Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
The area was deemed a national park in 1952 and consists of the moorlands of the Preseli Hills in the north, the marsh flats of the Daugleddau Estuary around Haverfordwest, the offshore islands and the 180 miles of beautiful coastline stretching from near Cardigan in the Northwest, around St David’s and St Brides Bay and as far as Tenby in Carmarthen Bay in the Southeast.
The Preseli Hills in the North can be see for miles around this flat peninsula and are rich in mythical connections and archaeological interest. It was here that the entrance to the Celtic underworld of Annan was believed to be and it was from here that the Bluestones at Stonehenge were quarried, dragged to the coast and then ferried across the Bristol Channel to be taken to Salisbury Plain. Here also are the remains of one of the finest Neolithic Burial chambers in Britain, Pentre Ifan, which is best seen as the sun sets over the not so distant shores.
Along much of the coast runs the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path along the cliff tops running from the south from Amroth 186 miles to Poppit Sands in the north. Though few people would want to do it all, the path passes by some of the best part of the coastline. In the Southern end it passes the broad sandy beaches and more tourist heavy areas of Sandersfoot, Tenby and Manorbier Castle to the tiny early Christian ruin of St Govan’s Chapel and the impressive Stack Rocks. The coastal path outlines the whole of St Brides Bay a popular spot for surfers and wind surfers from the seabird breeding site and grey seal colony of Skomer Island, past the pretty coastal inlet of Solva to St David’s, the site church of the patron saint and the most important cathedral in Wales . From here the northern section drops away from the main road and is arguably the least disturbed with the occasional sandy cove nestled within the steep cliffs.
