Walking in Pembrokeshire

CIRCULAR WALKS IN THE NATIONAL PARK

915 Walking in Pembrokshire.indd 1 19/10/2017 12:25 About the Author Both native Lancastrians, Dennis and Jan Kelsall have long held a passion for countryside and hill walking. Since their first Cicerone title was published in 1995, they have written, contributed and illustrated over 50 guides covering some of Britain’s most popular walking areas and have become regular contributors to various outdoor magazines. Their enjoyment of the countryside extends far beyond a love of fresh air, the freedom of open spaces and an appreciation of scenery. Over the years Dennis and Jan have developed a wider interest in the environment, its geology and wildlife, as well as an enthusiasm for delving into the local history that so often provides clues to interpreting the landscape.

Other Cicerone guides by the author The Lune Valley and Howgills – A Walking Guide The Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Ribble Way The Yorkshire Dales: North and East The Yorkshire Dales: South and West

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CIRCULAR WALKS IN THE NATIONAL PARK Dennis and Jan Kelsall

JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL www.cicerone.co.uk

915 Walking in Pembrokshire.indd 3 19/10/2017 12:25 © Dennis and Jan Kelsall 2018 Second edition 2018 ISBN: 978 1 85284 915 3 First edition 2005

Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements Pembrokeshire is distinct within Wales, has its own special qualities and has hung on to the separateness of its identity despite the bureaucratic urge for conglomeration over recent decades. This is a reflection of the passion emanated by its people for their county, and barely a walk went by when we did not meet somebody quietly eager to impart their local knowledge, point out secluded corners or the best place for a view and relate tales of local happenings that never appear in the history books. Such enthusiasm is infectious and greatly added to our own enjoyment in undertaking this project. Although too numerous to mention individu- ally, even if we did know all their names, we would like to express our thanks to everyone who offered us help in one way or another, from the benefit of their knowledge to a welcome cup of tea on a hot afternoon. We would particularly like to thank the staff of the national park and the County Council for their generous advice and practical assistance, and for their ongoing work in making the countryside and coast accessible.

Front cover: Looking across the mouth of Aber Bach to Carreg Golchfa (Walk 15)

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Map key...... 6 Overview map...... 7

INTRODUCTION ...... 9 The legacy of the past...... 10 The national park...... 12 Pembrokeshire’s coast...... 13 An unspoilt hinterland...... 14 Things to take along...... 16 Getting there ...... 17 Getting around...... 17 Terrain and weather...... 17 Tides...... 17 A changing countryside ...... 18 Using this guide...... 18

WALKS ALONG THE COAST...... 19 Walk 1 Amroth and Pleasant Valley...... 20 Walk 2 Manorbier...... 26 Walk 3 Bosherston and the Lily Ponds...... 31 Walk 4 Stackpole and the Lily Ponds...... 34 Walk 5 The Angle Peninsula...... 38 Walk 6 The Dale Peninsula...... 44 Walk 7 Marloes Sands and the Deer Park ...... 50 Walk 8 St Brides and Musselwick...... 55 Walk 9 St David’s and St Non’s...... 59 Walk 10 Ramsey Sound ...... 63 Walk 11 St David’s Head and Carn Llidi...... 68 Walk 12 Around Ynys Barry ...... 73 Walk 13 Porthgain...... 76 Walk 14 Aber Mawr and Penmorfa...... 80 Walk 15 Aber Mawr and Aber Bach ...... 84 Walk 16 Strumble Head ...... 87 Walk 17 Dinas Island ...... 94 Walk 18 Ceibwr Bay and Pwllygranant...... 97

WALKS IN THE PRESELI HILLS...... 103 Walk 19 Foel Eryr...... 104

915 Walking in Pembrokshire.indd 5 19/10/2017 12:25 Walk 20 Foel Cwmcerwyn ...... 106 Walk 21 Carn Menyn and the ‘Bluestones’...... 110 Walk 22 Foeldrygarn...... 115

WALKS AROUND THE DAUGLEDDAU...... 119 Walk 23 Cresswell Quay and Lawrenny ...... 120 Walk 24 Landshipping Quay...... 126 Walk 25 Little Milford Wood and the Western Cleddau...... 131 Walk 26 Minwear Wood...... 136 Walk 27 Blackpool Mill and Slebech Church ...... 140

