In Search for Amelia Earhart's legacy

Who is Amelia Earhart?

Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record, her first flight across the Atlantic in 1928 is the reason why this trip in South Wales is most important, she was the first woman at this time to be a passenger across the Atlantic from Newfoundland in Canada, she landed in the Bristol Channel near the small village of Pwll, what makes this story so spectacular is the fact that Pwll wasn’t the destination they had planned in the first place, the crew actually wanted to land on the West coast of Ireland but missed it by a long shot, unfortunately for Amelia she disappeared in 1937 somewhere in the Pacific Ocean when she was trying to complete the record to be the first woman to circle navigate the world.

It was a freezing morning on the coastline, a piercing wind clashed against my cheeks causing them to numb, I stood at Loughor looking up the estuary. It was the 24th December 2013, the day before Christmas, the UK has just recently been battered by a storm which saw strong winds ripping up trees from their roots as well as waves the size of skyscrapers crashing against the cliffs of the Western coastline (which has actually carried on up to February 2014, which is when I am writing this blog).

I made my way across the bridge which connects the two counties of Swansea and Carmarthenshire, it is a bridge that is mostly used by trucks and people who commute between Llanelli and Swansea. I headed towards the bridge, whilst walking across I would get constant sprays from the water on the road as the huge trucks would speed past me. ‘Croseo i Sir Gaerfyrddin, Welcome to Carmarthenshire’ read a sign on the other side, I made my way down some concrete steps and then towards a load of council houses which took me away from the main road, the roaring sound of the traffic would slowly die away until there was nothing but the sound of the trees blowing in the strong coastal winds.

Crossing another bridge which is known as the gateway to the coastal path, the roaring sea would be smashing its way into the marshy lands that surround me, the sun is peering through the gaps of the clouds against the rough sea. The closer I got towards the coastline the stronger the wind would push it’s way past me; I stood there trying to keep on my two feet, not giving in to the furious power of the wind.

Walking further down the coastline, I would notice the caravan sites that are dotted up the path, it didn’t look that busy at all, I found it strange seeing caravans sitting there during Christmas, whoever was staying at these caravan sites didn’t dare venture outside, it got me thinking ‘why was I even here during weather like this?’.

I made my way around the first town along the path know as Llanelli; around the edges of Llanelli you can witness the history of the surrounding area, chimneys and other old industrial derelicts are dotted throughout this area of the coastal path; the old industrial buildings are slowly crumbling away as time passes by, in the distance you will also see the large modern day industrial building which isn't hard to miss as steam is pushed out of the large chimney into the air, even though the building is an eyesore, it adds some atmosphere to the area, in a way it is a good thing that this once major industrial land is still being known as an industrial area today, the old Victorian industrial buildings may be slowly disappearing but the might of the 21st century industrial building looks like it is there to stay.

After admiring the historical background of the area, I decided to carry on with my quest to Ameli

a Earhart memorial in the bay town of Burry Port; I glanced out to sea, the fast moving waves are constantly bashing against the coastline, it was very hard to keep still, the wind had gotten stronger and it didn’t look like it was going to end any time soon.

The marshlands of Carmarthenshire were mostly underwater, where gates and trees once stood laid nothing more but icy cold water where local water birds have taken advantage in claiming the flooded land for their own, as I followed the path along, I came across a whole section of flood water, it wasn’t dangerously high but it was directly on the only path I needed to take to proceed on with my journey, I slowly swayed my feet through the cold water, trying to keep to the shallow ends which to be honest was a complete fail as my main objective at that moment in time was to keep my socks dry, after surviving

the flooded footpath I then had the problem of having wet socks with no spare, and it was only two hours into my walk

which has been planned to last about six hours in total.

I came across this small blue plaque, by reading this plaque I found out that along this section of coastline I was walking on that wild day once had communities that have now been lost forever, this particular village was called ‘Bwlch y Gwynt’ which was an industrial haven, the locals of this particular village would of gone and worked within the industrial buildings that once stood around these parts, the village would have had many terraced houses which is a usual layout of towns in South Carmarthenshire to as far east as the old Welsh mining towns of Merthyr Tydfil in East Wales, the locals of this community were

moved to council houses in Llanelli as there was plans to redevelop the area, and in 1973 the operation to knock down this once standing village

began, a similar event happened to another village further down the path called Machynys.I walked around the corner of the coastal path and came to a nice stretch of beach, I must say the landscape looked intense and dramatic with the strong waves racing in towards the beach. Earlier I had a path covered in flood water, now I am walking along a path that has been covered in sand which has been blown over by the wind, as I walked into the path of the sand, I soon realised it wasn’t such a good idea, the sand got everywhere, in my eyes, ears, nose, pockets and once again on my socks.The grey cloud that hovered above really brought out the colours of the land and sea which made it a picture taking

moment.

