The Pembrokeshire Coast Path
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs 186 miles from St Dogmaels in the north to Amroth in the south — the National Park's figure, and the one the waymarks are measured against. We hold 23 stages covering 179.0 miles, about 96% of it, with 7,770 m of ascent recorded across them. The stages below join end to end with no gaps — the whole route, St Dogmaels to Amroth, is covered. The few miles between our stage total and the Park's official figure are rounding in per-stage distances, not missing path.
That ascent figure is the one worth staring at. 7,770 m over 179.0 miles averages 43 m of climbing per mile, because this path drops into every valley it meets and climbs straight back out. People plan it on distance, then discover on day two that Pembrokeshire miles are not flat miles. Plan on ascent and hours, not mileage.
The steepest going per mile is Ceibwr Bay to Newport — 7 miles with 560 m of ascent, about 80 m per mile. The longest single stage is Pembroke to West Angle Bay at 13.5 miles.
Every stage, north to south
The path is conventionally walked north to south, which keeps the prevailing wind behind you and the sea on your right. Cumulative figures run from the first stage below.
| Stage | Miles | Ascent | Grade | Cumulative | Getting back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Dogmaels → Poppit Sands car park | 2.5 | 60 m | Easy | 2.5 mi · 60 m | The seasonal Poppit Rocket bus links Cardigan, St Dogmaels and Poppit Sands, and there are year-round buses between Cardigan and St Dogmaels — check current timetables before relying on either. |
| Poppit Sands car park → Ceibwr Bay | 6 | 350 m | Strenuous | 8.5 mi · 410 m | The seasonal Poppit Rocket serves Poppit Sands and Moylegrove (a mile inland of Ceibwr) in summer — it is the only bus, so check the current timetable before you commit to a linear walk. |
| Ceibwr Bay → Newport Parrog | 7 | 560 m | Strenuous | 15.5 mi · 970 m | The seasonal Poppit Rocket serves Moylegrove and Newport, which is what makes this workable as a one-way walk. Check the current timetable — it does not run every day of the year. |
| Newport Parrog → Lower Town Fishguard | 12 | 620 m | Strenuous | 27.5 mi · 1,590 m | There are regular buses along the A487 between Newport and Fishguard, which makes the one-way walk straightforward. Check current timetables. |
| Lower Town Fishguard → Pwll Deri | 13 | 700 m | Strenuous | 40.5 mi · 2,290 m | The seasonal Strumble Shuttle runs along this stretch and is the usual way people get back to their car — check the current timetable and don't assume a late one. |
| Pwll Deri → Trefin | 10 | 580 m | Strenuous | 50.5 mi · 2,870 m | The seasonal Strumble Shuttle covers this stretch. Outside the season there is very little — check current timetables before planning a one-way walk. |
| Trefin → Porthgain harbour | 2 | 90 m | Easy | 52.5 mi · 2,960 m | The Strumble Shuttle coastal bus links Trefin and Porthgain on its St Davids–Fishguard run — seasonal and infrequent, so check times; walking back is genuinely the reliable option at two miles. |
| Porthgain harbour car park → Whitesands Bay car park | 8 | 450 m | Moderate | 60.5 mi · 3,410 m | The seasonal Strumble Shuttle and the Celtic Coaster serve the ends of this stage — check current timetables, and note the service is much reduced out of season. |
| Whitesands Bay car park → Solva lower harbour | 13 | 560 m | Strenuous | 73.5 mi · 3,970 m | The seasonal Celtic Coaster loops around the St Davids peninsula and the Puffin Shuttle runs on towards Solva and Newgale — both are seasonal, so check current timetables. |
| Solva lower harbour car park → Newgale beach | 5 | 380 m | Strenuous | 78.5 mi · 4,350 m | The Puffin Shuttle and the 411 run between the two in season, which makes this a good one-way walk. |