RIVERS, WOODLAND AND A LAKE...... 145 Walk 28 Carew Castle and Mill...... 146 Walk 29 Kilgetty...... 150 Walk 30 Canaston Wood ...... 154 Walk 31 Llawhaden ...... 159 Walk 32 Great Treffgarne Mountain ...... 165 Walk 33 Treffgarne Gorge...... 169 Walk 34 Llys-y-frân Reservoir...... 174 Walk 35 Ffynone Falls and the Dulas Valley ...... 178 Walk 36 Cwm Gwaun...... 182 Walk 37 Coed Pontfaen...... 186 Walk 38 Mynydd Caregog and Carn Ingli...... 189 Walk 39 Pentre Ifan Nature Reserve ...... 194 Walk 40 Cilgerran and the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve...... 198

Appendix A Route summary table...... 203 Appendix B Useful information...... 206

Route symbols on OS map extracts Features on the overview map (for OS legend see printed OS maps) County/Unitary boundary route National Park alternative route eg Pembrokeshire Coast

start/finish point 800m 600m alternative start point 400m 200m route direction 75m 0m

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N A

H C

S ’ E G R O E G

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2h Overview map

Cardigan Strumble + du Head ) * cp Goodwick A487 ct Fishguard PEMBROKESHIRE & cq cs COAST ( cr % , bm Crymych $ A40 - Cynwyl St David’s A487 bu Head # Elfed St David’s cmcn !9 co A478

St Brides Bay . A40 Haverfordwest cu Narberth bqbr A4066 8 A4076 bp bo 7 A477 Milford 1 bn A4075 6 Haven bt Pendine bs Carmarthen 5 A4139 Bay Pembroke 2 Tenby 4 3 St Govan’s Location of walks Head

Updates to this Guide While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone. co.uk/915/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal LA9 7RL, United Kingdom. Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.

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The hillside below Holgan Fort is covered in gorse (Walk 31)

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INTRODUCTION

The view across Cwm-yr-Eglwys bay (Walk 17)

Like the Finisterre of Galicia and the and sea stand in hoary confrontation, Land’s End of England, Pembrokeshire with bastions of craggy cliffs pushed (or Pen-fro) has the same meaning for back behind sweeping bays, and the Welsh, ‘the end of the land’. The innumerable tiny coves separated by southwestern-most tip of Wales, it defiant promontories. presents a similar outline to the open But not everywhere is the demar- seas as its more southerly namesakes, cation clear. Tidal estuaries and twist- with ragged peninsulas reaching out ing rivers penetrate deep into the towards the setting sun. Settled in the heartland, where steep-sided valleys earliest times, these drawn-out strips and sloping woodlands climb to a of habitation share other things too: gently undulating plateau. The coun- the roots of their Celtic culture, vividly tryside is chequered with a myriad of portrayed in the enigmatic remains of small fields and enclosures bound by ancient settlements and sacred sites; herb-rich boundaries of stone, earth the commonality of native language and hedge. Even higher ground rises and a passion for storytelling, legend in the north, not true mountains per- and song. Pembrokeshire is a place haps in the expected sense, but bold, of great dramatic beauty, where land rolling, moorland hills from whose

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detached elevations the panorama standing stones, while clues to the extends far beyond the confines of the past can also be found in the very county’s borders. names of places and landscape features. Until the beginning of the last THE LEGACY OF THE PAST century, Pembrokeshire was less Today, much of Pembrokeshire basks ‘land’s end’ and more ‘gateway’, not in rural tranquillity with few major on the periphery but rather at the roads or large towns, yet it proudly hub. Before the coming of the rail- boasts a city, the smallest in the land, ways it was a maritime land, con- which grew around the memory of nected by sea routes to Britain’s great David, the patron saint of Wales. ports, Ireland, northwest Europe and Predominantly, however, the county far beyond. Despite the dangers and is a landscape of small villages and vagaries of the sea, its unpredictable scattered farming settlements, their weather and rudimentary naviga- history often told in ancient churches, tion, travel by boat around the coasts ruined castles and the relics of aban- was relatively commonplace, and for doned industry and transport. Even bulky or weighty cargoes it was the more ancient are the remnants of only economically practical means prehistoric earthworks and enigmatic of transport. This allowed the exploitation of Pembrokeshire’s natural resources such as slate, stone and coal, as well as its rich farming land, and many landings and coves around the coast and along the tidal inlets were once hives of industrial activity. Over five thousand years ago there was an established trade with Ireland, bringing precious gold and copper from the Wicklow Mountains to the main centres of Bronze Age civilisa- tion in southern Britain on Salisbury Plain. For the Celts, too, the sea was a highway, encouraging migration, the spread of ideas and the exchange of artefacts and produce. After the Romans left Britain, Christendom established itself along those very same St John’s Church at Slebech (Walk 27) routes and Pembrokeshire assumed an importance comparable with other

