ST DAVID'S TO CARDIGAN
Pwll Deri
WALKING THE COAST PATH AT PWLL DERI
CEIBWYR BAY
The coastal scenery here is spectacular with dramatic cliffs and sea stacks. The witches' Cauldron is a vast cliff ringer, sea filled hole caused by the collapse of a cavern.
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park was established in 1952 and takes in almost the entire coast and offshore islands as well as the moorland hills of Mynydd Preseli.
The Pembrokeshire coast path was developed to allow free
public access to one of Europe’s most magnificent and varied coastlines and
runs for 186 miles from Amroth to St Dogmaels.
It is ranked as one of the world’s great hiking tracks and was opened in
1970 by Wynford Vaughan Thomas who personally donated a beautiful piece of land
at Ceibwr Bay.
Picturesque harbours are interspersed with long stretches of remote, roadless coastline frequented only by walkers and wildlife which is superb with displays of spring wildflowers and an abundance of seabirds, including the world’s largest colony of Manx shearwaters and grey Atlantic seals.
Stonechat
The landscape of Pembrokeshire is immensely ancient with rocks over 300 million years old and events of the Ice Age have resulted in the creation of deep valleys and soaring cliffs.
Picturesque harbours are interspersed with long stretches of remote, roadless coastline frequented only by walkers and wildlife which is superb with displays of spring wildflowers and an abundance of seabirds, including the world’s largest colony of Manx shearwaters and grey Atlantic seals.
Stonechat
The landscape of Pembrokeshire is immensely ancient with rocks over 300 million years old and events of the Ice Age have resulted in the creation of deep valleys and soaring cliffs.
Fishguard (Abergwaun) is perched on a headland between the
former fishing harbour of Lower Town and its modern ferry port of
Goodwick. My father was born in the village and brought up here together with his four brothers. His parents had eloped from Ireland and
settled in a small cottage on the beach very close to where the Rosslare ferry
still docks twice a day.
Jeremiah Breen from Beaufort,County Kerry
Mary Breen (nee Long) from Ardfinnan,County Tipperary
The harbour was created by blasting tons of rock from the cliffs and the great ocean liners Mauretania and Lusitania sailed from Goodwick to new York until Liverpool became the preferred port. Now the ferries sail to Rosslare in Ireland twice a day and the old Fishguard fort complete with a row of cannons looks out over the harbour
LOWER TOWN
Mary Breen (nee Long) from Ardfinnan,County Tipperary
The harbour was created by blasting tons of rock from the cliffs and the great ocean liners Mauretania and Lusitania sailed from Goodwick to new York until Liverpool became the preferred port. Now the ferries sail to Rosslare in Ireland twice a day and the old Fishguard fort complete with a row of cannons looks out over the harbour
LOWER TOWN
Lower Town (Y Cwm) is the site of the original settlement and the place where the River Gwaun joins the sea (Abergwaun). The mystical Cwm Gwaun is a quiet green place where the lane runs alongside the river, its high banks covered with fuschia, foxgloves and other wildflowers.
The last invasion of Britain took place at Carregwastad
Point, north of Fishguard, on 22 February 1797 when a ragtag army of 1400
merceneries and bailed convicts led by an Irish American named Colonel Tate
came ashore after being blown off course by bad weather. They set about looting the Pencaer peninsula
but were quickly seen off by the locals including one Jemima Nicholas who
captured 12 men armed with nothing more than a pitchfork.
In 1997 the bicentenary of the invasion was commemorated by the creation of a 30m tapestry which is displayed in the town hall.
In 1997 the bicentenary of the invasion was commemorated by the creation of a 30m tapestry which is displayed in the town hall.
At nearby Llanwynda St Gwyndals Church, which dates back to the 8th century, looks out to sea. Old bibles written in Welsh are displayed and the two modern bells commemorate the crews of two ferries, the St David and the St Patrick which were sunk in WWII.
