Around Wales With Simon - Llangranog to Poppit Sands

 I had every intention on working this bank holiday Monday.  I had hoped to get out in the boat on the weekend.  The past few weeks had been excellent for kayaking but for some reason the winds pick up over the weekends, and this weekend had been no different.  This was Nash Point on the Saturday...  

Jim and Chris were also keen to get out and a plan was quickly formulated for Monday.  Somewhere along Cardigan Bay Simon Ford was enduring a north to south paddle of the entire Welsh coastline.  The plan was to intersect him at Llangranog and keep him company until Poppit Sands where we camped the night before.

Me and Jim arrived late Sunday night to meet Chris at the Allt y Coed camp site at Poppit Sands.  After searching around the camp site in the dark we finally found Chris, pitched the tents and chatted in to the early hours with a few cans.

Jim getting a rather personal wake up call from Chris.  While we packed up the tents and organised breakfast, Simon was already on the water.  We loaded the boats and headed off to Llangranog where we would meet him.

Introducing Simon...

We only knew of Simon from our the social networking sites on the internet and never met him before.  It appears the reasons for undertaking this challenge has captured the hearts of our close knit kayaking community.  

Inspired by Tarans around Wales expedition Simon and his fiancée Linda had hoped to possibly undertake the adventure together someday.  Sadly Simon lost Linda to cancer in March of this year.  Remarkably in April Simon took to the sea for the very first time and trained hard before setting off in early August.  Simon hopes to raise awareness and money for Velindre Cancer Hospice in Cardiff Wales, and is very near to his £10,000 target.  You can donate to his cause by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.   

We arrived at Llangranog beach and before long Simon appeared in the distance.

We ventured up to the nearest cafe for a very welcomed bacon roll and got to know Simon.

We could afford to be unmindful of the time because the tides here are negligible but we had a long way to go.  So we finished up at the cafe and were on our way.

Looking north.  I have only paddled north as far as Cardigan Island, our destination for today, so this was a welcomed stretch to paddle.  The sun was out and the forecast looked good, no cags today.

Chris and Jim setting off from Llangranog.

Chris.

Simon.

Cheesy smiles from me thanks to Jim for the photo.

Less than a kilometre from Llangranog was this untouched beach cut off by the cliffs, perfect for a lunch stop one day, but far to soon today.

We decided to cut across the immediate bay including Aberporth and explore from there on.  On approaching the distant headland I thought I noticed a fin.  I have a habit of picking out logs and all sorts mistaking them for dolphins, so kept my mouth closed.

That was definitely not a log, everyone's faces instantly lit up.

There was a pod of at least three, maybe four or five, including a calf hunting off the moving waters around the head.  They seemed to work there way back and fourth the same area, completely uninterested in our close presence.

We sat for ages watching them surface every few moments, all trying to get a decent shot in the brief few seconds they spent above the surface.

At one point they must have been directly under my boat as I could clearly hear their clicking.

Simon and Jim trying to get the shot.

Here is a very doggy video I took, mind you don't get sea sick...

We could have sat there all day watching them but we had to move on, someone had to small task of getting around Wales.

As we ventured into the firing range a thick blanket of fog descended on us instantly turning what was a beautiful sunny day into a choppy mess.

We spotted this Lions Mane jelly fish on the surface, a first for me.  With the recent promise that Chris would happily pee on me if I ever got stung I wasn't feeling the need to get to close.

The miles seemed to drag on between the steep cliffs and mist but we finally managed to take a welcomed lunch break at a busy Mwnt beach.

Refreshed and refuelled we were back on the water, this time with our cags.  It was only another three kilometres to Cardigan Island and about another three into Poppit Sands.

Not far to go we spent the time exploring the nooks and crannies and enjoying a spot of rock hopping along the cliffs.

Paddling a gully next to Cardigan Island.

My attempt at a group photo but my big head got in the way.  It was only a short distance across the bay into Poppit Sands where we would finish up for the day.

I think Chris enjoyed that one.

Although our faces quickly changed when we realised the carry that was involved.

The RNLI lifeguards on duty kindly allowed Simon to store his kayak in a cargo container overnight while he camped in a nearby camp site.  Simon bought us all a round in the nearest pub for the company out on the water but the pleasure was all ours.

Almost 13 miles on the water, and about double that for Simon today.  It was an absolute pleasure meeting Simon and he is an inspiration for the challenge he is taking on and the reasons for doing it.  I take my hat off to him, only paddling since April and taking on such a big challenge.  I wish him all the luck for the rest of his journey and hope to catch up with him along my home stretch of waters before he finishes.

If you would like to donate towards Simon's charity please do so by clicking here and you can keep up to date with his progress by joining our Sea Kayak Cymru Facebook page here.  Thank you.

Cardigan Island

It was a chilly morning at Poppit Sands.  The sun rose in the east to dry our dew soaked kit while we ate breakfast.  We were kept entertained during the night with a firework show on the beach and a beautifully clear night under the stars.  

Taking a stroll down to the beach the once flat conditions from the evening before had got substantially bigger.  Steep rollers swept across the bay, their white tops whipped off with the northerly wind.  

I popped to the toilet block when a load of cars skidded into the car park.  Both lifeboats were being made ready for a mayday call within Cardigan Bay. 

I ran down the beach to get this shot of the second boat being launched unscathed in a brief lull in the surf.  The first boat had a trickier exit through the surf.  What worried me was how small the boat looked under the looming dark waves.  

With out boats on the waters edge the waves suddenly looked very intimidating, maybe a play in the surf first.

Taran paddled out looking very small, he was hanging back which isn't like Taran.  I paddled to join him and I could see why.

I could here the conversation the lifeboat crew were having over my radio discussing landing and half expected a big orange bow to come crashing over the waves.

We had a brief play in the smaller waves closer to the shore when I spotted another lull.

We paddled free of the surf just as one of the lifeboats were coming in, assumingly spotting the same break.

We paddled on toward Cardigan Island, picking up a little adverse tide along the way over what I assume was the sand bank.  Cardigan Island was once home to nesting sea birds including Puffins and Manx Shearwaters. This was changed when rats abandoned a sinking ship in hurricane conditions in 1934 and wiped out the islands populations of nesting birds.  By 1969 the rats were successfully exterminated and attempts have been made over previous years to re-establish bird populations but have all failed.  It seems the island now belongs to the boisterous Black Backed Gulls.   

The seaward side of the island look very entertaining so we opted to head for the sound between the island and mainland.

The island is home to grazing Canada Geese, increasing to a level where they actually keep the grass down. The island like most has previously been inhabited during the Bronze Age, the age of the saints (5th & 6th centuries) and the Norse name given to the island is Hastiholm.  During the 18th century the island was known as 'Smugglers Isle'.  This was during a time where the tax on salt was lower in Ireland than in mainland Britain.  The caves on the island were used to drop off the contraband while boats waited for the tide.  

On the seaward side of the island we keep a safe distance from the huge swells battering into the cliffs.  Taran spots what at first appears to be a dead seal.  She was still breathing but unresponsive to Taran stroking her.  Then all of a sudden as if awoken from a sleepy trance she reacted with teeth flared.

We made our way back to Poppit watching the huge white topped rollers sweep in across the bay ahead.  A few big sets rolled in just prior to our landing but we managed to pass through unscathed with just a small surf in to meet the sands.

Only a small trip today.  After yesterdays long trip the motivation for anther long paddle in big swells and damp kit was a little too much.  A great weekend with superb weather and great company, looking forward to the next.