Lead: John and Marie
The weather was not looking too good when we made our way to the Village Hall at 10.00hrs but it was good to see such a good turn-out for our first walk of 2019 and the weather brightened up and we enjoyed a dry and pleasant walk.
We travelled to the car park at the Town Hall in Llantwit Major and changed into our boots and set off. We went passed the side entrance of the church and ascended the steps adjacent to the terrace of Hill Head. Climbing the stile at the rear of the terrace we crossed the field containing the old Dovecote before entering the bridle path that heads to the coast. The going was quite good considering the time of year and we were not getting too muddy.
Dropping down the cliff path we arrived at the beach and had our coffee break and took advantage of the other services that the beach offered. Crossing the beach car park, we ascended the cliff and climbed the only significant slope of the whole walk. Reaching the top, we could see the remains of the Iron Age fort known as Castle Ditches. We followed the coast path until we arrived at the Seawatch Centre where we ate our packed lunches and had our photo taken.
After lunch we continued our walk passing through a second Iron Age fort and visited the ruins of the Summerhouse which gave its name to the nearby point.
A short distance later we arrived at the Boverton mill which was part of the Trebeferad Land Settlement which was set up in 1936 as a scheme to alleviate unemployment in the South Wales valleys. The buildings have now been converted into houses. A short road walk followed before we arrived at the housing estate that was built to house the workers and their families of the Settlement.
We then followed a path which eventually brought us out on to Ham Lane East where we enjoyed a tour of the ‘New Houses’ as older Llantonians call the local council housing estate although most of them are now privately owned following the success of Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy. We arrived back in the town centre and a short walk brought us back the Town Hall.
An enjoyable walk with a good number of walkers, so hope it continues like this.
Wick Wanderers 