A day by the seaside taking in the history and atmosphere of the Barry Island. The island is certainly unusual in that it had Barry Docks to the north exporting huge amounts of coal and the resort of Barry Island to the south which quickly expanded when the railway and road over to the island were built from the mainland.
After admiring the Grade II listed gates of Friar’s Point House we spent the morning on Friar’s Point itself initally taking a look over to Cold Knap and then Friar’s Point House. The house itself has a lot of history but not nearly as much as the point itself though there is not much evidence of that these days. Walking to the east side of Friar’s Point we had good views across Whitmore Bay and where the open-air tidal swimming pools would have been (separate male and female bathing in those days ofcouse). Descending onto the beach allowed us to see the interesting rock formations. By that time we deserved a coffee or an early lunch. Chips and ice cream were devoured by many.
After lunch we headed around Nell’s Point and into the much quieter Jackson’s Bay where there was chance to walk off our chips in the steep ascent up to the road. The tour finished with a look at St Baruc’s Chapel and the story of the gigantic salmon that ate the missing book.
Amazingly it stayed pretty much dry for us despite an unsettled weather forecast.