Machynlleth to Borth on the Wales Coast Path
On Thursday 25th September I walked from Machynlleth to Borth on the Wales coast path. I have been working my way along the Ceredigion section over the past 6 months, and with just 2 walks left, I opted to do the longer, more challenging one first, and leave myself the slightly shorter section from Borth to Aberystywth for last.
I was unsure how this section would be, as it is definitely not coastal, and at 15 miles it is considerably longer than the usual 10 mile days I’m used to. However, I was lucky enough to have some company on this walk from a friend who lives close by, which made it all feel a lot less daunting. Thankfully though I had nothing to worry about, as the path was really easy to follow and mostly well marked the whole way (but we definitely were aided by having the OS maps app to hand too, and I wouldn’t want to do a route like this without it!) and the elevation was not as severe as I’d anticipated and it was a very manageable and enjoyable walk. The stunning views and lack of cows definitely helped too!
We started the day at Borth train station, and caught the 8.44am train to Machynlleth. On exiting the train station we found ourselves right on the coastal path and in minutes we were climbing up the “Roman” steps out of the town and into the hills and woods that would be our companion for the rest of the walk.
The path was mostly woodlands and valleys and rivers, as well as stunning hill side sections too, giving us views all the way over to Aberdyffi, and the sea at Borth in the far off distance. We also found such a wide variety of fungi in the woods too.
Once we descended into Tre’r Ddol we were treated to a lovely cafe and farm shop complete with toilets, which made a great pit stop before the remaining few miles of very flat marsh land back to Borth. Thankfully it was only a small part on the road, and the rest was grassy marsh which was much softer underfoot, and whilst at times it did feel a bit endless, it was easy enough walking and we were soon back where we started in Borth.
I now have just one walk left to complete Ceredigion, it has been a stunning section, and I’m going to miss the rugged coastal views as I now turn my attention to the remaining section of the South Wales coast path between Llantwit Major and Chepstow. Wish me luck!
