Day 8 - 11

 DAY 8

A day of cats and people rather than scenery. We saw several cats. One woman told us one of her two cats was shy because he was missing half the skin from his head when she got him as he'd been abused. His eyes were different sizes. This fluffy fellow in Pembroke Dock seemed to be asking us to open his front door so he could go inside.

It was a day of mostly urban walking. We crossed the huge, very high Cleddau Bridge.

There were three steel cages taking us over pipelines. 

This man walking his dog warned us of cows in the next field and told us his life story, and it was a hard life.

It was a warm day so icecream was required when we reached Milford Haven.

We stayed in a modern hotel with an absolute water view.

 DAY 9

We got lost, twice, while trying to leave Milford Haven, adding time, distance and confusion. We still had views of the refineries but the scenery gradually improved.

We were very conscious of time. There were two tidal crossings we had to make. If we missed the low tide we would have to walk a much longer alternate route. Made the first crossing at Sandy Haven, a pretty place that reminded us of Helford on the SWCP.

It was a two and a half hour walk to the second crossing at The Gann. But we made it in time. 

A shallow short paddle between the pallets and sand flats, then a walk along a road into the tiny village of Dale where we indulged in curried parsnip soup and coffee. Yum.

DAY 10

Dale village. The tide was still high.

There were some very over-grown tracks in the morning. Sheryl is in this picture. Can you find her?

Then the fog came in. Thick and white and damp. All afternoon.

Lunch, beside an empty house and old lighthouse converted into a coast watch tower. It's for sale if you're up for a Grand Designs restoration project. The fog horn from the nearby current lighthouse began its mournful warning cries as we sat here.

We walked away with only close views of the track beneath our feet and the fields close to us. Everything else was white due to the fog. We passed large expanses of old concrete, the remains of an airfield.

The fog lifted a little to reveal Marloe Sands which is quite impressive at low tide.

At the end of Marloe Sands, rises Gateholm Island, where over 130 hut circles indicate the remains of a large Iron Age settlement.

Then the fog rushed back in. At Martin Haven, we had a long cold wait for a bus. There's not much there, only a small visitor centre and jetty for the boat to visit Skomer Island, tomorrow's adventure. The bus finally took us home and to the pub for a warming dinner of pasta and cider.