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notable devotional centres around the strengthening of coastal fortifications, land, such as Iona off Mull and Holy most spectacularly around the vast Island off the Northumberland coast. inlet of Milford Haven, where naval Indeed, St David’s headland is one of dockyards exploited one of the world’s the places from which it is claimed that finest natural harbours, and which St Patrick embarked on his Christian Nelson considered second only to mission to Ireland in ad432, and by Trincomalee in present-day Sri Lanka. the early centuries of the second mil- The 19th-century heralded a lennium, such had become its impor- period of massive and fluctuating tance that two or three pilgrimages to change. The industrial upsurge else- St David’s had the same spiritual stand- where in Britain created a seemingly ing as a journey to Rome or Jerusalem. insatiable demand for raw materials, The Vikings were less welcome which immediately provoked a dra- visitors, but the Welsh never lost the matic upsurge in quarrying and min- thread of their independent culture, ing right around the coast. But hard even with the later settlement in at on its heels came the development least part of Pembrokeshire by the of the railways and the advantage of Normans. Under them, important trad- coastal access rapidly diminished in ing ports developed such as Tenby and favour of places served by the new Pembroke, protected by great castles arteries. Quarries such as Porthgain that sought both to establish author- and the coal mines of the upper ity over the land and define a fron- Daugleddau quickly boomed but then tier line of defence. Political quarrels declined, unable to compete with the with Spain and, later, France saw the previously unimaginable speed, ease

Manorbier Castle (Walk 2)

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and low costs of rail transport. But, to the Haven terminals, surrounded by while much of this corner of Wales a new generation of developing light was ignored, the early railways found and high tech industries. in Pembrokeshire the quickest route from London to the western seaboard. It created a link from the first land- THE NATIONAL PARK fall with suitable harbour facilities Remaining quiet and unhurried, for Irish and transatlantic shipping, Pembrokeshire is largely uncrowded whereby passengers, mail and cargo by either residents or visitors, and has could reach London in the shortest been spared much of the adverse con- possible time. sequence of the urban and industrial Under the engineering genius of developments of recent decades. The Isambard Kingdom Brunel, new ports unspoilt magnificence of its coastline, were built at Neyland and Goodwick. almost 200 miles (320km) of cliffs, But even here the hoped-for pros- bays, beaches and inlets, was recog- perity was short-lived, an economic nised in its unique designation as a disappointment repeated during the coastal national park in 1952. Only latter part of the 20th century when the industrial areas lining the Haven, the oil industry’s ambitions for the and a short stretch abutting the Irish development of the Haven declined. ferry terminal at Goodwick, were Yet the people of Pembroke are noth- excepted. Many of Pembrokeshire’s ing if not resilient; liquefied natural other areas of outstanding beauty gas now rivals oil as the main import and important natural habitat were

Forest covers the lower slopes of Foel Cwmcerwyn (Walk 20)

