viaduct

PORTHKERRY VIADUCT

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Porthkerry Boardwalk

Extremity of Cardiff Airport Runway (ST 07669 66714)

Cardiff Airport opened in the 1940s as a training base for Spitfire pilots, it then became a commercial airport in the 1950s and is Wales’ busiest airport. The airport is owned by the Welsh Government and carries about 1.6 million passengers a year.

Porthkerry Boardwalk

Pebble beach waymark

DirectionsFrom the viaduct, follow the

path to the seafront, which

includes a new section of

boardwalk. Porthkerry was

once a bustling harbour until it

was destroyed in a storm in the

16th century. Now the country

park is a reclaimed wildlife

haven and popular family

leisure location. Just before

the shoreline, the coast path

turns right and runs parallel

to the pebble beach. To the

north, just out of sight, is the

perimeter of Cardiff Airport.

CARDIFF AIRPORT RUNWAY

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Airplane landing

Cardiff AirportDerek says, “I did a stint working for the Met Office at the airport when I was much younger. I was in the control tower and had to do 12 hour shifts, giving weather reports every 30 minutes to advise the pilots of the conditions. I enjoyed my time there and think about it each time I fly from Cardiff.”

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Rhoose Point (ST 06684 65540)

Rhoose Point is the most southerly point of mainland Wales. The currents here are dangerous, so definitely not a place to try and dip your feet in the sea.

The Severn Estuary has the second highest tidal range in the world, with typically a 30-foot difference between high and low tide.

Rhoose Point

Rhoose

Rhoose Nature Reserve

DirectionsOn the coast path, the walk

continues past Porthkerry

Leisure Park and on the

southern side of Rhoose, one

of the fastest growing villages

in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The limestone rocks have

been extensively quarried over

the years, and where there

were once cliffs, today there

are housing estates and a

nature reserve.

RHOOSE POINT

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Fontygary Leisure Park (ST 04940 65886)

The beach at Fontygary Bay is wide and pebbly and backed by light grey cliffs. The caravan park is known for its warm atmosphere and friendly banter between residents.

Those with the best sea views joke that their static homes are in ‘Millionaire’s Row’.

Fontygary Leisure Park

DirectionsContinuing west, the path

passes over Fontygary Bay

and goes right through

Fontygary Leisure Park,

where residents have some

pretty spectacular views from

their caravans.

FONTYGARY LEISURE PARK

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East Aberthaw, The Blue Anchor (ST 03501 66682)

The Blue Anchor was established in 1380, making it one of the oldest pubs in Wales. It was once the beating heart of a thriving trading port. Aberthaw was at one time a more important port than Cardiff and Barry, exporting wool and food and importing wine, dried fruits, and leather from northern France, and was even busy enough to justify a Customs & Excise presence. The name of the inn came from the distinctive blue marl (mud), which coated the anchors of the vessels that sailed the channel and anchored at Aberthaw.

Former industrial site

Blue AnchorEast Aberthaw

East Aberthaw

DirectionsLeaving the holiday park,

there’s a steep walk down from

the headland to the shoreline,

where a wildlife habitat has

been created. Just north of

here is Aberthaw, made up of

two villages, east and west

Aberthaw, separated by the

River Thaw. It’s worth taking a

short detour to east Aberthaw,

about a mile inland, to visit one

of the oldest pubs in Wales.

THE BLUE ANCHOR

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Derek and Andrew Coleman at the Blue Anchor

The Blue AnchorDerek says, “Being a Barry boy, I used to visit the Blue Anchor with friends in my youth, and it hasn’t really changed at all. I met up with one of theowners, Andrew Coleman, who told me there were lots of rumours linking the pub to smuggling in times gone by.

There waseven a tale of a secret tunnel linking Aberthaw Bay with the Blue Anchor, down which all manner of contraband might have been transported. Unfortunately, no such tunnel has ever been found.”

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DirectionsBack on the coast path, the

walk continues on low level.

To the right, you pass an

attractive small lake and the

former Aberthaw Lime Works.

Former Lime Works (ST 03810 66114)

The Aberthaw Lime Works, opened in 1888, quarrying the local lias limestone, which sets underwater, making it useful for building lighthouses and canal locks.

Regular wildlife visitors to this area include bass, smooth-hound sharks, oystercatchers and turnstones.

