04: Aberporth to Penpeles: 5 mile circular walk

33 Mins from our holiday cottages
20 Miles from our holiday cottages
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Erwlas, Aberporth, Ceredigion
SA43 2DQ (Sat Nav)

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“ A nice half day walk with facilties and beach in Aberporth ”

Stallion Valley Holiday Cottages Advice

Walking the Ceredigion Coastal path, West Wales. : Aberporth to Penpeles

Holiday cottage owners Mick & Julie's New Year's resolution was to walk the 60 mile long Ceredigion Coastal Path in sections during 2013. The idea is to be able to advise holiday cottage guests how best to enjoy coastal walking holidays from Stallion Valley holiday cottages and to make regular entries on The Stallion Valley holiday cottage blog.

On Tuesday 23rd April 2013 we tackled a 5 mile dog friendly walk circular walk from Aberporth to Penpeles with our 2 dogs. This was a varied walk starting near the weapons testing establishment in Aberporth, heading south across fields and lanes and then down a small wooded valley to the coastal rocky promontory of Penpeles.  Returning north along the coastal path before heading back to our car up another wooded valley

We parked our car on the road outside the entrance to the Quineteg MOD base where missiles and drones are tested.  The walk starts at a sign posted kissing gate in the hedge on the left hand side of the lane which turns off the main road and runs alongside the MOD base. 

After about 2-300 metres across fields, following signs, we crossed a footbridge and came to a path T junction.  We turned left, inland; the path to the right was the return path of our circular route.
 
The path was well signposted across fields (muddy in places) and tracks through gates and farmyards for about one and a half miles.

A this point we reached a road and a few yards along it turned right off the road following a footpath sign  leading down a valley via several footbridges  to the coastal path near the rocky coastal promontory of Penpeles

The weather had been cloudy up until now but the sun came out and and lit up glorious views as we turned right and walked northwards back towards Aberporth.
Ahead of us on the skyline of Aberporth head we were able to see the buildings of the Aberporth missile testing base and as we got closer we could hear the whoosh of missiles being fired out sea we assumed.  Assumed because whilst we could hear them we could not see them! Presumably because they were travelling too fast to see.
The path was steep in places as it undulated, intersected by streams and we crossed more of the many footbridges on this walk.

Spring had come to West Wales and the path was lined with wildflowers.  We turned one corner and there basking in the sunshine was a snake, an adder.  Sadly we disturbed it and it slid off quickly resulting in a very blurred photograph.

Down below us close to the base of the rocky cliffs we spotted a pair of seals bobbing up and down in the waves and further out to sea off Aberporth head we thought we could see dolphins but that may just have been wishful thinking.
All too soon we came to the end of the one and half miles of coastal path section as we reached the boundary of the MOD base where the path turned inland up a wooded valley. It was a bit of a steep climb and there were several more footbridges but we were soon back at our car.
We loaded our dogs into the car having enjoyed a wonderful dog friendly walk. We had worked up an appetite so we drove into Aberporth and sat outside overlooking the beach drinking a well-earned drink and enjoyed some excellent chips from the café.  Before leaving we admired Aberporths carved wooden dolphin.

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