With just two days left on an end-to-end walk of the Wales Coast Path, one long-distance hiker learned the hard way that shortcutting an official diversion rarely pays off. Writing on day 70 of the trek, they describe a stretch between Penarth and Newport that turned a routine morning into two extra miles and a lot of shin pain.
The day began pleasantly enough: an easy walk from Penarth into Cardiff over the city's drawbridge, timed around Sunday-morning runners and a passing boat. Cardiff, the hiker notes, deserves far more time than a quick pass-through allowed. Then came a "Path Closed" sign with a complicated-looking diversion map. Rather than follow it, they gambled on staying along a fast two-lane road to rejoin the route a couple of miles on.
That was mistake number one. The road was walkable at first, until barriers appeared on both sides with no room for pedestrians. Mistake number two followed: spotting a raised riverbank behind the barrier, the hiker climbed behind it and walked the bank — only to discover the barrier was bolted together with no way back out, and a locked gate for good measure. Trapped between road and river, they finally opened the official Wales Coast Path app, which showed both the proper diversion and a shortcut that spared a full backtrack. The detour still added two miles to the day.
Worse was to come. A right shin — echoing an ache in the left from a few days earlier — started complaining, and despite immediate taping and a compression sleeve, the final ten miles into Newport became an exercise in willpower. The consolation: the sun broke through in the afternoon, and the route finished along a miles-long raised sea embankment, cows and all, running all the way to Newport.
There are real takeaways here for anyone eyeing the Wales Coast Path, an 870-mile route hugging the country's entire coastline. One: take official diversions seriously. Coastal paths get closed for erosion, construction and sea-defence work, and Welsh A-roads are often hostile to walkers — if a signed detour looks fiddly, there's usually a reason. Two: the official Wales Coast Path app earns its place on your phone. It doesn't just show the route; on this day it revealed an escape shortcut that saved the hiker from retracing the whole detour. Three: pack for niggles. Tape and a compression sleeve are light, and having them on hand — plus the discipline to stop and use them immediately — matters on long walking trips.
The story ends on a hopeful note: one night left, two days of walking, decent weather forecast, and a hiker determined to finish in one piece. For travellers considering the route, it's a useful reminder that even late in a long walk, complacency is the biggest hazard — not the terrain.
