Weatherman Walking

Newport to NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH

DINAS HEAD 5 THE OLD LIFE CWM YR BOAT STATION EGLWYS 4 2

PARROG 6 1

FISHGUARD FORT

FISHGUARD BAY 8 RESORT 7 CAT ROCK 3

FISHGUARD LOWER TOWN HARBOUR 9

1 Points of interest

Start

Finish

Route

The Weatherman Walking maps are intended as a guide The BBC takes no responsibility for any accident or injury Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf to help you walk the route. We recommend using an that may occur while following the route. Always wear of HMSO. © Crown copyright and database right 2009. OS map of the area in conjunction with this guide. appropriate clothing and footwear and check weather All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number APPROXIMATE DISTANCE: Routes and conditions may have changed since this conditions before heading out. 100019855. guide was written. 10 MILES FISHGUARD HARBOUR

For this walk we’ve included OS grid references should you wish to use them.

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This is a stunning walk that combines pretty coves and small beaches, stunning views, and several points of interest. There are also places to stop off along the way for refreshment at Cwm Yr Eglwys and Pwllgwaelod. Sunset at Pwllgwaelod

Start: Distance: Parking: Travel information: Further information: Parrog Approx. 10 miles There is public parking at Parrog or The ‘Poppit Rocket’ 405/T5 bus Visit Coast Path website for more (13 if you include Newport Sands (fee). runs between Newport and Fishguard information and path diversions Starting Ref: ) There is also parking next to the Quay in with a limited service in the winter. www.walescoastpath.gov.uk/plan-your-visit SN 05141 39624 Lower Town, Fishguard (fee). For more information, go to: Grade: www. pembrokeshire.gov.uk/bus- Walk time: Moderate routes- and- timetables/bus-routes-list- 4-5 hours coastal-buses

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Directions We’re starting this walk at the Parrog, Newport’s old harbour. There is a spacious car park with public toilets and a pub and café. The route is along both the and the .

The Parrog The Parrog

(SN 05141 39624) PARROG Parrog Newport was founded by the Normans in the 12th century, and its harbour, an easy mile’s walk from the village 1 centre, became a busy port for the wool trade. Parrog and the mile-long beach at Newport Sands are separated by the estuary and the River (Nyfer in Welsh). Many of the houses on the waterfront date to the end of the 19th century, when fine sailing ships were built or docked here. Some of these ships have been recorded as taking early settlers to North America. In the harbour’s heyday, many of the houses would have been public houses and rum houses that only opened when ships were docked.

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Directions Follow the seafront walk in front of the houses. At low The Old Lifeboat water, the path cuts across the beach for a small section, Station but there is an alternative high-tide route with steps behind some of the houses.

There’s then a fairly gentle section with some shallow steps. The slopes can be slippery and difficult when wet. Some of the bays below the cliff were sea quarries for the slate walling stone that was used in Newport.

The path leads to a small cove and the Old Life Boat Station. THE OLD LIFE The Old Life Boat Station (SN 04491 39744) BOAT STATION The Old Lifeboat Station at Y Cwm, Parrog, was built in 1884 to house the Newport lifeboat 2 ‘Clevedon’. The building was abandoned in 1895, after 11 years of use, partly due to the difficulty of launching the lifeboat at certain tides.

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Directions From here, there’s a fairly steep stoney path up onto Headland view the headland where views of the sea and the estuary open out.

There is also a clear view of a rocky outcrop called Cat Rock and on to Dinas Island beyond.

Derek and Warren Kovach next to St Seiriol s Well

(SN 04387 39878) CAT ROCK Headland over looking Cat Rock At the top of the headland is a good viewing spot overlooking a rocky island called Cat Rock. 3 Locals believe it got its name from its somewhat feline shape.

It’s a stunning spot with cascading water flowing from the clifftop into the sea and is one of the many good spots for wildlife spotting. If you are lucky, you might see razorbills, guillemots, and seals. These coves were often used by smugglers.

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William Owen – The Smuggler Derek says, “I met up with Pembrokeshire Ranger Richard Vaughan, who told me the story of one of Wales’ most famous smugglers, William Owen, who was born at nearby Nevern in 1717 and was the son of a wealthy farmer.

