The Witches Cauldron...

I'm taking a few weeks off working to spend some time with my lovely lady before she flies back to South Africa for a few months. We're in Pembrokeshire for a few weeks and plan to make the most of the fantastic scenery here. First on the list is the Witches Cauldron, somewhere very special indeed. The images here are from two paddles that we did, a couple of days apart and at different tide levels.

 We are camped at Ceibwr Bay and the short walk to the sea is most welcome.

 The cliffs are instantly wow upon leaving the bay!

 Cave present themselves very quickly.

 This is a hundred metre'ish tunnel but the swell at the far end prevented us going through today.

 We pop through rock gaps instead.

 This little critter is a Guillemot in winter plumage. He actually floated along side my kayak and pecked my  hand! Pretty special experience!

 After a quick scoot through the swells we found ourselves inside the Cauldron.

 But due to the high tide there was only one anti chamber available. We plan to return!

 We head out for more caves.

 And arches.

 And wildlife.

 These are the very impressive arches at Ceibwr at the end of our first paddle.

 Two days later and still at camp at Ceibwr we head back out on a lower tide.

 The big tunnel looks better but the tide is now too low at the far end.

 So we head back into the Cauldron.

 We're not alone as a lady Seal came to check us out.

 On both these paddles the Seals were a regular sight.

 Now at low water other antechambers were open to access.

 Apparently theres more than one use for a shewee?

 And we enjoy exploring on foot too.

Before one last cave to finish the day :)

I wonder where I'll choose to paddle next???

The Witches Cauldron...

After working in Pembs & telling my GF how good it was here I obviously had to impress her once in the area so I took her for a short trip & a picnic in the Witches Cauldron, an easy paddle with lots of WOW!

We headed out from Ceibwr Bay & turned right,

towards the stacks & caves that make this place very special!

With tunnels to paddle through.

And jellyfish to see.

Then into the cauldron itself.

This is my fave spot & i'm glad the tide was high enough to paddle in & show Carly this magic spot :)

Then into a more hidden chamber with the tight entrance.

The other paddler is Alun from Cheshire. We bumped into him on the water as he was looking for the entrance to the Cauldron. Its easy to miss :)

We stayed in the Caudron for several hours just chilling out & scoffing yummy Vegan food.

Carly was keen to do some snorkelling, pretty hardcore I reckon, the water was freezing!

A perfect lunch spot :)

Then back on the water for some more exploration of the cave. This tunnel only opens as the tide drops.

we saw loads of these critters, Moon Jelly's

More Moons

A Lions Mane Jelly

And Compass Jelly's. We also saw Blue Jelly's, Comb Jelly's & Sea Gooseberries too.

We passed more tunnels on the way back, this one was un-passable at HW.

Lots of beadlet anemone's too.

We finished with a fantastic deep cave in Ceibwr Bay itself :)

Just need to find more fab locations for my lovely lady. Im being nice as she's sat next to me reading over my shoulder (lol).

Wonderful Wales...

When Stuart messaged me with the offer of a free lift to Pembrokeshire coz I"m skint, it would of been stupid not to take him up on his offer.

So there I was, up at 05:30AM to get to Stuarts early on Saturday for the drive down.

Arriving at Newport Sands the conditions were perfecto :) We were meeting up with James, Gareth & Simon who got in touch via the Sea Kayak Cymru Facebook page.

With the car ferrying done we get on the water for what was soon to be one of the best days kayaking i've ever done!

First cave, this was to become a feature of the day & a very welcome one.

Waterfalls were plentiful too.

Framing Dinas Head in the far distance.

We carry on with the final destination of Poppit sands some 10 miles'ish away.

Stu spots a seal on thew beach.

And a big male comes over to tell Stu to piss off!

Stu & James looking small under the huge cliffs.

Bwn Bach Arch.

What I affectionately called the raining cave due to the water dripping down from the roof.

Time to find the Witches Cauldron a huge collapsed cave with several anti chambers.

Not in here?

This looks more promising.

Yep, Awesome!

A lone pup on the perfectly sheltered beach within the cave.

An amazing side chamber. I've previously explored here as best I could on foot & was itching to get down to this spot.

The main opening of the cave. Its pretty huge!

Hide & seek.

It actually led to a very magical cave. the Pagan name for this place seems very appropriate when you can enter these magical hidden places. I'm a very happy Pagan today :)

Moving on we head for Ceibwr Bay but first have to negotiate more caves & tunnels too.

After some awesome deep tunnels we emerge into the light once more to be confronted by the stacks at Ceibwr Bay.

Before we stop for lunch we have a play on a small cascade. I then head straight in for lunch but Stuart, Gareth & James check out a blowhole before coming in. You'll have to check Stuarts blog for those pics, they were pretty impressive!

Back on the water after a brief break & the scenery wasn't letting up at all, we're evan treated to some swell for playing around the rocks.

You can just make out Stu under this huge folded rock formation.

Still finding more caves to explore. Wish I had my head torch.

As we approach Poppit we pass Cardigan Island. Me & Stu will leave that for tomorrows paddle.

With no surf we make an easy landing & start looking for vantage points to take some pictures :)

Before the sodding long carry back to the car park & farewells.

After a cold night at Poppit Sands I awake to another stunning day & cant wait for the suns rays to rise over the horizon & warm my bones.

I slept in the tent, just the inner as the night was clear. I saw an amazing meteor last night, trailing smoke & flames & shooting very low, Magic!

Dawn at Poppit Sands.

Stuart still doesn't seem to understand camping? He's probably got a mirror in there too :s

Ready for day 2 & we had some surf to contend with.

After a brief play Stuart spots a lull, swaps roles with me & decides we should head out to the Island, evan though it means having to land through the surf again later. "Hey, I make the stupid decisions around here!"

we head out to Cardigan Island situated in Ceredigion, new territory for Stuart.

We pass the inside first. That cone shaped hill is Mwnt, a lovely beach.

On the seaward side its livelier with the swells running through.

I spot what looked like a sick seal. I stroke her back & she didn't flinch? It really looked like she was drawing her last breath? I then stroked her paw looking for a reaction & she wasn't bothered at all which was worrying. I drift a little & as I paddle back she springs to life baring her teeth which was a big relief for me, guess she might of just been snoozing?

We kept well wide of this spot, it was rising about 10-15 foot & then dropping 10-15 foot in a dramatic cascade. Don't want to be too close then!

We make an undramatic landing between sets at Poppit which was a relief as some of the swells were huge. Further out we could see the curve of the sea as the swells passed beneath us.

Another long carry to the van & coffee & biscuits & we were ready for the drive back to South Wales after a very awesome weekend.