Twelve Wick Wanderers met up on a damp and breezy morning and despite the weather we drove to Barry Island for our walk.
Barry is named after a 6th century Celtic saint – St Baruc – and up until the 1880s Barry Island was still an island. It was only linked to the mainland during Barry’s expansion, when the Barry Railway Company built Barry Docks which linked up the island to the mainland.
To start our walk, we progressed down the path to a sheltered Jackson’s Bay and across the sand to join the footpath around the headland towards Barry Island Beach, known as Whitmore Bay. Once we had gone around the headland, the wind picked up enough so that everyone was holding on to their hats (literally), although no rain, so we continued across the beach towards the opposite headland, Friars Point. Despite the unfavourable weather, there were still plenty of dog walkers on the beach with us, as well as a large group of students seemingly studying the cliffs and we stopped briefly for our group photo.
So far, so good and we even got as far as the end of Friars Point to get a quick look at the lovely view before the weather changed on us spectacularly. From nowhere came sudden wind gusts (a lot more than the 45 mph which were forecast) which challenged us all to keep standing up, never mind continuing to walk. It felt like we were in the “Wizard of Oz” at one point. Then came the rain, horizontal rain, which soaked us all and really tested whether our waterproof gear was actually waterproof! There was nearly one lost hat over the edge of the headland, but it was successfully chased and caught before it was lost to the Bristol Channel.
We finally got off the headland a few minutes later, all completely soaked and windblown, but still smiling. We headed off to Marco’s on the promenade for well deserved refreshments and a sit down.
A very enjoyable walk, with good company, but one we’re not likely to forget anytime soon!
Wick Wanderers 