Cei Balast, North Wales

                                                                     7^th April

We’d stayed in Aberystwyth after travelling from Pembrokeshire, leaving us a fair- sized window for reaching Porthmadog and completing the little island before the tide came in. It took longer than expected to drive because of long stretches of traffic- lighted road improvements. Low tide as advertised on the customs office was at 1.50 pm today but at 12 the tide was well out.

 Cei Balast

 

 

Looking the opposite way.

 

 

It was a beautiful day with mountain views as a backdrop to the Ffestiniog railway from where we crossed the sands. Bob carried our wellies in his rucksack but we were glad of shoes for clambering down the rocks to sea level. Dixie Willis, in her book “Tiny Islands” had said the route is over the wall by the railway ( but she didn’t say cross it)   We looked for a route that might be easier- to no avail.

The train was steaming up but not yet ready to go and there were no signs saying not to cross the lines. So over we went and over the wall we carefully descended on rocks that moved with our weight. Nearly down, I dropped my guard and slipped on some wet bladder rack. With bruised bottom and pride I was helped up ( I would probably still have been there when the tide came in otherwise) and after changing into wellies, we set off for Cei Balast.

This is a totally manmade island. The ships would come into Porthmadog collecting Welsh slate to take to all parts of the world. Before taking on board their cargo, the ship’s ballast was emptied in the sea and an island gradually formed.

The sand was pristine and unmarked except for patterns of bird feet. There were cockle shells but mostly we were surrounded by smooth golden sand. Our wellies sank several inches deep in the mostly dry sand and it was hard work walking. Occasionally we had to go through streams and shoes would have been saturated.

As we reached the island we noticed footprints going in a clockwise direction but we couldn’t see where they had come from. The water beside the backs of Porthmadog buildings still had boats floating so it could have been deep there. The island was much closer to the town here.

We walked anti- clockwise and we didn’t see a soul! The rocks around the base of the island were multicoloured representing the different geology of the countries from where the trading boats came. We recognised granite, schist, slate, quartz and waste material that would have been left after some sort of smelting- like clinker.

 Facing the back of the town were 2 columns of jagged weathered wooden posts that would have been part of the jetty. They have been left to rot but they stand like monuments to a forgotten past.

The island is mostly covered in scrub like blackthorn, covered in white flowers today. After the “jetty” it was easier to get onto Cei Balast where it was mostly tangled grass. To get off further down though we had to tread down brambles. It seems like most people walk around it rather than on it – there are no paths that we could see.

The views have been spectacular particularly going back the other side of Cei Balast towards the railway line, away from the sea. There were only our footprints going back and to make it easier we trod in them. We decided to climb at a signal box closer to the station.

A train went by, hooting and steaming, carrying carriages of passengers. We waved and then gritted our teeth for the climb up the rocks to the wall. We helped each other up, over the wall and line then I noticed I wasn’t wearing my fit bit anymore. I’d received it as a Christmas present and had worn it every day – quite a slave to it in fact, completing at least 10, 000 steps a day by hook or crook!

Bob offered to go down and see if I had lost it when I fell on the rocks but I decided that I would let it go- it might be a relief! Later, as we watched the video of the walk we saw that it had been lost way out towards the island but before we walked on it. If there had been an easy way down and up to the beach I would have said we could try. We wonder how people normally go to the beach- there were plenty of buckets and spades on sale in Porthmadog.

The tide was still out so there are plenty of opportunities to walk out that way so maybe there is a path we didn’t discover.