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11 of The best Walks in Pembrokeshire

Chris Knight

Pembrokeshire National Park is a walkers delight. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, it has 186-miles of beautiful unspoiled coastline lined with arguably some of the finest coastal path in the entire world.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the time, nor stamina to walk all 186 miles of the costal path. 

To save you the deliberation of trying to narrow the choices down I have picked out some of my favourite and what I would argue to be the best walks in Pembrokeshire.

these 11 walks encompass some of the finest coastal views and visit some of most spectacular coastal features that the national park has to offer. I can guarantee that no matter which walk you select you wont be disappointed, and if by some chance you are, you need to have your eye sight checked.

As the Pembrokeshire costal path is unbroken, all of these walks can be extended by continuing along the coastline. In fact you could even combine two or more of these walks create one terrific day out. So fill up a backpack, slap on the sun cream, and don’t forget to bring a towel. 

At a Glance

  • Bosherston Lily Ponds, Broadhaven South, and Barafundle Bay

  • Porthgain to Blue Lagoon

  • Carn Ingli and Mynydd Carningli

  • Dinas Head

  • Church Door Cove to Manorbier

  • Marloes Peninsula

  • Whitesands Bay and Carn Llidi

  • St Davids Peninsula

  • Green Bridge of Wales to St Govan’s Chapel

  • Strumble Head

  • Foel Cwmcerwyn

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Bosherston Lily ponds, Broadhaven South, and Barafundle Bay

One of my favourite walks on the peninsula, its one which encompasses two of Pembrokeshire finest beautiful golden sanded beaches, dramatic coastal cliffs, and an enchanting walk through the magical Bosherston lily ponds.

You can either start this walk from Stackpole Quay or Bosherston, where there is a National Trust car park at both locations.

My choice would be to start at Stackpole and complete it anti-clockwise, so you can get the uninspiring section out of the way first and finish up at Barafundle bay.

I have written a specific guide to the walk in a separate blog post which you can find below.

BOSHERSTON LILY PONDS, BROADHAVEN SOUTH, & BARAFUNDLE BAY WALK GUIDE

Key Information

  • Hike Type: Loop

  • Length: 10k / 6 miles

  • Elevation Gain: 156m

  • Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

  • Duration: 2 -4 hours

Porthgain to Blue Lagoon

A real cracker of an out and back walk on Pembrokeshire north Coast, which was rated by The Guardian as one of the Top 10 UK walks back in 2010. The relatively flat route follows the dramatic coastal cliffs as its passes hidden beaches on the way to the magnificent Blue Lagoon.

The hike can be started at either Porthgain harbour or from the shoreline of Abereiddi beach. My recommendation would be to park at Porthgain , as you can have a swim at the mid point of your hike in Blue Lagoon and celebrate with a pint alongside fish and chips at The Shed.

I have written a specific guide to the walk in a separate blog post which you can find here - A guide to Blue Lagoon

Hike Information

Carn Ingli and Mynydd Carningli

A cracking short but punchy out and back walk in the Preseli hills to one of the best view points in Northern Pembrokeshire.

There is limited but free Parking on the roadside. From here you just cross the single-track road and head straight up the hill. The path is very direct, steep and can be rocky in places, so you may have to use your hands on occasion.

After 0.9km you will reach the rocky summit of Carn Ingli, this may require use of your hands to help get you to the top, but its not technical. From here you have terrific panoramic views over Northern Pembrokeshire, the Preseli hills, and up towards Ceredigion.

You have the option to carry on the walk for a further 700m to Mynydd Carningli. This summit is only slightly higher and doesn’t provide a much better view, so I will leave that decision up to you. To get back to your car just turn around and re-trace your steps.

Make sure you refuel down in the Golden Lion in Newport afterwards.   Because of its ease of access, location, and panoramic views, I would recommend Carn Ingli for both sunrise and sunset.

Hike Information

  • Hike Type: out and back  

  • Length: 2-3km

  • Elevation Gain: 215m

  • Difficulty: Moderate

  • Duration: ¾- 1.5  hours

  • Parking

  • OS Maps Route

 Dinas Head

A cracking short walk around the Peninsula of Dinas Head. This walk calls by two beautiful and secluded beaches and offers stunning panoramic views over both the north Pembrokeshire and Southern Ceredigion coastlines.

