142. Barry to Rhoose

Yippee, we’re off on our holidays to Wales again.  It seems a long and winding journey but finally we’re parking up in the huge harbour car park in Barry.  It couldn’t feel less like a harbour to be honest – not a boat in sight.

Having experienced the heatwave and drought of summer 2026 I’m actually super pleased to don my new yellow Helly Hansen raincoat.  A purchase, maybe two months ago, and it’s hung with it’s labels still attached in the wardrobe ever since.

We pay for parking then head off along the pavement; the mud and sands of Barry harbour to our left, then turn onto a residential street to Watch House Bay.

It’s 1pm, we’ve been travelling for hours and it’s time to stop for lunch on the steps of the bay watching a group of people swimming.  My heart sinks when the peace is shattered by a drone lifting into the sky but it turns out to be something much more than a fanatical tourist.  The pilot looks official in his orange hi-vis jacket, his drone has something hanging from it by a string, waving around in the breeze. At around 10 feet from the shore, it lowers towards the waves and seemingly collects a water sample in a tiny container, a flag marking the depth. Our interest is piqued when he brings in the sample and takes it to the rear of his vehicle where he spends some time, I guess, testing the water. Our thoughts are confirmed by a write up on the interpretation board explaining how the quality of the water is tested frequently through the summer months.

I snap a photo of the disused lifeguard station then we continue round the corner onto the promenade.  The prom is perched between the sea and Knap Lake with its giant swans!  Now a pleasant looking lake with grass landscaping, but the derelict buildings give a hint of Knap Garden’s merry heyday. There’s a flurry of activity at the Richard Taylor memorial skateboard park, used more by scooters than skateboards but still looks fun. Richard, from Barry, was just 23 and a budding skater and skier when he died from a skating injury.

A set of steps leads us to a field (brown and fairly bare from the heatwave), then a steep incline away from Barry, but affording a fabulous view over the seaside town that we have grown to be rather fond of. We meander over the fields, losing our way a bit but taking in the sights of the coastal homes and their view over the estuary.

Plunge into woodland, part of the Porthkerry Country Park, with some rather grand old yew trees standing proud amongst the younger sycamores and hazels. Shiny new signs welcome us to Porthkerry and a man-made (but not wooden), boardwalk lead us briefly away from the coast path to the visitor centre, including a very busy children’s play area.  There’s a very impressive railway viaduct spanning the valley, I can see maybe 8 arches, but looking it up now, there are an incredible 16 wide brick arches.

A group of litter pickers (would “wrappers” be a good term for this group?) are traversing the pebbly beach with their long-handled pickers and sacks, while above us, and filling the airwaves, aeroplanes are seemingly skimming the trees on their decent to Cardiff airport.

The coast path leaves the beach and plunges us back into woodland for ten minutes or so then pops out at Porthkerry Leisure Park.  Despite being the middle of the school summer holidays, we see very few holiday-makers, no one on the kids play park or the outside pool. We meander past the holiday lodges, take the path back towards the sea which then doubles back through a clump of trees to an open field.

We follow the edge of a housing estate, a few people out walking their dogs, then the path takes us back to the coast.  We are walking along what feels like an old quarry with several very deep looking lakes.

Rhoose Point “the Southern most point on mainland Wales” is marked with a very sad looking sign under a tatty barbed wire fence.  But just further along a slate monolith stands proudly at the centre of smaller standing stones – this is more like it!

Not far from here todays walk comes to an end as we take the footpath a short way inland to Rhoose village and a bus back to Barry.  It’s time to erect our tent, as tonight we are sleeping under canvas at the Heritage Coast campsite, which will be tomorrow’s destination.