The walk file: Pembrokeshire Coast Path

The Pembrokeshire coast path lurches like a rollercoaster up and down the cliffs of south-west Wales. This section of the 186-mile route is one of the most breathtaking, heading west from the car park at Trewent Park, in Freshwater East.

After a couple of miles, just past Stackpole Quay, you hit the golden sands of Barafundle Bay. The path drops down steep, stone steps and then runs 300 yards straight across the beach, before rising up the other side towards the promontory and the rock arches of Griffith Lorts Hole. Out to sea, surfers in wetsuits brave the chilly waters of the Bristol Channel.

On a windy day, the waves crashing against the steep cliffs further round Stackpole Head can be surprisingly fierce. Thousands of years of water erosion have carved out blowholes and coves with rock walls so deep and sheer that only boats can access the beaches within them. On top of the cliffs, meanwhile, farmland now gives way to much sandier ground. Grassy banks and natural bunkers give you the impression you’re on a links golf course.

Once you reach Broad Haven beach, turn inland through Stackpole Warren and cross the four footbridges spanning the Bosherton lily ponds. Nesting swans share this spot with herons, buzzards and, if you’re lucky, otters. After lunch at St Govan’s Country Inn, in Bosherton, wind back across the last two lily pond bridges and head north along the shore of the largest pond to the National Trust’s Stackpole Centre. Another bridge takes you to the east side of the pond and on to a track leading back to Stackpole Quay. From here it’s a couple of miles or so back along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path to Freshwater East, this time with the sea breeze caressing your right ear instead of your left.

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The details

Breathtaking views and abundant wildlife

Start
Trewent Park, Freshwater East (SS016977)

Length of walk
9-10 miles

Walkers’ pitstop
St Govan’s Country Inn, Bosherton, Pembrokeshire

Website
http://tinyurl.com/yl888gn