Day 12: Kenfig to Port Talbot

Miles: 9 (RT 41.5)

Falafel: 5 (RT 30)

This leg begins in the beautiful Kenfig Nature Reserve and the weather couldn't be more different to when we were last on the path back in April. The sun is shining and the weather is sweet. 

Sand dunes, lakes, patches of green and patches of sand. This is a landscape I would definitely like to try painting Bob Ross style. 

The meditative art of stone stacking: Practised around the world in order to develop balance and focus. 

Inspired by this bird watcher, I'm now going to give a shout out to some of my favourite birds of the coastal path so far, as they were prominent feature of the Kenfig section, even if they were too shy to make it into any of my pictures. We saw goldfinches and herons, which are categorised as green by the RSPB which means not in any danger. 

In this picture, you can just see a meadow pipit. So called because of the sound that it makes. It has a fetching striped pattern and is one of the most common UK upland birds, although numbers are declining and it is now on the RSPB's amber list. 

We also saw linnets, which are sadly in the red category of risk according to the RSPB. They are known to carry a nice tune and have a cute pink colour on their feathers. 

And it was around here that we heard a cuckoo. I'd never heard one before and Rhys says he hasn't heard one since he was a child. Cuckoos have a bad rep because they like to implant their young into the nests of other birds, such as the meadow pipit. They are also on the red list. 

Then, the industrial sprawl that is Port Talbot looms into view. 

There has been steelworks in Port Talbot in various forms and sites since the start of the 20th Century.

The works is closely linked to the nearby Margam estate and was founded on land leased from the Talbot family. Margam itself is a site of historical interest as there is evidence of over 4000 years of continuous habitation and use (http://www.margamcountrypark.co.uk/1253)

Where there is heavy industry along the path there is going to be rail. From Margam Knuckle Yard, steel is transported to other sites in Wales and in the Midlands for coating, tinplating and use in the motor industry or in the production of motor or domestic products. 

I often wonder how these train based graffiti tags are managed. How does the artist avoid getting caught or risking life and limb? Love it or hate it, graffiti is everywhere and has an interesting historical link with rail travel dating back to the so called "hobos" (a migrant worker) in the USA. They used images and symbols to communicate with each other on their travels. 

The steelworks at Port Talbot is a place where tension between workers, bosses and government forces brew. It's where the effects of race to the bottom capitalism, which sees steel for UK and European industry imported from as far away as China instead of procured from more local works, threatens to leave communities bereft of any kind of employment (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/rollercoaster-story-port-talbot-steelworks-19307489) 

The steelworks current India based owners TATA are threatening to withdraw funding from the site in order to cut costs, so surely it would be better to nationalise and take the site into public ownership so that a strategy for sustainable material production that works for ordinary people in Wales and the UK and provides good jobs for workers  (https://www.socialistpartywales.org.uk/nationalise-tata-to-fight-steel-jobs-threat/).