Pembrokeshire Coastal Path

Wales - One end of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path National Trail started right outside our holiday apartment. We decided to get the little bus, The Poppit Rocket (which also stopped right outside) to some way along the coast road so that we could walk back along the trail. It proved a good decision, much easier than trying to plan a circular walk and better than trying to get a bus back, since they are not very frequent. Conventionally, the last (or first, depending which way you do the walk) section of the Coastal Path is from Newport to St Dogmaels, which is about 16 miles. We decided that was too much for us, as it is very steep and rough terrain. So we started halfway, at an attractive little village called Moylgrove, where the bus stopped. We did a walk of almost 8 miles, though it felt longer as it was so up and down!

From the village down to the coast we walked though a wooded valley following a stream. Once we joined the coastal path itself, we found it was narrow and very overgrown with bracken so it was hard walking in parts. The views, however, were wonderful, despite the low cloud and occasional drizzle. It brightened up a bit as we walked. I love walking but don't usually tackle such steep paths so it was a challenge for me but quite exhilarating and very satisfying to achieve it. We were able to celebrate with excellent coffee and cake in the very nice little beach café at Poppit Sands, before tackling the last mile and a half back to our accommodation.

This area of the coast has some amazing rock formations, especially around the Cemaes Head nature reserve, where the sedimentary rocks are twisted and buckled and all the folds can be seen. The rocks are quite soft and subject to erosion, making lots of inaccessible coves where seals can be seen at the right season. I also saw a chough, a relatively rare bird that breeds on these cliffs.

Below is the stone that marks the start/finish of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path.