Kidbur two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Pretty straightforward route following cycle path or pavement the whole way.

I did this one with my kids, ages 6 and 9, on a glorious late Feb sunshiney day. We parked by the station in Kidwelly and cycled south. The small rise along the main road out of the town was a bit challenging for them right at the start (mostly we pushed the bikes up the hill on the pavement, but it's a bit narrow in places) and I lost my nerve about managing seven miles and let them choose a bag of bribery sweets in the garage at the top.
It's more than a quarter of the route before getting off the main roads, but fast enough on bikes, and pavements or adjacent cycle path for all of it, so it's bearable.
And then it's glorious! Very quiet lanes, things to spot like donkeys and a riding school with chickens, purple flowers, a hundred and one places to stop for another two sweets each. And then onto the national cycle lane which felt so safe and benevolent. We stopped for a very, very long time just where there's another cycle route crossing above at a right angle, which made me very happy to imagine how active travel infrastructure could be one day. This spot was near the Ashburnham Hotel - not particularly noteworthy unless you have kids, but
there's a handrail to attempt to slide down, regular passing dogs to stroke, a creek to chuck stones into, and - as two passing people informed us - a resident kingfisher. My little boy claimed to have seen a streak of turquoise but if I'd been a kingfisher I'd have stayed away considering their constant racket.
Then we popped out into the big wide park at Burry Port, with an excellent playground with cool features we'd never seen before - impressive considering how many playgrounds we've haunted over nine years. And the dock, now just a big pond with a small boat in the middle. There was something really special that I can't quite put my finger on about emerging at Burry Port - perhaps relief at getting there before dark, or at all, perhaps the cumulative sugar high, but I think it was the flatness of the land right by the sea, and all the people in the park, and the sky reflected in the dock with stars just coming out, and the little collection of houses seeming almost lower than sea level. And then a six minute train back to the van! I recommend this as a great day out (or you could do it in an hour with older children!), or do it the other way around and go to a cafe and the castle in Kidwelly before cycling back. On foot it would have felt quite tarmacked for my tastes, but ideal for a fast stride with hardly any navigation necessary, or a long jog. Everyone in Kidwelly and Burry Port should do it, and judging by how many people we saw on a sunny half term Thursday, many people already do!.

Reviewed on 3rd October 2024: Burry Port to Kidwelly.

I left my van in Kidwelly and jumped on the train to Burry Port for this route. I had planned an alternative route due to poor reviews on Kidbur1 and my local knowledge of the cycle network off road path.

The weather was gorgeous so I spent a bit of time looking at West Dock (Photo 1) before heading off road along the tarmac cycle route past Pembrey. If you're on a bike or have more time, I would recommend a diversion into Pembrey Country Park that is signposted along the route.

As the off road cycle route finishes there is a short section of country lane zig zagging through the country with far reaching views before it joins the route of Kidbur2 through Pinged and then onto the main road. Although not my favourite section it is save walking on the pavement into Kidwelly. St Mary's Church in the centre of Kidwelly is well worth a visit as is a small diversion past the finishing point to see the castle before coming back on yourself.

Photo 1 - West Dock
Photo 2 - Sharing's Caring along the off road National Cycle Network Route 4
Photo 3 - Tranquility farm - it was!
Photo 4 - Tree alongside the A484 coming into Kidwelly
Photo 5 - The Gwendraeth Fawr just outside Kidwelly
Photo 6 - St Mary's Chruch
Photo 7 & 8 - Kidwelly Castle.

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