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incorporated too: the Preseli Hills, almost the whole geological history the Gwaun Valley and the higher tidal of the coast is revealed from the very reaches of the Daugleddau. But out- earliest pre-Cambrian rocks exposed side the park boundaries the coun- around St David’s to the sand dunes tryside is not to be ignored either, and shingle banks still in the process for there is an abundance of natural of creation today. woodland, hidden valleys and pleas- For the most part undisturbed ant riverside to explore. by large settlement, wildlife of one kind or another is an ever-present distraction. Wildflowers carpet the PEMBROKESHIRE’S COAST coastal fringe, and animals such as For the rambler, Pembrokeshire is badgers, foxes and rabbits are com- nothing short of pure delight. Long- monplace. There are plenty of other distance walkers will already know it for its Stackpole Head (Walk 4) 180-mile (290km) Coastal Footpath, arguably one of the finest routes in Britain. But its ready accessibility and serpentine geography ideally suit it for those with more modest ambitions too, and many of the most beautiful and dramatic sections provide splendid part- or full-day excur- sions. From a gentle 1-mile stroll to a more challeng- ing 12-mile hike, there is something for everyone in walks that follow the tops of precipitous cliffs or delve into secluded sandy coves. Examples of just about every type of coastal feature are explored, from cavernous blowholes to natural bridges, from soli- tary stacks to evidence of glacial erosion. Indeed,

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small mammals too, while adders really lucky, perhaps a minke or orca and lizards can occasionally be found whale. sunning themselves on the rocks. These are food for the many preda- tory birds that patrol the cliffs; kestrels AN UNSPOILT HINTERLAND and buzzards hover and wheel in the Away from the coast the walking is sky, and the peregrine falcon is once equally fine and there is just as much again nesting at sites along the coast. to see. Bold in profile and totally Chough and raven are everywhere, unspoilt, the Preseli Hills impart a as is the ubiquitous pigeon, but it is wonderful sense of remoteness. Yet the seabirds that understandably com- they are easily reached and on a fine mand the greatest attention. In spring day offer relaxed walking that is hard to and early summer during the breed- beat. The views extend from one end of ing and feeding season, inaccessible Wales to the other, and the mountains cliffs around the coast – as well as of Ireland can be visible across the sea. the offshore islands such as Ramsey, Although lacking the rugged summits Skomer, Skokholm and Grassholm – of Snowdonia or the English Lakeland attract countless birds. Umpteen spe- hills, the tops are broken by enigmatic cies, both resident and visiting, can craggy outcrops, jumbled heaps of be seen, and include gannet, fulmar, fractured rock that when half hidden Manx shearwater, storm petrel, shag, by tendrils of swirling mist would not cormorant, kittiwake, tern, guillemot, appear out of place in some alien plan- puffin and, of course, the razorbill, etary landscape. More mystery and which the national park has adopted conjecture is evoked by the numerous as its emblem. burial mounds, earthworks and cairns The cliffs are a superb vantage that litter the slopes, vestiges of civili- point for watching Atlantic grey seals, sations that spanned 3000 years, from which appear at many places along the time when the pyramids were built Pembrokeshire’s coast throughout the in Egypt until the Romans arrived in year. They are most numerous during Britain in ad43. late spring and early autumn, when Less well known – but equally large numbers arrive to give birth to fascinating – the tidal reaches of the their pups. The rocky beaches of tiny Daugleddau have their own special isolated coves or the dark recesses of magic. An abundance of birdlife is sea caves serve as nurseries, which attracted by the rich mudflats exposed echo to the melancholy cries of the at low water, with many birds arriving white pups awaiting their mothers’ to overwinter in the relative shelter of return. You might also see some of the the estuary. Ancient oak woods cloak coast’s less-common visitors such as the valley slopes and harbour a lavish porpoises or dolphins and, if you are variety of flowers almost throughout

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the year. Largely deserted today, Above the tidal limit, the woodland conceals clues to the Pembrokeshire’s rivers run fast and industrial and social history of the clear, often through narrow gorges settlements that sprang up along the where man’s only exploitation has river’s banks. been to manage the centuries-old The waterway once teemed with woodland cloaking the steep slopes. barges and small boats, a trading With a wealth of native species such route from the heart of the county to as birch, ash, holly, hazel and oak, the open sea. But the area was busy their continuity has been preserved by in its own right too, for just below the coppicing, selective felling and natural surface are extensive coalfields that regeneration. Relatively undisturbed were exploited from as early as the by human activity and providing shel- 16th century. Many of the seams are ter and food, these are havens for all of high-quality anthracite that was manner of wildlife. Blackbird, wren, exported as far afield as Singapore, chiffchaff, nuthatch, chaffinch, gold- but although the industry persisted finch, blue and great tits, and green into the last century there is hardly and spotted woodpeckers are just some any trace left today. Overgrown dells of the birds you might see. Squirrels and abandoned trackways, or rotting and small rodents scurry about and piers backed by a handful of cottages foxes and badgers are fairly common, are now almost the only visible evi- although you need to be there at dusk dence of a once thriving industry. to catch sight of Mr Brock.

