The walk from Whitesands to St David’s Head was our first taste of the famed Pembrokeshire Coast and gave us so much more than we could have hoped for. From ancient stones to volcanic headland, and grazing ponies to panoramic views, for such a short walk (6km total) it was packed with interest.
At the start of June, as my sister lives in Haverfordwest, we combined a long-overdue visit to her with an equally overdue taste of this magnificent part of Wales. Pitching our tent at a local site, we headed out to Whitesands to explore one of the most westerly points of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The start of the route
The walk from Whitesands to St David’s Head begins on the coastal path alongside Whitesands beach. There’s a large car park at the end of the road (£6 for the day) where you’ll also find a café/shop and toilets (an outrageous 40p to use).
Walking towards the beach which is popular with surfers, canoeists and body boarders, go through the small gap in the wall on the right-hand side of the road to access the coastal path. From here, just follow the sandy path slope which leads to the start of the coastal path.
The path is easy to follow, just stick to the coastline as it climbs to the crest of a hill with the craggy tor of Carn Llidi on your right and then descend a valley to cross a small brook above the sandy cove of Porth Melgan. Continue hugging the coastline to cross a bridge over a stream.
From here, you can either turn right (NE) up the valley before circling back to St David’s Head as the National Trust Coastal Walk suggests, or continue west, as we did, to explore St David’s Head first.
St David’s Head
Forged from volcanic rock 500 million years ago, indistinct trails tapestry the head, allowing you to scramble across rocks and find a place to sit and ponder the islands off the coast ahead of you. Ramsey island is the nearest, with Bishops and Clerks a few miles out to sea beyond. This is also one of the sunniest spots in Wales so if you’re going to find sun, this is the place to be.
Coetan Arthur
After exploring the headland and enjoying the sun, we headed back to the coastal path and continued to follow it around the headland, ascending the valley towards the peak of Carn Llidi.
Ahead, we could see the distinctive raised boulder of Coetan Arthur which was surrounded by Welsh mountain ponies that completely ignored us, continuing to graze the gorse and scratch their behinds on the ancient rocks. A neolithic burial chamber dating from 4000BC, the six-metre-wide ‘capstone’ of Coetan Arthur rests on a large, upright slab at one end with the other end on the ground, inviting you to enter the chamber beneath. It’s exactly the sort of natural monument you would hope to see in this ancient and magical Celtic landscape.
The return to Whitesands.
Keeping Coetan Arthur on our left, we could see a path dissecting the summit of Carn Llidi and decided to head for it, threading our way through the dense moor grass. The path skirted south around the base of the tor and took us through Upper Porthmawr along honeysuckle- and foxglove-lined lanes to join the road just above the car park.
After a packed lunch at the beach and a delicious Welsh ice cream at the car park cafe, we headed to Britain’s smallest city, St David’s, to visit the Cathedral (watch this space).
