Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Solva → Newgale

Distance: 4.3 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes

Time to stop
« St Justinian's | Broad Haven »

Today I stop. I've got next week off too, but it's time to leave Pembrokeshire. I'm exhausted and it's raining hard. Staying here any longer would just be counterproductive. But I'll be back; apart from the agonising start, I've really enjoyed the week, and sneaking a peek ahead at the map there's plenty of interesting scenery ahead.

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

St Justinian's → Solva

Distance: 10.1 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes

Beginning to turn
« Trefin | Newgale »

Today was the day I turned south after five days of walking west. It was also the day the weather started to turn from overcast to downright miserable.

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Trefin → St Justinian's

Distance: 13.2 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 6 hours 20 minutes

Motoring on
« Goodwick | Solva »

Earlier in the week I made up my mind: I wouldn't go home before I'd made it to St David's Head. (Or at least, if I did have to go home I'd be sorely disappointed.) Today I made it to that target - and beyond.

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Goodwick → Trefin

Distance: 17.3 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 7 hours 45 minutes

Alone
« Pwllgwaelod | St Justinian's »

Despite scouting this walk out yesterday, and despite taking yesterday off I was very nervous about this walk. In fact, perhaps I should say "because I scouted this walk out yesterday"... what I learnt was that there are no buses for miles, and the landscape looked bleak and dangerous.

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Pwllgwaelod → Goodwick

Distance: 7.3 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes

Making up for lost time (pt 2)
« Cwm-yr-Eglwys | Trefin »

The pub at Pwllgwaelod was shut (permanently?), so my lunch plans remained focussed on my packed lunch. I ate at the caravan park at Penryhn; everything was closed, but I imagine in the tourist season it'd make a great convenience stop.

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Newport, Pembrokeshire → Cwm-yr-Eglwys

Distance: 3.1 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Making up for lost time (pt 1)
« St Dogmaels | Pwllgwaelod »

It's amazing the difference a good night makes. I was still sore, but up for a good walk. Today's plan was to complete the parts of the second stage I'd not done yesterday. One real comfort was the knowledge of regular exit paths to the main road - and its frequent bus service - just a kilometre to the south. Spending part of yesterday scouting future walks was a good move!

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Cwm-yr-Eglwys → Pwllgwaelod

Distance: 2.0 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes

Trying to recover
« Newport, Pembrokeshire | Goodwick »

Getting out of bed this morning was about as painful as shuffling into bed last night. Not a good sign. It was clear I'd not be walking the entire next stage today, but equally I wanted to get out ... this week was about completing a walk after all, and giving up on day two wouldn't exactly contribute to that goal.

Coastwalk

Cardigan → St Dogmaels

Distance: 1.5 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: unknown

The walk after the walk
« Aberporth | Newport, Pembrokeshire »

This was my second, unexpected walk of the day. From the bus stop back to the car: the walk after the walk.

I'm only adding this entry in 2009, remembering that I did complete this section but without an entry for it there would still be a gap in my record between the Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire coast paths.

And to be honest, my memory of the mile and a half along the road from Cardigan Old Bridge to where I'd parked in St Dogmaels is one of a walk of pain and suffering in the dark, wondering whether I'd continue the next day, let alone still be working my way round the island ten years later. So please excuse me for post-dating this entry to save repeating the section and going through all that pain again.

Coastwalk , Pembrokeshire Coast Path

St Dogmaels → Newport, Pembrokeshire

Distance: 15.5 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 5 hours 45 minutes

The walk that started it all
« Cardigan | Cwm-yr-Eglwys »

I've had this week booked as Annual Leave for a while now. Why then as late as yesterday did I not know what I'd spend the week doing? In the end, determined to do something constructive I decided to tackle a long-distance walk; I'd buy whichever National Trail Guide was available and head off.

So I find myself in Pembrokeshire.