Saturday 12th September - Sunshine and Solva

Having discovered the cafe and loos at Porth Clais it was a no-brainer when it came to deciding where to launch; blazing sunshine and flat calm - we were off to Solva for a "there and back" paddle along the coast south of St David's. Parking and launching cost a grand total of £2 and the conversation with the harbourmaster was free. It is a while since I discussed the benefits of adding old engine oil to creosote in order to improve the latters preservative value, but it seemed although everyone else in the carpark had heard of doing just that, the HM hadn't. I imagine that he spent the next few days wondering if he should change the oil in his car a little sooner than planned!

Anyway, we were quickly on our way, leaving the harbour as the tide fell away an soon pootling along the coast exploring the many inlets and caves. This was no rough water survival test; in fact the only ripples came as our boats cut their way across the small bays and inlets of St Brides Bay.

Inner harbour, Porth Clais

Cave at Caer Bwdy

Green Scar off Solva with the headland of Dinas Fawr

After a couple of hours of fantastic scenery and exploring we left the coast for a while and made directly for Black and Green Scars, rocky islands about a kilometer off the entrance to Solva. A couple of small sailing dinghies were virtually stationary and fishermen in their open boats were pottering around, checking pots and trolling for mackerel - the one I chatted with had caught only 2 over the whole day, blaming the dolphins and sunny weather for chasing them away. That sounded fine to us!

The yatch club in Solva provided tea and Welsh Cakes for lunch which we ate while watching kids leaping off the harbour wall and making the most of the weather. The thought of more tea on our return to Porth Clais made it easy enough to clamber back into the boats and paddle west again, this time close inshore for more caving and rock hoping along a truly beautiful part of our coastline.

Inside looking out - The Cradle

Wreck near Porth y Rhaw (and a sunken ship)

For a while we tagged along with a flotilla of kayakers in a guided group, eavesdropping their guides commentary on some of the coastal features, particularly the rock climbing (on the off chance that we might have a play later in the week), but before long we were on our own again and pulling back into Porth Clais. Tea and fruitcake made a fitting end to a glorious days paddle (and the fruitcake is very highly recommended)!