Most of the Cleddau estuary, including Cosheston Pill, is within
the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation, with amazing
biodiversity, waders and wildfowl. We had already scouted out Cosheston Pill as a
destination and noted that it dries to a
tiny stream, so definitely a trip for a rising tide.
Although there are several slipways in Pembroke Dock, the public facility at East Llanion is by far the best for the trip upriver
to the tiny village of Cosheston. As
well as being free, there is a good concrete slip and plenty of free
parking. The nearby Pembrokeshire Adventure Centre also has a cafe and toilets. You do need to keep out of the
way of any organised groups, but when we launched there was nobody else around.
An easy paddle in ideal conditions, it took about half an
hour to reach the shallow mudflats, where little else other than a kayak would
be able to continue. We also had to take
care of the thick river weed, which floated in clumps making paddling difficult
at times. Once clear of the boatyard at Llanion
the only sound was a solitary Curlew.
Flocks of Canada Geese flew low over the water as we
approached Cosheston, where I was just able to pass under the small road bridge. The river was too shallow the other side and
there was no safe landing point, but the paddle back was easy with the tide in
our favour. Large fish were jumping right out of the water ahead of us where
the river widened.
This was the first time we had used the facilities at Llanion
but we will definitely return as it is a great place to access the Southern
Cleddua.
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| Looking upriver to Cosheston Pill |
