Aberthaw to Stout Bay

Had a great walk on on my own from Aberthaw car park all away along the beach towards Llantwit a few days ago. The weather is been so good that I just could not resist skipping a day off work and going for a walk And it was most certainly well worth it.

From the car park I just popped over the shingle bank down to the beach, got naked and started walking west towards summerhouse bay, It was so hot that I decided to take a bag with me so I could carry some water, and this time I took the phone so I could take a few pictures.

Taken towards stout bay.

Taken towards Stout Bay

I passed one Woman dog waker Who was coming towards me quite close to the car park, she didn’t seem at all phased and said hello as we passed each other. I walked all the way past summerhouse bay, then stashed my bag near the bottom of the cliff and Walked all the way to stout bay. I had forgotten What hard work this part of the beach Was to walk on, being more of a boulder hopping exercise than an actual walk, but it is well worth the effort as it is such an amazingly beautiful

When I got to stout bay I simply turned around and walked back, collecting my bag on the way and taking a few photographs. As I walked back past summerhouse bay, I passed a walker carrying a large rucksack Who had popped to the beach from the costal path for a break on the beach.

I passed no one else on the way back to the car, so the walk was very uneventful, but very enjoyable.

Aberthaw to Llantwit Major Naked Walk

This is a walk that I have been planning or some time, but I have only recently been able to walk it to check it out.

It is a potentially very sketchy naked walk as it is very exposed to the costal path, with the cliffs never really gaining much height, and in some places on the first half of the walk the costal path is very close to the beach so there is no real distance between you and anyone on the path. The low tide section of the beach near the car park is also visible from the Barry to St Athan road. Having said that, this bit of coastline seems to be very quiet, so check it out and make up your own mind.

You park up in a small car park near Aberthaw power station (gives a bit of an unusual backdrop to the walk) which overlooks the beach, then just walk right (west) onto the beach and head west.

As soon as you can (depending on how busy it is or how brave you are feeling!) get naked and find a stash point for your bag and clothes. When I tested the route, I stashed my clothes about 100m from the car park, where the beach was still very close to the costal path.

You basically walk west as far as you can / want too, then turn around and come back.

When I checked the walk out, I walked all the way to Llantwit Major, and was able to walk right out onto the low tide exposed rocks out in front of the car park at Llantwit (col-huw point) before turning round to return. If you have the time, and the tides in your favour, it is well worth going this far as it makes it into a good long worthwhile walk, which also feels nicely exposed and just a bit risky!

The point (Stout Point) between Stout Bay and Llantwit Major is a potential problem if you get the tides wrong. You must only walk past this point if the tide is on its way out or is fully out on a low tide. The water comes in pretty quickly here and it would be very easy to get cut off on the wrong side of the point. This would then necessitate finding a way to the cliff top path and walking back along the path until you can return to the beach. I didn’t see any obvious way to get to the cliff top, so you might have to go all the way to Llantwit. Wouldn’t be a problem if you had carried your clothes with you, but if you like to walk naked fully committed carrying nothing (as we do) then it may be an issue!

Another sketchy section is when walking past Summerhouse Point, between the car park and Stout Bay. There is a public car park with beach access here, so you may encounter textiles on the beach.

All in all this is a great walk, a good six miles if you go all the way and a fantastic opportunity to be naked in a quiet public place. I would say that it is probably suitable only for the brave, as it is very exposed.

Llantwit Major beach, Vale of Glamorgan. south Wales, UK (Photo credit: Wikipedia)