Weatherman Walking Newport to Fishguard NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE DINAS HEAD 5 THE OLD LIFE CWM YR BOAT STATION EGLWYS 4 2 PWLLGWAELOD 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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 2 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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 Wales Coast Path website for more (13 if you include Newport Sands (fee). runs between Newport and Fishguard information and path diversions Starting Ref: Dinas Island) 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 WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 3 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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 Wales Coast Path and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. 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 Nevern (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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 4 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 5 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 6 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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.” WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 7 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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 Brynach’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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 8 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 9 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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. WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 10 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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!” WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 11 NEWPORT TO FISHGUARD, NORTH PEMBROKESHIRE 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.