Finally the half way point for this stretch of coastal path was in sight, the Park Centre sits in this small business

industrial park, surrounded by modern looking buildings and a old harbour, I made my way into the building to the cafe upstairs, I was planning on having a hearty Welsh meal, but when I looked at the menu there was nothing grabbing me, plus I always travel on a budget and the food was over priced, so I settled for a more Italian dish, Pizza. Whilst I was eating my meal the large windows that surrounded the cafe started violently rattling, a hail storm has decided to come and torment fellow walkers along the path, all the children would run away from their tables and press their faces up against the glass to watch the hail

stones batter against the window, it must of lasted for about ten minutes; the only thought that was in my mind was the fact that I still had a good few hours to go before I reach

my destination, I had the feeling that I was going to be caught out at some point along my trek by the painful hail stones.

I finished my meal and made my way back outside, the sun was shining with a strong glare into my eyes, there was the odd grey cloud as well as the strong wind that is still constantly blowing inland. I followed the path around the building and decided to walk up the sand bank of the beach, I was admiring the dramatic view before me, then I realised something wasn’t right, out to sea and travelling fast towards me was a black cloud, it looked like it was hovering above a cloud of mist, and then I

realised it wasn’t mist at all, the water started forming funny shapes and the sound of stones plunging into the water started to get louder, it was another hail storm, I tried to make my way back to the building entrance but it was to late, it

caught me out.

I hid behind a wall as it was the nearest stable shelter, what made this worse was the fact the wind was carrying large quantities of sand and hail in my direction, I was in fact in the middle of a hail/sand storm, the wind decided to get stronger to the point where fully grown adults where blown to their feet, the visibility became awful and every time I attempted to open my eyes I would be blinded by sand and hail. As I huddled behind this thin white wall, a little girl about the age of six was blown to the floor and towards the grass, her father went after

her but even with his body mass the wind had an upper advantage and knocked him to the floor, he grabbed hold of his daughter and struggled to get to the wall I stood behind, I held open my hand for

guidance for the father and daughter, with a firm grip I pulled him behind me; this freak storm has caught everyone by surprise and I didn’t know when it was to end, after a good twenty minutes, it slowly died down and became bearable to proceed, the sun was shining once again with blue sky, it was like it had never happened.

As I was walking away from the wall that protected me from being beaten by mother nature, the sea seemed to disappear, the path now hides behind a large sea wall and a train track, but don’t let that disappoint you because the path view to the right

of you is just as beautiful, in the glowing sun the hills shined and the water on the fields start to look like a sea of gold, the small community of Pwll is just on the other side of the field which is actually where Amelia Earhart landed on her

first voyage, I walked past another plaque which basically explains about her voyage.

Another interesting sight has appeared on my little adventure which I least expected, a red and white rugby post in the middle of a field, why is this weird? Well, the rugby posts are from the stadium Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, it is home to the local rugby team called the Scarlets, next to these old posts are two cut out rugby places, one with a red kit on and one with a black, this shows what the post where used for by explaining that the local team has a red kit.

The landscape around me is beautiful, large flock of birds have flown down tothe boggy fields to feed on worms

that have made their way to the surface, some birds where in the direction of where I had to walk, so just like I was a child again I ran in the direction of the flock of birds which saw them all take flight and retrated to the other side of the field; the sea has now re-appeared which means that the wind had picked up again as I am no longer protected by the flood wall.

I came to this strange structure which sits on the coastline, it’s an area of the landscape that has been man made, but it does look like it has fitted in well with the rest of the countryside, it seems to have a large hill that has different layers to it, as if it goes flat and certain sections of the hill, at the bottom is a stony beach, I am pretty sure not many people know about this beach as it is a bit out of the way and not as popular as other tourist beaches such as Pembrey beach further up the path.

In the distance the rooftops of Burry Port are now in view, it feels like such a relief to finally see the rooftops of the town I have been trying to get to all day; I made my way around the harbour at Burry Port, the wind was so strong that people where

holding on to the rails that guarded the harbour boats, at the gate which separates the sea to the town, water was blowing through the gaps causing this strange effect to take place as if the water was dancing in the wind.

A bit further in towards the

town, the train station was to the right of me, I had just missed a train by minutes but even if I had got to the train on time I was still needing to find the memorial, so crossing the bridge tracks to one of the main roads of Burry Port, I had finally found what I have been searching for the whole time, the memorial.

I stood there and not only thought about Amelia adventure, but my not so extreme adventure during that day, I thought the best

way to go and see a great adventurer memorial such as Amelia, is to have an adventure at the same time.

The sun was blaring down and the wind didn’t look like it was stopping any time soon, I

sat there waiting for the train to take me back to Swansea. There is another reason why I had taken this walk, today I am trying to encourage people who haven’t got much free time and money to go on an adventure on their own doorstep, it is really interesting what you can find out there.

The train finally arrives, I am sitting there looking out of the window at the path I walked earlier that day, the sun sets slowly in the distance and the sight was well worth it to finish off the day.

Amelia Earhart landing in Pwll, South Wales UK 1928