Walk 10: Porthcawl to Port Talbot

The second walk on our trip to Wales in April 2022 took us from Porthcawl to Port Talbot – or, rather, from Port Talbot to Porthcawl. For ease, as we were staying in Porthcawl, we walked this one in the opposite direction to our usual, grabbing a taxi from our accommodation in the morning, before walking back to our cosy room for a post-walk shower!

After our taxi dropped us off at Port Talbot Parkway, our walk began with a wander through the streets of Port Talbot. The path was not super close to the coast at this point, skirting Port Talbot Docks and taking us through housing estates. For those wishing for a more scenic route, there is an alternative path that takes you across the hills above Port Talbot, but we decided to take the route that went closest to the coast.

After a fair bit of road walking, we dipped off to the right at a busy roundabout and headed towards the sea. We walked over some quiet railway tracks and headed into a marshy field, which, thankfully, had a raised wooden walkway to prevent any wet feet!

As we continued onwards, we had the juxtaposition of industrial views of Port Talbot’s steelworks behind us, and Kenfig Nature Reserve in front of us. Home to a variety of rare and endangered species of plants and animals, Kenfig Nature Reserve is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of the country’s top sand-dune reserves. The dunes at Kenfig were responsible for the late-fifteenth-century abandonment of Kenfig’s old town, along with Kenfig Castle, due to encroaching sand dunes.

As we walked through Kenfig Nature Reserve, we were treated to some lovely bird sounds, and we even spotted a few (although, regrettably, identifying birds is not a skill of ours!). We crossed a wooden bridge and headed towards the beach.

The path then took us along the coast behind sand dunes, with Kenfig Burrows to our left and the sea to our right, with breaks in the dunes providing us with intermittent coastal views. As we continued along the path, we dipped down to the beach and stopped off for some lunch.

Next, we passed a golf course, where we had to keep an eye out for rogue balls, but we did enjoy some easy walking along a wooden path. After the golf course, we reached the lovely Rest Bay, which is a popular spot in the summer. It was pretty quiet on our walk, but we did see a few surfers braving the April weather!

Finally, we descended into Porthcawl, admiring some of the large houses with sea views on the way. We wandered along the Esplanade to our accommodation, where we stayed for one more night. Our next walk would finally take us to Swansea, which we had intended to reach two years ago, on our over-ambitious February half term trip!

🥾 Distance: 11 miles.

⭐ Highlight: The walk through Kenfig Nature Reserve was really enjoyable.

👎 Less Good: Lots of road walking was easy on our feet, but not the most exciting!

🚗 Transport: We took a taxi from our accommodation to the starting point of our walk, finishing our walk at our AirBnB.

🛏️ Accommodation: We stayed at 19 Mary Street, which was a lovely base for a few days of walking.

🌱 Food: We tucked into some tasty pizza from the now-closed Double Zero Pizza.

🗺️ Map: This route is featured in the official South Wales Coast guide.

Still not convinced? Read my ten reasons to walk the Wales Coast Path. If you’re ready to start planning your walk, you can find lots of resources to help you on your way here. Please note, I collect a share of the sales from the links on this page.