CONTENTS
- Date, Distance & Map of Route
- Tide Times & Weather
- The Aberaeron to Newquay kayak
- Logistics
- Dangers & Issues
- Kayak used
- Summary
1. DATE, DISTANCE & ROUTE MAP
18 September 2020.
5 miles linear (one way) kayak.
Launched Aberaeron 12:45pm. Landed at Newquay at 14:45. 2 hours kayaking.
2. TIDE TIMES & WEATHER
It was a sunny day with a high of about 19 Celsius. There were winds of about 12-15mph from the North East.
3. ABERAERON TO NEWQUAY KAYAK
I launched from the harbour at Aberaeron at about 12:45pm on a sunny and warm September afternoon.
Aberaeron is a very pleasant town on Cardigan Bay with it’s colourful Georgian houses lining the streets around the harbour.
I headed down the mouth of the Aeron River, past the harbour walls and out onto Cardigan Bay.
Since the date of this paddle, a major sea defence scheme has been constructed at Aberaeron which has extended the breakwater on the North side of the harbour much further out into the sea, as shown in the below photo.
As soon as I left the shelter of the harbour, I noticed that the sea was a lot rougher than I’d expected! I passed the beach to the South of Aberaeron Harbour and paddled Southwards on a surprisingly choppy sea.
Within a few minutes, Aberaeron was soon disappearing into the distance as I paddled Southwards down the coast.
As I gazed down the coast, I could see Newquay was in the distance almost 5 miles away. It seemed a long way off as my kayak bobbed and pitched on the choppy sea.
I felt quite nervous for the the first mile in particular because the waves seemed to repeatedly catch my kayak from behind, making it tilt and pitch on it’s axis and I even considered aborting the paddle at times!
The ProAqua inflatable kayak that I used back then was quite stable, like most inflatable kayaks. However, the ProAquas are short, compact kayaks and do tend to get chucked about a bit on rough seas like on the day of this paddle.
I passed some deep, narrow valleys which seemed to end abruptly onto the coast. The countryside along Cardigan Bay really is stunning and the green fields always seem to have an extra level of vibrancy.
The outgoing tide pulled me Southwards towards Newquay and after an hour I was half way along the 5 miles route.
Looking back up the coast, Aberaeron was now just a tiny white blur on the horizon. It’s always a bit surreal when you look back towards where you started from and it looks like an eternity away.
The white buildings of Newquay started to come more clearly into view as I got within a mile or so of the end of the route.
I swung onto the beach at the entrance to Newquay Harbour at about 14:45, some 2 hours after I’d launched from Aberaeron. The tide was by now almost totally out so I had to land on the beach itself and then carry the kayak and my gear across the sand and onto the slipway at the harbour.
What a great paddle on another amazing section of the Wales Coast. Despite the unexpectedly rough sea conditions, I really enjoyed this section between 2 of the arguably nicest villages on the Cardigan Bay.
4. LOGISTICS
Aberaeron
At Aberaeron, you can land or launch from the harbour itself although the water levels in the harbour can get quite low within an hour or 2 either side of low tide.
There is lots of parking around Aberaeron Harbour. As you can see, when the tide is out, the rocky North beach can be troublesome to cross over.
Newquay
At Newquay, you can either land (or launch) at the Harbour or at Dolau Beach just to the South of the harbour.
The Harbour is a good, sheltered landing spot and the slipway from the harbour leads up to middle of the village.
Aberaeron and Newquay buses and taxis
The T5 bus runs between Aberaeron and Newquay. It is a quite regular service Monday to Saturday. Alternatively, there are taxi companies in both Nequay and Aberaeron you could book if required.
5. DANGERS & ISSUES
Like any sea kayak, you need to check the weather and sea swell forecast before going. I have done a video Guide to Sea Kayaking with Inflatable Kayaks video on my Youtube channel which gives guidance on how sea conditions and wind can affect coastal paddling.
We usually use www.surf-forecast.com. The forecast for Aberaeron is the most relevant to this route.
While Cardigan Bay is of course tidal, the tide is nowhere near as much of an issue as it is with other section of coast we have paddled, such as the South East Wales Coast. The tide runs South to North in Cardigan Bay when it’s coming in. When it’s going out, it runs North to South.
6. KAYAK USED
I did this paddle in August 2019 when all of the Kayak Crew were still using Pro Aqua inflatable kayaks.
The Pro Aqua kayaks were sold by Clas Ohlson but they have been discontinued for a while we believe.
They are made from traditional construction techniques for inflatable kayaks using PVC tubular sides.
We have since progressed to hybrid kayaks with drop stitch floors but tubular PVC sides and also to full drop stitch inflatable kayaks. I’ve done a Guide to Buying an Inflatable Kayak post on the Kayaking Guides page of my website.
7. SUMMARY
This is a great route on Cardigan Bay which links the 2 large, vibrant villages of Aberaeron and Newquay.
The area around Newquay in particular is the best section of the Wales Coast to see dolphins on and we’ve seen dolphins on the coast around Newquay on many occasions.
There is a good bus route between Aberaeron and Newquay but you could of course paddle this as a 10 miles circular route either way if you’d rather.
You can download our guide to this route below which has maps and practical information about logistics.