About midway through walking along Pembrokeshire’s dramatic Coastal Path, you will arrive at a 2 mile stretch of white beach and pebbled stone.
This is Newgale
A 10 minute walk along back roads from Newgale Lodge will bring you to a scattered village on the West coast of Pembs, famous for its bank of perfectly rounded giant pebbles. The bank itself was created in 1859 by a huge storm, and has benefitted the residents during the winter months since. Naturally, Newgale tends to experience lots of high winds and is for this reason has become a classic stop for local and nationwide surfers.
As one of over 40 Welsh Blue Flag beaches, Newgale is a clean, safe beach. At low tide, it is possible to walk around to Cwm Mawr beach although adventurists are encouraged to keep an eye on tide times to ensure that they don’t get cut off. Alternatively, making your way up the road to Pen Y Cwm, you will find that opposite to Erw Lon Street is a lay-by. Here, you will find a track down to an otherwise inaccessible nearby beach, as well as access to more of the Coastal Path which will take to round back to Newgale Beach or up North to Porthmynawyd Beach and beyond.
Newgale and Pen Cwm are also only a stone’s throw away from Solva. This little town of St Bride’s Bay used to be the main trading centre of the area during the medieval period. If you visit, you will still find a prominent row of lime kilns preserved along the harbour’s edge. The disappearing attraction of coastal trade eventually got replaced by those who came for history-tourism adventures. Solvas’ harbour has became full of small restaurants, B&Bs and galleries since.
Since Solva is a flooded valley (or inlet), expect to find fossils from the Cambrian period along the cliff faces. In addition, Solva keeps Pembrokeshire’s oldest working woollen mill alive. Located near to its centre, in Middle Mill, where you can enjoy a tasty snack whilst watching the wheels turn away.
Making The Most Out of The Coastal Path
Things to keep in mind
- Most of the land the Path crosses over land that is privately owned. Please make sure to respect signs that state this fact, especially during lambing or calling times.
- The route of the National Trail is marked by an acorn symbol, follow this to stay on track!
- The path runs 186 miles from Amroth in the south to St Dogmaels in the north.
Pembrokeshire’s Coastal Path hosts some very challenging areas! Although there’s absolutely no need to over-do it with backpacks and walking sticks, at least bring water and protection from the sun to complete areas of this walk.