The Eastern Cleddau below Minwear Wood (Walk 26)

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Gorse covers the hillside above Pwllgwaelod (Walk 17)

Ancient woodland is to be found year. Bramble, gorse, heather, hazel, elsewhere too, perhaps most nota- blackthorn and honeysuckle abound, bly in the north at Pentre Ifan and and there is an almost continuous Ty Canol, areas noted for the ferns succession of flowers sprouting from and lichens that grow in abundance the crevices and beneath the bushes. among the hillside boulders and upon Violet, primrose, lesser celandine, the trunks of the trees. Although rivers bluebell, campion, wood anemone, and streams are plentiful, there are no herb robert, foxglove, tormentil, significant natural lakes in the county. stitchwort and the ever-present pars- However, since its opening in 1972, leys; the list is almost endless. the Llys-y-frân Reservoir has established itself as a splendid substitute, attracting an ever growing diversity THINGS TO TAKE ALONG of wildlife as well as providing a fine Whether following the coast, wander- recreational facility while also meet- ing the hills or exploring the valleys ing the water supply needs of the area. and woods, the walking everywhere One of the great delights in wan- is superb and will invariably reveal dering through Pembrokeshire is to something unexpected along the way. savour its quiet, narrow lanes. The Unless you really are an expert it is a herbal splendour found along the cliff good idea to take along pocket flower paths and in the woods is repeated and bird field guides, and a small pair here and the banks and hedges are of binoculars will prove invaluable, packed with interest throughout the especially along the coast.

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GETTING THERE that some routes operate a reduced Pembrokeshire is easily accessible service from October until the end of by road and, in some cases, rail, April. with national services running to Tenby, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Haverfordwest, Fishguard and TERRRAIN AND WEATHER Cardigan. The nearest airports serving Nowhere is the walking overly the region are Cardiff, Birmingham demanding, but be aware that, par- and Liverpool, where you can hire a ticularly along some sections of the car. Accommodation (whether it be coast, paths can make successive camping, bed & breakfast or hotels), steep climbs and descents, which can restaurants, cafés and pubs through- be tiring if you are unused to strenu- out the region are generally welcom- ous routes. The Pembrokeshire cli- ing and of a high standard, providing mate is generally mild, and even the good value for money. middle of winter can produce delightful days when the shining sun warms the air. But snow does lie from time to GETTING AROUND time on the Preseli Hills, and mist and Pembrokeshire’s roads are generally cloud can cause navigational difficul- quiet and parking is rarely a prob- ties there for the inexperienced. Wind lem, but where there is no formal and rain may occur at any time but, car park, please ensure your vehicle providing you are equipped with suit- is not causing an obstruction. All the able weatherproof clothing, need not main access points along the coast spoil your enjoyment. However, take are served by excellent bus services, care, especially along the cliffs, which with other routes extending into the are sometimes slippery underfoot and Preseli Hills and the Gwaun Valley. where unexpected gusts can force The walks described in this collec- you off balance. Walking boots offer tion are all circular, but local transport the best protection for your ankles offers the possibility of turning some on rough ground, and gaiters help to of them into shorter one-way routes. keep your feet dry. As with all country Please use the buses where you can, walking, paths may be muddy during as this will help sustain the case for and after wet weather, and lush sum- further improvements and keep the mer vegetation often makes trousers lanes enjoyable for walkers, cyclists more appropriate than shorts. and horse riders. Timetables and information are available at local Tourist Information Centres and from the TIDES Greenways website (see the informa- On some of the walks you need to tion section in Appendix B), but note be aware of how the tide will run