He led a very colourful life on the high seas, smuggled brandy, sugar, and tobacco, but it was not without bloodshed, and he was hanged in Carmarthen Gaol after a shooting incident. He was just 30. Owen’s fame lived on as he wrote his autobiography while awaiting his execution. It was bought by the National Library of Wales.”

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Directions Heading on, the path follows the clifftop, so you have to be careful in wet or windy weather as it’s pretty close to the edge. There are steep drops to pretty bays, which then rise to nearly level clifftop sections.

It passes Aber Fforest Beach, a small quiet beach backed by a pebble bank with an old lime kiln on the shore. The path then goes up a wooden Cwm yr Eglwys lane and leads onto Soar Hill, a steep, tarmacked road with Cwm yr Eglwys no pavements, leading down to the hamlet of Cwm yr Eglwys at the bottom. CWM YR Cwm yr Eglwys (SN 01462 40060) EGLWYS The hamlet’s name translates as ‘The Valley of the Church’, and it’s the remains of the old 4 sailors’ chapel and graveyard, right on the seafront, that give it its identity. Today the single west wall and lonely bell tower are all that remain of St ’s, built in the 12th century and largely destroyed by nature.

In 1859 there was a great storm that battered this coastline. It lasted an entire week, and 114 ships were wrecked, with the loss of some 500 lives. The hamlet has a large car park, toilets, and a pub.

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Directions There are two very different National Trail routes between Cwm-yr-Eglwys and the next Dinas Head View village, Pwllgwaelod.

For those who want a longer and more physically taxing route head towards the public toilets and follow the path marking the route to the right, via Dinas Island. This route is open cliff with Sheep grazing a steep ascent of 400 feet back down to sea level, via Dinas Head (owned by the National Trust). (SN 00554 41136) DINAS HEAD Dinas Head Heading up, you’ll pass over rocks where seabirds breed in early summer. The summit at the 5 northern tip of Dinas Island is 465ft above sea level at Pen y Fan. There’s an Ordnance Survey Trigonometry Station (OS trig point) here.

There are outstanding views of the coast, both east and west. Sheep and cattle graze parts of this section. In very wet weather, the rock section can become very muddy, use the marked permissive alternative.

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Directions For those wanting a shorter and low-level route, again head for the public toilets at Cwm yr Eglwys and take the left-hand fork at the waymark. Having crossed a small caravan park, the path leads along a 0.6-mile wheel-chair friendly route of swampy marshland and a small stream that separates Dinas Island from the mainland. Pwllgwaelod It passes some magical-looking woodland of hawthorn and hazel. Both Pwllgwaelod (SN 00483 39931) PWLLGWAELOD routes emerge at the hamlet This small hamlet is based around a sheltered bay with a small, sandy beach. Next to the of Pwllgwaelod. 6 beach is an old pub, now a bar/restaurant called the Old Sailors, known to have been visited by Dylan Thomas. It was once called the Sailors Safety, and it supposedly dates from 1593, with the name referring to the light it once kept burning as a guide to ships. Pwllgwaelod was at times used as a sheltered harbour when strong winds from the east made Fishguard dangerous.

There is a medium-sized three-quarter lime kiln by the beach, used for converting the limestone brought in by boat to quicklime.

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Getting ready to kayak with my instructors Libby and Ant

Kayaking Derek says, “While I was at Pwllgwaelod, I had a go at sea kayaking. The weather was a bit choppy, and it was pretty hard going at first, but when we got past the breakers, it was wonderful and so exhilarating.

I managed to stay in the kayak right until I was almost back to shore. A wave caught me from behind, and I was tipped in. But actually it was really refreshing, and I felt I had the whole experience!”

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Directions From the hamlet, there is a bit of a scramble up Derek with site owner a rocky cliff, followed by a fairly tough section of Mark Whitehouse in steep descents to the bays alternating with climbs to front of a glamping pod the nearly-level clifftop. Sheep and horses graze parts of this section.

The second half of the three-mile leg has more Leaving Pwllgwaelod gentle gradients. This is the most remote section of the walk, with great views of sheer, shattered cliffs and jutting headlands.

The path then leads straight through the middle of a Sheep on the footpath holiday park, Resort.

