Ceibwr Bay

Set expectations first: Ceibwr is a shingle-and-rock inlet, not a beach. There's no sand to speak of at any state of the tide, no facilities, and a small National Trust parking area at the end of a narrow lane down from Moylegrove. People come for the coastline, which on this stretch is as dramatic as anywhere in Wales — cliffs of contorted, near-vertical strata, sea caves, and a colony of grey seals that pup in the coves in autumn.

The walk south-west along the Coast Path is the main event. Twenty minutes or so brings you to Pwll y Wrach, the Witches' Cauldron: a collapsed sea cave that's now a deep circular blowhole connected to the sea by a natural arch. You look down into it from the path. Guided coasteering groups swim through the arch, but this is not a place to freelance — the cliffs are unfenced, the drops are severe, and the water is committing.

Autumn is the best time to come, for the seal pups on the shingle beaches below the path (watch from above, keep dogs on leads and don't go down to them — disturbance kills pups). Choughs work the clifftops here too. Bring boots, take a picnic, and don't plan a beach day. If you want sand afterwards, Poppit is fifteen minutes' drive north and Newport Sands twenty minutes south.