Many people think that the stretch of the coast path between
Fishguard and St Davids is the most beautiful and for me, the great headland of
Strumble Head, the closest point to Ireland, is the best of all. The lighthouse beams out a signal of four flashes every 15 seconds. The old WWII lookout is a good vantage point for bird watching and whales, dolphins and even basking sharks can be seen here.
Neolithic field boundaries between Garn Fawr and Strumble Head
Walking the stretch between the lighthouse and Pwll Deri on a mild sunny day is a delight with noisy families of choughs with their red beaks and legs, rare members of the corvid family. Wildflowers including masses of sea pinks cover the cliff tops and grey seals can be spotted in the bays. The great iron age hill fort of Garn Fawr rises up in the distance and vertical cliffs fall to the sea
For a number of years we rented a small cottage at the foot of the rocky ridge of Garn Fawr. Volcanic in origin, it is crowned by an Iron Age fort and from the summit there are magnificent views of the coastline north and south over the Iron Age field boundaries and the magnificent cliffs of Pwll Deri.
GARN FAWR
PWLL DERI
DEWI EMRYS
Poet Dewi Emrys is remembered for his poem "Pwll Deri" at a memorial above the cliffs
The artist John Piper owned a cottage here and painted Garn Fawr many times. The rugged cliffs of Pwll Deri, covered by pink thrift in spring, carry the path on towards St Davids via a series of small harbour villages including the colourful village of Abercastle.
Neolithic field boundaries between Garn Fawr and Strumble Head
Walking the stretch between the lighthouse and Pwll Deri on a mild sunny day is a delight with noisy families of choughs with their red beaks and legs, rare members of the corvid family. Wildflowers including masses of sea pinks cover the cliff tops and grey seals can be spotted in the bays. The great iron age hill fort of Garn Fawr rises up in the distance and vertical cliffs fall to the sea
For a number of years we rented a small cottage at the foot of the rocky ridge of Garn Fawr. Volcanic in origin, it is crowned by an Iron Age fort and from the summit there are magnificent views of the coastline north and south over the Iron Age field boundaries and the magnificent cliffs of Pwll Deri.
GARN FAWR
PWLL DERI
DEWI EMRYS
Poet Dewi Emrys is remembered for his poem "Pwll Deri" at a memorial above the cliffs
The artist John Piper owned a cottage here and painted Garn Fawr many times. The rugged cliffs of Pwll Deri, covered by pink thrift in spring, carry the path on towards St Davids via a series of small harbour villages including the colourful village of Abercastle.
St David’s was awarded the title of city courtesy of its
magnificent cathedral although the population is more like that of a
village. Known in Welsh as Tydewwi
(House of David) the cathedral is the holiest site in Wales and burial place of
St David who founded a monastic
community here in the 6th century.
The present building dates from the 12th – 14th century and its position in a valley was chosen so that it would be hidden from Viking raiders but it was ransacked at least seven times.
Across the river lies the Bishop’s Palace, a stately ruin dating from the 12th century which owes its final imposing form to Henry Gower, bishop from 1327 to 1348. The distinctive purple sandstone, also used in the cathedral, comes from Caerbwdy Bay a mile SE of the city. St David’s is the cradle of Welsh Christianity and a place of pilgrimage for over 1500 years – in 1124 Pope Calixtus II declared that two pilgrimages to St David’s were the equivalent to one to Rome and three the equivalent of one to Jerusalam.
The present building dates from the 12th – 14th century and its position in a valley was chosen so that it would be hidden from Viking raiders but it was ransacked at least seven times.
Across the river lies the Bishop’s Palace, a stately ruin dating from the 12th century which owes its final imposing form to Henry Gower, bishop from 1327 to 1348. The distinctive purple sandstone, also used in the cathedral, comes from Caerbwdy Bay a mile SE of the city. St David’s is the cradle of Welsh Christianity and a place of pilgrimage for over 1500 years – in 1124 Pope Calixtus II declared that two pilgrimages to St David’s were the equivalent to one to Rome and three the equivalent of one to Jerusalam.