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during the course of the day. Beaches USING THIS GUIDE may have coves that are cut off as the This collection of walks includes tide rises, and if you venture down something for everyone, from novices you need to keep an eye open as the to experienced ramblers. None of the water comes in. However, three walks walks demand technical skill and, in exploring the upper reaches of the good weather, pose few navigational Daugleddau are affected too: from problems. However, when venturing Cresswell Quay, Landshipping Quay onto the higher ground of the Preseli and Little Milford Wood. Details of Hills, competence in the use of map the sections affected are given within and compass is important, particularly the appropriate chapters, and you can in poor weather. Pembrokeshire’s net- get information on tide times from work of public footpaths and tracks local Tourist Information Centres or is extensive and signposts and way- by consulting the national park’s free marks are generally well positioned to newspaper Coast to Coast. confirm the route. However, on farm and moorland away from the coast, the line of the A CHANGING COUNTRYSIDE path on the ground might not always Inevitably, nothing is static; the line be obvious. It is therefore recom- of a footpath may change, forest mended that, in addition to the route areas are felled and replanted, signs description and map extracts within the may alter and, even in the coun- book (taken from the Ordnance Survey tryside, there can be development. 1:50,000 Landranger series), you also Over the years rangers from both consult the relevant Ordnance Survey Pembrokeshire’s national park and Explorer Outdoor Leisure map. These County Council have performed ster- are produced at a scale of 1:25,000, ling work in improving the network of and show the terrain in greater detail, paths and tracks; replacing stiles with including field boundaries. gates, installing bridges, re-opening Each walk is headed with key lost routes and tackling the never- facts that provide essential informa- ending cycle of vegetation control. tion about the walk, including the However, should you encounter a distance and approximate time as problem, please help by reporting it to well as details of useful facilities such the relevant organisation. You will find as refreshments, toilets and parking. contact details in Appendix B. More general information about the area can be found in Appendix B.

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WALKS ALONG THE COAST

Cliff erosion leaves spectacular stacks (Walk 4)

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WALK 1 Amroth and Pleasant Valley

Start/finish Amroth (SN 162 071) Distance 4½ miles (7.2km) Total ascent 800ft (245m) Time 2¼hr Terrain Generally good paths and tracks with some steeper climbs and descents Maps Explorer OL36 South Pembrokeshire Refreshments Pubs in Amroth and at Wiseman’s Bridge, Bothy Tea Room at Colby Woodland Gardens Toilets Amroth and Wiseman’s Bridge Public transport Bus service to Amroth Parking National Park car park behind promenade

An unassuming little village at the southeast corner of Pembrokeshire’s coast, Amroth offers one of the finest holiday beaches in the area. It is also blessed with some beautiful countryside, lush semi-natural woodland that fills the several deep valleys cleaving the hills behind the coast. This area has not always had the quiet backwater appearance it presents today, for until the beginning of the 20th century, heavy industry scarred the landscape with coal mines and iron smelters. Now abandoned, Nature has drawn a veil over the dereliction, and ruined buildings have been consolidated, creating a fascinating focus for this splendid walk.

Walk from the car park onto the sea front road and turn right. Where the road shortly curves inland by toilets at the end of the promenade, abandon it for the Coast Path, which climbs steeply through the trees behind onto the headland. Emerging at the top, carry on along a narrow, bracken meadow. At a waymark, part-way along, turn out through a gate on the right. Follow a metalled track to the left, eventually joining a lane that leads downhill to the beach at

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Wiseman’s Bridge. Continue to the far end of the beach, leaving just beyond a bridge up steps to follow a narrow Wiseman’s lane into the lush woodland of Pleasant Valley. Bridge Beach

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THE COAST PATH One of Pembrokeshire’s finest assets is the 180-mile (290km) long-distance path that traces its entire coastal fringe, and each year, heavily loaded walkers are to be seen embarking from or arriving at Amroth, its southern terminus. There is a plaque commemorating the official opening in 1970 by Wynford Vaughn Thomas at the eastern end of the promenade next to a bridge spanning a stream near the county boundary at Telpyin Point. Although the path can be accomplished in either direction, starting here offers an infinitely more satisfying experience in the gradual exchange of the softer scenery of Carmarthen Bay for the savage beauties that are character- istic of the northern coast.

