It was raining steadily as I left my B&B in Penally. Learning from yesterday, I donned the full gear before setting out, resigned to another day of bad weather. I had started late, so called at the village shop on my way out. I left Penally via the footpath across the golf course, and joined the Coast Path again. Quite soon I came across the South beach of Tenby. The tide was coming in in large waves that made Catherine Island look very dramatic as they smashed up against it. I went up the steps from the beach, around Castle Hill, and dropped past the new lifeboat station into the dry harbour where the forlorn boats waited for the tide to bob them back into life again. By this time, I had removed my waterproofs, as it had stopped raining at last. It was quite warm and I regretted wearing a sweat shirt today. I crossed North beach and climbed some steps to gain the road. I lost time here as, because I was hurrying, I inevitably got lost. My compass saved the day as a quick glance told me I was headed in the wrong direction. I had turned West instead of continuing up a road into a car park. (A sign, a sign, my Kingdom for a sign). I back tracked and, after asking, found the steps to re-join the path. The path to Waterwynch Bay is quite muddy at first, but then it suddenly becomes one of those patterned concrete affairs one associates with reservoir parks. After convincing myself that this was too good for the coast path, I asked some people passing by. It was the coast path and a finger post at the bottom confirmed this. "The climb out of the valley is very steep" say the instructions... BELIEVE IT!!!! Probably the steepest climb of the whole path followed. Luckily, it had stopped raining (again) and I continued my disguise as a mobile tailors dummy by removing my waterproofs and sweatshirt, and putting on a tee shirt. After an extremely pleasant interlude between Monkstone and Saundersfoot, through woodlands, I emerged onto the beach and had my photo' took before the tailors dummy went into action again... Captain Gore-Tex!! I went through the road tunnels, as the tide prevented the alternative of walking along the beach, before dropping through the woods to be suddenly confronted with Amroth. Wind and stinging rain greeted me and I again had to suit up. I baulked at doing this, as I was so near the end, but do it I had to. It seems cruel that the trail ends along a mile or so of tarmac. I pushed on anyway, with the waves crashing on the stones, before stopping to have my photo' taken at the end of trail marker plaque. The weather was in total contrast to when I started, and there was no way I was going to try to dip my feet in the boiling cauldron that was the sea. However, I did walk to the stream that separated Pembrokeshire from Carmarthenshire where I took my last photo'!
That was it... it was over.