You can take the boy out of Penclawdd...

...But you can't take Penclawdd out of the boy - or so the saying goes. But then, it's been said about so many places, it's a cliché. And clichés become clichés because they express a truth; my inability to extract Penclawdd from me, try as I once did, is one such truth.

Penclawdd is a village on the northern coast of the Gower Peninsula. Once a thriving port, it was famous for it's coal mining and copper smelting. It faces Llanelli across the Loughor Estuary and all heavy industry has long gone and it's now known for it's shellfish.

For years cockles have been gathered on the estuary and sold at local markets. It was a trade dominated by women with their donkeys, carts, rakes and riddles (my grandmother was one). It's now an industry led by male gatherers with their landrovers and their worldwide cockle sales.

I left Penclawdd in 1983 and I've returned there many times over the years. However, whenever I think of the place it is always through polarized 70s sunglasses and I never think of cockles but whispered gossip and a vague feeling of claustrophobia.

Today's run at 17:16
Distance	5.02 km	Time	25:45
Pace	5:08 min/km	Cadence	83 spm
Comments: Clear; still & cold.