The undulating hills behind the coast overlie abundant carboniferous coal deposits, the source of some of the best quality anthracite to be had in the country. Much folded, the layers of black gold rise close to the surface in places and have been scratched at since the earliest times. The coal was dug from simple ‘bell’ pits and drift mines and their collapsed vestiges can still be traced in the innumerable hollows concealed by the dense woodland cover of both Pleasant Valley and Colby Valley. But it was the advent of the industrial age that brought large-scale exploitation, and the sea offered an easy and economic means of transport to the enterprise, which few inland sources could match. Deep mining for the richest seams began in earnest and horse-drawn tramways, later upgraded with the development of the steam engine, were laid to carry the coal to ships waiting at nearby Saundersfoot’s harbour. The route through Pleasant Valley follows the old tramway that ran to the coast and if you explore the Coast Path beyond Wiseman’s Bridge, you’ll pass through the tunnels that took the railway on beneath the cliffs. By the 19th century, however, the most productive reserves were becoming worked out and what remained proved increasingly

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difficult to extract because of faulting. Production declined in the face of competition from the South Wales valleys, although because of its high quality, some coal was still mined into the beginning of the 20th century.

Keep right at a fork by Tramway Cottage, then continue along the line of the tramway.4Keep to the main The tramway surfaced path, subsequently crossing the stream and transported coal eventually emerging onto a lane beside Heritage Park, and iron from a lodge development on the site of a former iron works. Stepaside’s collieries and smelt hearths The local shales also contained abundant iron ore to ships waiting deposits, and during the later part of the 19th cen- in Saundersfoot’s tury these sustained a burgeoning industry that pro- harbour. duced a high-quality pig iron. The proximity of coal suitable for the smelting process and a ready means of transport made the industry highly profitable and The Stepaside supported an ironworks with two blast furnaces. Iron Works

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The Stepaside Iron Works, whose ruins stand beside the route as it leaves Pleasant Valley, opened in 1849, and the increased traffic to the harbour at Saundersfoot justified the replacement of the horse- drawn tramway carts by steam engines. Yet, despite its success, the enterprise was relatively short-lived, and little more than 30 years later the furnaces were left to grow cold. The impressive remains of some of the buildings and ore hoppers can still be seen behind the holiday site car park.

Cross the lane into Mill House Caravan Park oppo- site, and follow its drive past the toilets and shower block. Where it then bends, walk forward between a couple of caravans to a stile at their rear. Bear left up a hillside pasture and leave through a gap in the top wall and across a drive onto a narrow lane. Follow it to the right. Having crested a low hill, the lane descends to a sharp bend by cottages. Bear left along a drive, but where that subsequently splits by a fingerpost, look over to the right for a stile. The way rises to the left on a grass trod across the shrubby flanks of Staggers Hill. Ignoring cross paths, keep going to find a stile at the top and continue at the left of a pasture to emerge onto a hedged track. Follow it right to a bend, there leaving through a kissing gate onto a tree-lined path that leads to Cwmrath Farm. Join its access track out to a lane. Go briefly right, before abandoning it for a bridleway on the left that leads down to another farm. Where the track turns into the yard, keep ahead along a narrower waymarked path which drops into a thickly wooded valley. Ignoring paths off left, wind down to a junction of tracks at the bottom. Walk ahead past a small building and over a stream to come out onto a lane. To the right (after passing the private access to Colby Lodge), turn in at the entrance of Colby Woodland Gardens. Beyond the tea room and ticket office, the track meanders pleasantly along the delightful valley. Eventually reaching cottages, it emerges onto a lane that leads back down to the car park in Amroth.

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WEALTHY LANDOWNER’S RETREAT During the 18th and 19th centuries, the coal and iron industries brought considerable employment to the area. They also made a lot of money for the owners, one of whom, John Colby, bought land in the valley behind Amroth in 1787. However, it was not only the mineral wealth that attracted him, for he was also impressed by the natural loveliness of the valley itself, and in the early 19th century began the construction of a mansion, Colby Lodge. Half a century later a Lancashire man, Samuel Kay, bought the estate, and with the help of his plant-collecting brother created a magnificent exotic woodland on the valley slopes around the big house, together with an enchanting walled garden. The meadows, woodland and walled garden were subsequently given to the National Trust and are open to the public.

Colby walled garden

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