Barbara and Ann return to Pembroke part 3 Day 1

Well here we are back in Pembrokeshire to complete our journey along the coastal path. This time we chose to stay in Lower Fishguard at Morawel B&B and what a good choice that turned out to be. A four star B&B at a very reasonable price with a delicious breakfast that included a lovely platter of fresh fruit each morning, cooked breakfast and home made Welsh cakes with home made raspberry jam.

Breakfast

Andrew and Theresa who run the B&B have a great deal of local knowledge and gave good advice on which way round to do the walks and what to look out for on the way.

Irish Ferry

The weather wasn't as kind to us this year and our first day was a wet one for most of the day. We caught the coastal Strumble Shuttle bus to Strumble Head and picked up the path at Porthsychan Bay

Porthyschan Bay

Strumble Head Lighthouse

 and continued south past Pwll Deri YHA to Aber Bach, Abermawr and then on to Abercastle.

Pwll Deri YHA

Abermawr

Abercastle

We arrived about an hour before the bus was due and like most of these little bays there aren't any tea shops. However we got lucky here as a family staying in a holiday cottage near the bus stop made us a nice cup of tea!

The bus duly arrived on time and we bought a Chinese Takeaway to eat back at the B&B where we were invited to eat in front of a log fire watching the BAFTAS on TV. It was just like being at home!

Day 8 Solva to St Non's Bay

The last day and an easy one. Time for a coffee on the quay at Solva.

 Then an easy walk to St Non's Bay where we picked up the path we had been on with the walking club and viewed St Non's Chapel again and the well.

Then into St David's for a look round the cathedral and lunch. I had to go back for another delicious ice cream and was quite surprised when the lady said she remembered me from last year.....I don't think so, I bet she says that to everyone! We did eventually find the bus stop hidden away down a side street and then returned to Haverfordwest for last minute shopping and packing.

A great holiday with plenty happening every day. Fantastic weather, not a drop of rain weren't we lucky? It was the hottest it had been for years in that part of Wales. I would thoroughly recommend the College Guest House. We didn't get quite as far up the coast as we planned and still have six days left to complete the walk next year hopefully. Watch this space!

Day 7 Newgale to Solva

Today was Olympic Torch Relay day in Haverfordwest and we were lucky enough to have one of the torch bearers staying in our guest house. This is Declan Kerry with his two greatest fans! Over 21000 people came here to see the procession and we had to join them of course. The torch relay was taking place on the next street to where we were staying so we had picked out a good spot with a wall to sit on. It turned out to be a very good spot as the torch bearers were changing over right in front of us so we had an excellent view.

 We were supposed to be catching a bus to Newgale at 13.10 but there was so much traffic and some of the roads were closed so it was rather late setting off. This caused us a bit of concern as there aren't many buses on a Sunday and the last bus back from Solva was at 16.36. We had been told by several people that the next part of the walk was quite strenuous and it was still rather hot so in true 'A' walker style we set off at a good pace and got there with enough time for a cup of tea!

  It said allow three hours in my book and we did it in two! Must have been all that training up and down those steps.

Day 6 Broad Haven South to Stack Rocks

We were here at a weekend at last so intended to go back to the Castlemartin area and a walk a section of the coast path that had been closed the last time we were here. Ann's friend Jill volunteered to drive us there and accompany us on the walk with her well behaved dog Sally. We parked at the Stack Rocks car park and viewed Stack Rocks covered in birds and the Green Bridge of Wales. Then we caught the bus to Broad Haven South car park and walked back towards the car.

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 At the weekends when the MOD aren't using it you can access everything between the track and the cliff top and we were lucky enough to find a well hidden area called New Quay that even Jill hadn't seen before.

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 Then on to St Govan's Chapel which is well worth a visit. A splendid bit of the coastal path.

Huntsman's Leap

Stack Rocks

Carew Castle

Cresswell Quay

After this we went into Bosherston for a cup of tea and a swim in the lily ponds for the dog before driving home via Carew Castle and Cresswell Quay. Not on the coastal path I know but it was good to see some of the other places Pembrokeshire has to offer. Thank you Jill we really enjoyed your company on this day.

Day 5 Broad Haven to Newgale

 We had an early start today as the bus left at 8.20 and dropped us off in Broad Haven at 9.00 am.

 Once again a very hot and sunny day so we finished at lunch time.

The Roundhouse eco friendly building

 Ann sat on the beach while I had a paddle. There were people surfing and canoeing. It was quite misty on the beach, like a sea fret.

 Once again we were back early to Haverfordwest so we had a cup of tea near the river and bought Welsh cakes in the Welsh bakery. Well you have to try them don't you! We found a quirky little place for our evening meal that was only open at night on Fridays and Saturdays. It was called The George's and was partly a shop and partly a restaurant and was full of interesting things

Day 4 Musslewick Sands to Broad Haven

 A different direction today as we set off for Marloes to pick up the path at Musslewick Sands. It was very hot and sunny all day today and we didn't walk as far as we had intended.

The Eye of the Sea

 This path through the woods is where a couple were murdered a few years ago but we didn't know that until later on.

Broad Haven beach

 Again beautiful grassy banks of thrift on one side and blue sea on the other. Once we reached Little Haven we dropped down onto the sandy beach to finish the walk and this made a pleasant change

.It should have been easy to get back from here but the bus forgot to turn up so we had to wait an hour for the next one. Once back in Haverfordwest we found the shopping centre down by the riverside and had a quick look around.

Day 3 Sandy Haven to Dale and the peninsula

A cloudy day today but still warm. The bus driver was kind enough to drop us off at the west side of Sandy Haven pill which we couldn't cross as the tide was in too far. We walked down the lane to Sandy Haven and then set off on the coastal path towards Dale. Now this day was Yorkshire day on the coastal path. We didn't see many people but most of the people we did see were from Yorkshire! First of all two men from Otley and one had just joined Otley walkers that Ann belongs to. Then a couple from Wakefield sitting on a bench eating rhubarb.....yes really. They lived in the rhubarb triangle and were very chatty. A good job we had plenty of time today. Then almost at the end of the walk two ladies, one from Skipton and one from York who belonged to York CHA group.

 The walk was quite straight forward until we came to The Gann where we had to walk on the beach for a while and cross the stepping stones. Walking on a beach sounded great in the book but when we got there it was extremely rocky and very uncomfortable to walk on.

The most outstanding thing today were the grassy banks on the cliff tops absolutely covered in wild flowers, mostly large clumps of thrift. May is the very best time to do this path and every day we were impressed by all the wild flowers.

We had time at the end in Dale for a cup of tea in the pub while we waited for the last bus back to Milford Haven. Our luck was in when we got there as a train was just about set off  to Haverfordwest so that saved us a long wait for a bus.