The Celtic Trail Day 4 (Tenby to Swansea)

The Celtic Trail Day 4
Annies Cafe, St Clears,

Open Mon-Fri 9-4.30, Sat 9-3,
Recommended,
Flanagans Coastline cafe, Llanelli, 
Open Mon-Sun 10-5
Highly Recommended

It was going to be a weather lottery today as it looked like it could get rather wet. As we hopped on our bikes we were not sure just how lucky or unlucky we would be but it was time to say goodbye to the Ironman action at Tenby. 

Leaving Tenby

We set off in a light drizzle and soon were enjoying are best sea views of the week although Mrs Crusader informed me that she had to get off and push 4 times in the first 5 miles despite me promising a flatter day.

One of many early climbs

As the rain stopped we came to the big long climb I had been dreading as I knew some of the sections would be too steep for Mrs Crusader but she purposefully battled through them before we eventually made it to the top and on to an early cafe stop.

Mrs Crusader walking up the big hill of the day

We arrived in St Clears and our target cafe. There was no outdoor seating area at Annie's cafe but inside was nicely appointed. 

Outside Annie's Cafes

Once again the cake selection was small with only chocolate, carrot or Welsh fruit bread to chose from. We decided to have half each of the two cake choices. Mrs Crusader thought her Mocha was the best this week but my hot chocolate didn't compete with some of the other excellent ones I have enjoyed so far. Overall still a good showing but not the winner.

Cakes and drinks at Annie's cafe

After the coffee stop we had two more large hills to get over and these took sometime to complete. To add to the jeopardy the weather app was now predicting thunderstorms in the next two hours.

More hills as the storm clouds gather

After we summitted the last of the hills it was obvious that Mrs Crusader was pooped and her energy supplies were drained. Fortunately the remaining 30 miles left today were flat but as I was out of dilithium crystals to repower her engines I suggested we abandon tomorrow's day 5 and catch the train back to Newport instead.

Mrs Crusader was now officially pooped

This suggestion got immediate approval and seemed to give her renewed vigour knowing that this would be her final effort of the trip. The good news continued as we reached some stunning views along by the estuary but the biggest surprise was the sun had come out and all talk of heavy rain on the weather app had gone.

Fabulous views over the estuary on the way to Swansea

We then hit the millennium coast path which was several miles of good quality track with great views to accompany us until we got to our second cafe stop Flanagans Coast line cafe. I had been here before on my cycle across Great Britain but had arrived 5 minutes before closing on that occasion so it didn't get a fair crack of the whip.

Outside Flanagans Coastline Cafe

Mrs Crusader was still clearly very tired as she tried to climb the stairs before slumping into her chair with head in hands. While she was busy suffering I ordered drinks and an excellent looking piece of yogurt and berry flapjack. 

Mrs Crusader still suffering

The cake selection was good and the fabulous views of the coast line resulted in high marks for those categories. 

My hot chocolate was another fine example and the flapjack was some of the best ever. We both agreed that this was the best cafe we had found on the Celtic trail and as we won't be going to anymore I declared it the winner of my search. 

Some excellent cake and drinks

We now had just 20 miles to go to get back to the hotel and fortunately it was nearly all on good off-road track. It  took a while but eventually we hit the Swansea seafront and then cycled along it back to the Premier Inn we had left  3 days ago.

Final stretch back to hotel in Swansea

We had covered over 250 miles (most of it up) of the Celtic trail in 4 days which I had very much enjoyed but I had learned 3 things

1. Sometimes it best to quit while your ahead

2. There are a lot more hills in Wales than I had thought

3. Mrs Crusader does not like cycling up hills, which is why we live in Norfolk

Map route

Profile 

Cafe ratings for cafes reviewed on (or near) the Celtic trail

Cafe	Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Café Selection	Cake Taste Quality	Atmosphere and Ambiance	Total
Bradleys Coffee Shop	7.6	7.25	7	7.6	7	7.29
Cafe Espresso	Na	Na	Na	Na	Na	Na
Time Coffee Bar	7	7	6	6.95	6.25	6.64
Caffi Becca	3	5.25	4	7.25	6.25	5.15
Sands Cafe	8	7.65	5.25	7.5	8.2	7.32
Cwtch Cafe	8.5	7	4	8.5	7.5	7.10
Annies Cafe	6	8	5	7.75	7.5	6.85
Flanagans Cafe	7	7	7	8	8	7.4

Stats 

	Miles	Average Speed	Hours on bike	Meters climbed
Newport to Swansea	57.7	10.3	5:35:50	679
Swansea to Fishguard	69.5	10.4	6:43:15	2075
Fishguard to Tenby	61.7	10.0	6:11:02	1411
Tenby to Swansea	70.1	10.5	6:39:09	1313
Swansea to Newport	Na	Na	Na	Na
Overall	259.0	10.3	25:09:16	4573