My suggestion would to be park at Pwllgwaelod Beach and complete the walk in a clockwise direction. Pwllgwaelod is also a great spot for sunset, so its worth timing your hike for around then.

Hike Information

Church Door Cove to Manorbier

A very scenic and varied walk which is rich in history and passes some of the geological wonders of the Pembrokeshire coastline.

Key Information

Marloes Peninsula

Explore a beautiful heathland peninsula and stop by the majestical Marloes Sands, another hidden gem of a beach nestled on the very western edge of Pembrokeshire, offering an abundance of wildlife alongside incredible views of the surrounding coastline.

Key Information

  St Davids Peninsula

A beautiful circular loop which has a little bit of everything including secluded coves, stunning beaches, dramatic coastal cliffs, a quint harbours, and lifeboat station. It also visits the iconic cathedral.

I’ve included two routes which both start and finish in the city of St David . The shorter 7km option calls by the southern section of the peninsula between Caerfai bai and Porthclais. The longer 18km option continues up around Treginnis headland to St Justinian’s and finishes at Whitesands.

If choosing the longer option you can make use of the Celtic Coaster shuttle bus to shorten the route and remove some of the in-land road walking.

Key Information

Whitesands bay and Carn Llidi

This walk visits one of the most popular beaches in Northern Pembrokeshire alongside summit one of of the highest points, Its a short but a beautiful walk which offers some of the best panoramic views in Pembrokeshire.

Hike Information

Green Bridge of Wales to St Govan’s Chapel

A magnificent 12km out and back costal walk which skirts around one of the most dramatic sections of the Pembrokeshire costal path whilst passing by several incredible coastal features. Picture the Jurassic coast but with far less people.

Key Information

Strumble Head

Another magnificent circular coastal walk on the North Pembrokeshire coastline. This route passes over an Iron age hill fort and stops by the impressive Strumble head lighthouse.

This one is quite strenuous, with nearly 500m of elevation gain and may involve using your hands in places. If you didn’t have the time or the legs to tackle the whole route, I would definitely make the gentle 500m walk to the summit of Garn Fawr from the car park. Once you've taken in the views you can then make the short drive down to Strumble lighthouse.

Key Information

Foel Cwmcerwyn

Often overlooked for Pembrokeshire’s coastline, The Preseli Hills are rich with Neolithic relics, including burial chambers and standing stones.

In fact, these wild hills are the original site of world famous Stonehenge,. Not only were the stones quarried here but theres evidence suggests they once stood in some formation here before being transported to Salisbury Plain.

The hike begins in the small village of Rosebush and immediately challenges your legs, leading you up to the top of Foel Cwmcerwyn, the highest point in the Preseli Hills. On a clear day, you have panoramic 360 degree views and might see as far as Snowdon, Lundy Island, and even the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland.

The route then joins a section of the Golden Road, believed to have been a 'trade superhighway' where gold mined in Ireland was transported to southeast England. This path takes you along a wide, grassy ridgeline before descending through the forest back to Rosebush.

I recommend ending your journey at Tafarn Sinc, a community-owned pub and one of the last sawdust-on-the-floor establishments in Wales.

Key hike information

  • Hike Type: Loop

  • Length: 8k m

  • Elevation Gain: 282m

  • Difficulty:  Moderate

  • Duration: 2-3 hours

  • Parking: Tafarn Sinc

  • OS Maps Route

  • GPX File

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I hope you found this blog post useful, If you did (or didn’t) let me know in the comments below.

If I was going to select two favourites from the list they would be Porthgain to Blue Lagoon and Bosherton lily ponds to Barafundle.

If you did find it helpful, I’d appreciate you giving it a share or giving me a follow on social media, every bit of support goes a long way.

You can find more Welsh hiking inspiration in the following blogs

For Pembrokeshire Inspiration check out he following blogs

For more travel, & photography inspiration around Wales check out my in-depth guides to each of my favourite regions below.

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