Day 29 Cardigan to Newport (17.5 miles, cumulative 469.4)

An early start (07:45) to manage a tough section and a transport dilemma. The route initially followed the River Teifi (on the opposite bank to yesterday), then the narrow lane rose steeply until it reached the official start of the Pembrokeshire coast path, offering fine views of the previous day's walk. At Cemaes Head the path turned south for a long, relatively flat section, before becoming more twisted and challenging. A sea mist quickly enveloped the landscape and there was an eerie atmosphere when I reached Pwll y Wrach (Witch's Cauldron). However, the scenery was spectacular, especially looking down from the clifftops to mighty rock formations at sea level. Large sections of the path were overgrown and at one point I was wading through chest-high bracken. After making a cumulative ascent higher than Mount Snowdon, I finally reached Newport.

My transport dilemma? My accommodation for the next couple of nights is just outside Fishguard and I had planned to catch the bus there from the end of today's walk, a distance of 12 miles. However, no buses run on a Sunday! So enter the kindness of strangers again. Martin and Kate, a couple of walkers (and both fellow graduates of Liverpool University), whom I'd met on the clifftops walking in the opposite direction midway through today's walk, very kindly offered to drive me to my accommodation, once a taxi had returned them to their car in Newport. So a huge thank you to them for coming to my rescue - really appreciated.

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