Traces of industrial heritage

We both woke up after comfortable night's sleep away from home, to a cloudless sky and sunshine. After breakfast we walked down to the west side of the harbour, hoping for a coffee at a newly built café on the quay painted and furnished outdoors entirely in dark pink but it was closed, as are other restaurants on a Monday. We'd hoped to eat lunch out, but ended up buying freshly cooked cod and chips in Joseph's Fish Shop on the corner of the street leading back to our holiday home. Clare made coleslaw to go with it, and soon hungers were satisfied.

I had an email from Rufus containing the draft of a business plan he's been formulating for a not for profit enterprise he's setting up, inviting comment. When I read it I realised that I could work on it to clarify the expression of some key ideas, though not change anything they sought to convey, so I edited it, waiting for Clare to have her siesta. 

Then we drove down to the harbour car park and walked along the Coast Path in the direction of Pembrey Nature reserve. It runs parallel to the shore some distance inland alongside a watercourse which is all that remains of an 19th century tramway and canal system between Kidwelly and Llanelly. Water still flows the length of a much narrower canal  overgrown with trees and vegetation, serving as a wildlife corridor, and a leisure trail for walkers and cyclists. 

There's little left of its former industrial glory. Once there were drift coal mines along the escarpment behind the coastal plain whose workings extended under the Llwchwr estuary. The demand for anthracite steam coal was very high and led to the creation of transport infrastructure that would take coal efficiently from the mines to coastal shipping ports, which themselves were developing.  Even so it's a vital asset in nature conservation. It reminded me of the Washford Mineral Line running from Quantock coal and iron mines down to Watchet Harbour.

We walked for three quarters of an hour before turning to arrive back at the house in time for supper. Not quite far enough to reach Pembrey's wetland nature reserve, but that can keep for another occasion. I spent the evening uploading and editing the day's photos until it was bed time.