Old Lime Works

FORMER LIME WORKS

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Former power station

Power Stations site (ST 02423 65845)

There were two power stations on the site. Aberthaw A, which started operating in 1960 was the most advanced coal-powered power station in the world at the time and it operated until the 1990s when it was demolished. Aberthaw B opened in 1971 and was finally closed in March

2020. The future of the site has still to be decided, but for now, it’s fenced off and secured.

DirectionsAt this point, the landscape

is dominated by the former

power station. The coast path

follows its external boundary

around the front of the site.

POWER STATIONS SITE

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Military defences (ST 01473 66444)

During the Second World War, it was believed there could be a German invasion via Ireland, and the south Wales coast was at risk. Between 1940 and 1941, a defensive mile-long wall of pillboxes and anti-tank cubes was built along this stretch of coastline. The beach would have been defended by the local Home Guard, who were expected to slow down a German invasion to give the regular armed forces time to mount a proper counter-attack.

Some sections of the cube lines and pillboxes remain. Some of the cubes are signed by the soldiers who worked on them and represent a very personal history of the Second World War.

Military defencesleaving the power station behind

DirectionsTo the west side of the power

stations site, you walk along

a long gully with a high wall

to the left and the industrial

works on your right. Along

the walk, there are occasional

openings in the wall and steps

where you can climb up and

take a peek at the view of the

Bristol Channel. The path

emerges next to a small car

park at Limpert Bay.

It’s now part of the Glamorgan

Heritage Coast. Heading west

past a ruined building, you

walk along an area of

rough grassland before

arriving at some powerful

military defences.MILITARY

DEFENCES

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Summerhouse Bay pebble beach

Pebble Beach (SS 99575 66423)

It’s unusual for the coast path to cross a pebble beach, and you have to pick your way across the fairly large stones to avoid breaking your ankle. It’s a short section of the walk, just a few hundred yards, but does slow down your progress unless you are pretty sure-footed.The positive side is that it does give you uninterrupted views of the coast at ground level.

Summerhouse Bay pebble beach

DirectionsWalking on from Limpet Bay,

there’s a section of the coast

path which has been brought

closer to the sea recently.

At one time, it went around

a farmer’s land but now joins

up with the existing footpath

to follow the shoreline. After

passing along the bottom of

two fields, it veers left onto the

beach at Summerhouse Bay.

PEBBLE BEACH

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Stone Stacking

Stone StackingDerek says, “Visiting lots of sections of the Welsh coast, I often come across stacks of stones. Historically, piles of stones (cairns) were used to indicate a particular route or direction. In recent years they have become a hobby or temporary memorial to a loved one. There are now European, and even WorldChampionships, and the top stone stackers have managed to pile up as many as 40 stones.

My efforts weren’t quite as successful. After a few attempts I managed to pile up ten stones, which I was quite pleased with. Ok, some of them may have been tiny, but they were still pebbles from the beach! The advice to stone stackers is to leave the pebbles where you found them when you go.”

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DirectionsLeaving the pebble beach

behind you, the waymark

leads you to the right and

up some fairly steep steps at

Summerhouse Point.

Headland approach to Llantwit

Former SeaWatch Centre (SS 99325 66461)

The Seawatch Centre, Summerhouse Point, Boverton, near Llantwit Major, was once a HM Coastguard lookout station for the busy shipping lanes of the Bristol Channel.

It was decommissioned and then used as a Maritime Interpretation Centre, set out as a ship’s bridge and equipped with radio receivers, navigational and meteorological instrumentation.It is currently closed. Next to the Seawatch Centre is the site of an ancient fort. It is thought to be Iron Age but may have been built on the site of an earlier fort.

Former Seawatch CentreFORMER

SEAWATCH CENTRE

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Arriving at Llantwit Major Beach

Llantwit Major Beach (SS 95634 67477)

The beach is about a mile south of Llantwit Major, a pretty small town that is well worth a detour or walk extension. It was one of the most important seats of learning and religion inthe world in the 6th-century.

A monastary and college were set up in the town in 500AD and among those said to have studied here are both St Patrick and St David. For many, it’s been a place of pilgrimage. Llantwit Major beach is mainly pebble and rocks with some small areas of sand, backed by

cliffs. There is a large car park, café and toilets.

DirectionsThe final approx. 2 miles is

along the headland, passing

Stout Point, New Way Stair – a

stepped part of the cliffs – and

Pigeon Point before dropping

down a zig-zag path, with

spectacular views, towards the

beach at Llantwit Major.

LLANTWIT MAJOR BEACH

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Enjoying the walk

End of the WalkDerek says, “This was a nice local walk for me and, although I had done sections of it before, I’d never actually walked the length of it and seen how the landscape was changing. It’s great to see some of the former industrial sites being brought back to nature.”