Red kites were flying as I left my base at Rhydlewis, a tiny village about 4 miles from the coast. The O.S. map showed plenty of hills. I wanted to discover the valley of the River Teifi, sample the coastline and taste the inland countryside.
Rolling hills not dissimilar to Devon greeted me as I cycled to Cenarth where I met the Teifi and Lon Teifi, the long distance cycle route from Shrewsbury to Fishguard. The river at Cenarth has deep pools that hold salmon and where fishermen used to swing their nets from coracles, tiny boats made from animal skins. Today there is a museum and a few local people still have coracles.
The cycle route meanders to Cardigan following the river. Tree lined water meadows are seen with rolling farmland behind full of sheep and cattle.
The river enters a gorge at Cilgerran and an ancient castle looks down. Further on the cycle route follows an old railway through The Welsh Wildlife Centre and nature reserve just east of Cardigan.
I discovered two outstanding unspoilt beaches cycling north out of Cardigan, Mwnt where there is a tiny church and Penbryn. These are owned by the National Trust and local people must feel that they have two treasures.
The ride back took me through the hamlet of Betws Ifan where a workshop created in 1900 still displays enamelled metal signs that the owner's grandfather installed.
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