Amroth

When we arrived in Saundersfoot this year one of the first things we did was take a walk down to the harbour area where we sat for a while in the evening sunshine (see "Arrival" on the menu on the left). And one of the first pictures I took, zooming in across the bay, was of some of the buildings at Amroth.

Monday on the Dale Peninsula had been a rather wet day and not the best of conditions for photography but Tuesday morning was bright and sunny and although there was a stiffish breeze blowing in off the sea - note the flag in the picture above - it seemed a good idea to spend an hour or so at Amroth before the forecast rains returned in the afternoon.

The road through the village runs down from the higher ground behind and turns to run along the coast towards Pendine, famous for its sands and Laugharne, famous for its connections with Dylan Thomas.

Amroth in the summer is a popular place with holidaymakers and at the eastern end of the village the grounds of Amroth Castle are occupied by a large caravan park. Here at the western end several shops cater for the needs of those same holidaymakers with all the usual paraphernalia necessary for a beach holiday. This particular shop is called "The Pirate" and sports a sign outside that would not look out of place in front of an inn.

From the sea front at Amroth the whole sweep of Saundersfoot Bay can be seen. In this picture above, another where I used the zoom lens to good effect, the rocky features of Monkstone Point with Tenby beyond stretch into the water like some languishing sea monster from a bygone age.

Further to the right from Monkstone Point is Saundersfoot and the masts of the boats in the harbour in yet another zoomed image, can be seen towards the left of this view. The promontory to the right is Coppet Hall Point where we would return later in the week on another fine morning.

When the tide goes out it is possible to walk all the way from Amroth to Tenby along a fine sandy beach. Such a journey though is not possible in these conditions where the waves break on pebbles at the back of the beach. Amroth of course, is at the start (or end) of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, a 180 mile long distance walk. It actually starts at Amroth Castle on the border with Carmarthenshire and here at the western end of the village follows a steep footpath through woodland up to the cliff top.

The Coastal Path was opened in 1970 by author and broadcaster Wynford Vaughn Thomas and as I stood here contemplating the scenery that lay before any walker of that route, I had the strange feeling that I was being watched. Now it could just have been that painting of the buccaneer on the sign outside the shop behind me or maybe it was some other piratical visage peering down at me from in front. Can you see it too? Certainly gives a new dimension to the term "cliff face", doesn't it?