A group of thirteen walkers joined Joy and Biddy the dog at Rhoose Railway Station on a lovely sunny evening but thankfully with a refreshing breeze.
The Vale of Glamorgan Railway was under construction in 1897 and the line at Rhoose opened the following year and by 1919 it was used to transport cement products from Rhoose and Aberthaw, later conveying coal to Aberthaw Power Station after it was built. Railway stations of course were axed during the Beeching cuts in the 1960’s in order to restructure the rail system and make it more efficient, but in 2005 a new station was built at Rhoose and the line re-opened.
Making their way southwards to join the Wales Coast Path whilst overlooking the huge lakes formed after the closure of the Rhoose limestone quarries, a deviation around the closure of part of the Wales Coast Path, because of falling cliffs brought them past a vast redundant limestone quarry.
Crossing a field and heading down steps brought them to Fontygary Bay, where despite the fact that the cliffs are very unstable and there have been several falls there during the past year, plus the fact there is a warning notice, holidaymakers including children were sitting in the sun below the cliffs as the group headed up through Fontygary Leisure Park.
Steep steps in the cliff led them down onto the salt flats and the lagoons at Andrew’s Pant and heading towards and crossing the sea defence wall that goes all the way to Limpert Bay in front of the gigantic Aberthaw Power Station, which was built on the site of a golf course, they entered Pleasant Harbour.
The Blue Anchor Inn at East Aberthaw dates back to 1380 and since that time up until the 19th century a thriving port was situated there, as originally the River Thaw passed through this area which was really marshy, but the river which was never really deep silted up and would no longer allow the passage of ships. Then in the late 1950’s and early 60’s when Aberthaw Power station was being built, the river was re-routed to pass through the power station on its journey to the Bristol Channel.
Heading around the lake and through tall cord grass they arrived at the ruined Aberthaw Limeworks which was established in December 1888 using local lime which had been famous for centuries for its hydraulic properties and was used for lining docks, canals, piers, harbours and suchlike, as when it dried out it was literally rock hard and watertight.
Lime making goes back to the Egyptian and Roman times and has been used for centuries for sweetening the land, as a mortar for constructing buildings and as a lime wash to be applied to walls. This limeworks was only operational until 1926 when Aberthaw Cement Works took over and despite the fact the building is now little more than a shell the original kilns can still be viewed.
Then making their way back up the cliff and through the caravan park, a swift trek through the fields adjacent to the railway line brought them back to their start point after a delightful two hour journey through history.