FISHGUARD Fishguard Bay Resort (SM 98295 38300) BAY RESORT The upmarket holiday park began life as a military defence post in World War II, and some of 7 the former military buildings have been incorporated into the site. There is a look-out tower, munitions bunkers, and gun turrets, along with the luxury static caravans and glamping pods.

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Hot tub with a view

A taste of luxury on the coast path Derek says, “While I was at the park, the owner, Mark Whitehouse, invited me to try out one of hot tubs, perched right on the edge of the cliffs. Now, if you haven’t tried it, I would say that’s something to put on your bucket list! You know I could have been tempted to stay there all day if the rest of the walk hadn’t been beckoning me.”

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Directions Leaving the site, there’s quite a wild though short section with heather and gorse on rough outcrops. There are some fairly steep steps that test the leg muscles. Horses graze parts of this section. The path passes above Needle Rock (Grid ref: SM975380), an unusual pierced stack, with Arch view of the sea an arch in the base. The best views are slightly to seaward of the coast path. Fishguard Fort About a mile on, you emerge Rugged cliffs next to the remains of the 18th-century Fishguard Fort, FISHGUARD Fishguard Fort (SM 96212 37808) positioned on this headland FORT for its panoramic views across The 18th-century fortification was built after an American privateer, nicknamed ‘The Black the harbour. Turn right and 8 Prince’, captured a local ship in 1779 and demanded a ransom of £1,000 from the townspeople head through the stone arch of Fishguard. He’d been commissioned by the US government to attack British targets as part for a closer look. of their efforts to gain independence from Britain. Locals didn’t buckle, so the Black Prince bombarded the town, damaging the church and several houses. Fishguard went on the attack, firing back from a ship and a cannon on the shore and the Black Prince turned tail.

To prevent such an attack from happening again, the fort was built here and completed within two years. It originally had nine cannons. There is no charge for visiting the fort.

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Fort waymark

Jemima the Great Derek says, “When I was at the Fort, I also heard about the last invasion of Britain, which took place here in Fishguard. It happened in 1797. Napoleon’s main forces were fighting in Europe, but a ragtag group of ‘irregulars,’ mainly freshly released convicts and ex-royalists, were corralled into duty to invade Britain on the French Emperor’s command. The plan was for the 1,400 French soldiers to land quietly in west Wales and then make their way to Bristol and on to London. But a shoemaker called Jemima Nicholas took them on and won. She rounded up all the local women and got them to dress in their traditional Welsh costumes, so they looked like British soldiers. And Jemima single-handedly rounded up a dozen of the French troops, armed only with a pitchfork. She managed to get them all inside the local church – St Mary’s – and trapped them. Jemima and her ‘army’ forced the would-be invaders to surrender, and the documents were signed at the Royal Oak pub in the town. What a story!”

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Directions Leaving the Fort head back along the path, then continue Lower Town Harbour straight on. Just before the small car park off the A487, the coast path heads down to the right through woodland. There are occasional stunning views of Fishguard Bay and the ferries which travel between Fishguard () and Ireland.

The path drops into Fishguard Lower Town, Leaving the fort hitting the fork in the road, turn right and follow on round to get to the old quay.

FISHGUARD (SM 96273 37211) LOWER TOWN Fishguard Lower Town Harbour HARBOUR The town of Fishguard crowns the summit of a hill commanding beautiful marine views of both 9 harbours and distant views northeasterly past Dinas Head to at the Northern extremity of Pembrokeshire, which marks the entrance into the Teifi Estuary, leading to the town of Cardigan.

Lower Town Harbour is by far the older of the town’s two harbours. The building of the harbour began in 1894 and was completed 1906 for the Irish ferry trade. In 1907 the transatlantic trade to New York was launched via the luxury liner RMS Mauretania.

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Derek overlooking Fishguard

End of the Walk Derek says, “This was a fairly tough walk but well worth every step. When I did it, I had very mixed weather, and it could be a bit slippery underfoot, so make sure you are wearing the right clothes as you are, at times, very near the edge of the headland.

It’s quite a long walk, but there is so much to see along the way that it goes very quickly and it’s worth building in extra time to stop off at places like Cmy yr Eglwys and Fishguard Fort.”

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