Wednesday 18th March 11/52 Pleinmont to Pembroke

Oops! – sorry for the delay in posting! Administrator fail – and the Man will be doing another one tomorrow …

Despite the sun trying its hardest to get through the clouds there was a strong and chilly north easterly wind directly in our faces as we set off from Pleinmont car park, and by the end we felt it would have been much easier doing it the other way round! Anne S and Clive S were with me once again as we took to the sand to move along from Portelet Harbour to Fort Grey. The tide was well out so it was a pleasant sight to see the large expanse of glistening sand stretching down to the gentle lapping waves. The difficulty with walking on the sand is finding a suitable track of smooth sand and avoiding the many rock pools, also, particularly on this side of the island, the piles of seaweed that not only build up along the foreshore but have a very distinct odour to them!

We quickly came upon Rocquaine Bay and then on to L’Eree Bay where the bay sweeps around to the headland and looks out to Lihou Island. We went down past the shingle bank and around to Perelle Bay where we were hoping for some respite from the wind as we headed on following the main road and around to Richmond Corner, but this was not to be.

On reaching Vazon Bay we were able to move onto the established coastal path; it is a very pleasant walk as you follow the long sweeping bay on the way around to Fort Hommet. Vazon Bay is always a popular place for locals and for holidaymakers, be it summer or winter, whether they are walking around the area, doing water sports or just going for a cup of tea or coffee or an ice cream in the cafe. Moving around from the Fort Hommet Headland to Albecq not only brings the fabulous sea views of Cobo but on a day like today, the glorious red granite that glistens with the sun shining down on it.

It was interesting to pass the now completed residential building complex at Cobo, which I must say, now that it is virtually completed and people are moving in, looks a lot more “at home” in its surroundings than when I saw it earlier in the year.

Anne decided to call it a day at Grande Rocques and got the bus back home from there, so we all had a refreshment break prior to Clive and me moving on to Pembroke. although sunny, it was still difficult to get away from the strong wind.

Both Port Soif and Portinfer are great beaches to walk around on the coastal path and the sea views just continue all along the coast and around to Rousse Headland and Le Grand Havre. It was good to see the Rousse Kiosk open for the season, one of the most popular cafes on the coastal path. There is just so much to observe on this part of the walk; regardless of whether the tide is in or out, there is something for everyone to see.

We headed towards Ladies Bay on the last leg of this walk and on to L’Ancresse Common where the golfers were out in their numbers, despite the wind – which I’m sure is nothing new to these hardy sportsmen and women.

One thing I have become since commencing these walks is very familiar with the bus timetables, and with this in mind it very much determined the pace as we headed towards our finishing point at Pembroke Bay. Clive S had been checking our distance travelled today with his watch and we had walked 11 miles today on this leg. Whilst waiting for the bus we watched a kite surfer at Pembroke Bay who was reaching some fantastic speeds with the strong winds, but, boy, the pull on his arms must have been difficult to control! Amazing and exciting to watch!

It was quite relaxing to catch the No 92 bus back home, as we went back over the route we had just walked and we didn’t have to change in town.