The natural harbour of Port Claith served as the port for
the city of St Davids from the 16th century. Pilgrims would land here to walk to the
shrine at the Cathedral via St Non’s holy well and chapel at the site where St
David was born. The spring, said to
have emerged at the moment of St David’s birth and to have curative powers,
still attracts pilgrims.
Ravens, fulmars and those rare members of the crow family,
choughs soar above the cliffs. Like so
many of the most beautiful parts of the coast path, it is in the care of the
National Trust. Off the coast the RSPB
sanctuary of Ramsey island can be visited and further out to sea Skomer,
Skokholm and Grassholm, which has 40,000 pairs of gannets, can be seen
DINAS HEAD
DINAS HEAD
The walk around Dinas Head, with cliffs rising to 142 metres high, passes a tall sea stack covered in nesting razorbills and guillemots. In the tiny settlement of Cwm-yr-Eglwys on the far side, the remains of the 12th century St Brynachs church can be seen, all that was left after the great storm of 1859. The Old Sailors at Pwllgwaelod was a former haunt of Dylan Thomas and serves local crab and lobster
PENTRE IFAN
The park is well known for a historical and cultural
heritage which spans thousands of years from the last ice age. There is
evidence of people living in prehistoric times and the tombs of their dead,
standing stones, field boundaries and many massively defended cliff tops and
hill forts line the coast path and inland areas.
Carreg Coetan
People in this part of Britain began to build settlements and farm the land around 6000 years ago. People of the New Stone Age left extraordinary burial chambers such as Pentre Ifan, a 4500 year old Neolithic tomb which is the largest and best preserved dolmen in Wales. The 5m capstone, weighing 16 tonnes, is poised on three tall upright stones made of the same bluestones as the menhirs at Stonehenge. Around 4000 years ago, a collection of huge bluestones were taken on a ceremonial journey from the Preseli mountains to the site now known as Stonehenge.
CARREG SAMSON
Carreg Coetan
People in this part of Britain began to build settlements and farm the land around 6000 years ago. People of the New Stone Age left extraordinary burial chambers such as Pentre Ifan, a 4500 year old Neolithic tomb which is the largest and best preserved dolmen in Wales. The 5m capstone, weighing 16 tonnes, is poised on three tall upright stones made of the same bluestones as the menhirs at Stonehenge. Around 4000 years ago, a collection of huge bluestones were taken on a ceremonial journey from the Preseli mountains to the site now known as Stonehenge.
CARREG SAMSON
The last period of prehistory was known as the Iron Age
lasted from around 2600BC to the conquest of Wales by the Romans in in 70AD and
the landscape is littered with their hill forts and defensive coastal forts. Carn Ingli sits above the village of Newport
and can be seen for miles around.
A bluestone which was carried down the mountain by helicopter - a similar stone was taken to Stonehenge and erected near the great uprights transported there in the distant past
A bluestone which was carried down the mountain by helicopter - a similar stone was taken to Stonehenge and erected near the great uprights transported there in the distant past
CILGERRAN CASTLE
ST DOGMAEL'S ABBEY
SACRANUS STONE
ANCIENT YEWS, ST BRYNACH'S CHURCHYARD
The avenue of yew trees in the churchyard at St Brynachs is estimated to be six centuries old. The so-called bleeding yew oozes a curious red sap and the graveyard, dating from the 6th century, predates the church
ST BRYNACH'S CHURCH
Among the gravestones is a tall intricately decorated Celtic cross, one of the finest in Wales and dating from the 10th century.
Inside the church, the Maglocunus Stone dating from the 5th century forms a window sill. It is one of the few carved stones that bear an inscription in both Latin and ogham and was instrumental in deciphering the meaning of ogham, an ancient Celtic script.
The pilgrim path from the east to St Davids passed by St Brynachs and a small cross can be seen engraved in the rock with a hollowed out boulder beneath it where pilgrims would kneel and pray.
FLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES
Waldo Goronwy William, poet, patriot, pacifist and Quaker, his poem Presceli helped to keep these mountains free of militarism