| Newgale beach → Broad Haven | 7 | 400 m | Moderate | 85.5 mi · 4,750 m | The seasonal Puffin Shuttle links Newgale, Nolton Haven, Druidston and Broad Haven — check the current timetable, and note it is a seasonal service. |
| Broad Haven car park → St Brides Haven | 5.5 | 330 m | Moderate | 91.0 mi · 5,080 m | The seasonal Puffin Shuttle serves Broad Haven, Little Haven and St Brides — check current timetables. |
| St Brides Haven → Dale seafront | 11 | 340 m | Moderate | 102.0 mi · 5,420 m | The seasonal Puffin Shuttle works this coast between St Davids and Milford Haven, calling at Marloes and Dale — it is the standard way back to a car, and it is seasonal, so check before you rely on it. |
| Dale seafront → Sandy Haven | 7 | 300 m | Moderate | 109.0 mi · 5,720 m | The seasonal Puffin Shuttle serves Dale; the Sandy Haven end is poorly served. Check current timetables and have a plan for getting back before you start. |
| Sandy Haven → Milford Haven marina | 6 | 120 m | Easy | 115.0 mi · 5,840 m | Milford Haven has a railway station (end of the branch line) and regular buses; the Puffin Shuttle's southern end serves the Dale side. Doing this stage outward by train and back by bus is entirely practical. |
| Milford Haven marina → Pembroke | 12.5 | 200 m | Moderate | 127.5 mi · 6,040 m | The best-connected stage of the entire path: railway stations at Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock and Pembroke, and regular buses along the whole corridor. There is no excuse for a car-shuffle here. |
| Pembroke → West Angle Bay car park | 13.5 | 250 m | Moderate | 141.0 mi · 6,290 m | The Coastal Cruiser serves Angle and West Angle Bay on a seasonal loop from Pembroke and Pembroke Dock — sparse but real; check the current timetable. Pembroke has a railway station. |
| West Angle Bay car park → Freshwater West | 6 | 300 m | Moderate | 147.0 mi · 6,590 m | The seasonal Coastal Cruiser serves Angle, West Angle Bay and Freshwater West and is the usual way to make this a one-way walk. Check current timetables. |
| Freshwater West → Stack Rocks | 7 | 150 m | Moderate | 154.0 mi · 6,740 m | The seasonal Coastal Cruiser links Freshwater West, Castlemartin, Bosherston and Stack Rocks — this is genuinely useful on this stage. Check current timetables and note that it doesn't run when the range road is shut. |
| Stack Rocks car park → Freshwater East car park | 6.5 | 180 m | Moderate | 160.5 mi · 6,920 m | The seasonal Coastal Cruiser links Bosherston, Stackpole and Freshwater East with Pembroke. As everywhere on the south coast, check the current timetable rather than trusting a leaflet. |
| Freshwater East car park → Manorbier Bay | 4.5 | 250 m | Moderate | 165.0 mi · 7,170 m | The seasonal Coastal Cruiser serves Freshwater East, and there are buses between Manorbier and Tenby; Manorbier also has a railway station about a mile inland from the beach. Check current timetables. |
| Manorbier Bay car park → Tenby South Beach | 7 | 300 m | Moderate | 172.0 mi · 7,470 m | Buses run between Manorbier, Lydstep, Penally and Tenby, and the Pembroke Dock–Tenby railway line has stations at Manorbier and Penally. That makes this one of the easiest one-way walks in the county — check current timetables. |
| Tenby North Beach → Amroth beachour notes run the other way — south to north | 7 | 300 m | Moderate | 179.0 mi · 7,770 m | Regular buses between Tenby, Saundersfoot and Amroth make this an easy one-way walk. |
Distance, ascent and grade are recorded per stage from our own route notes. Grade reflects ascent rather than distance — a five-mile Pembrokeshire stage can hold more climbing than ten miles of flatter country, which is the single most common planning mistake on this path.
How many days?
These splits are computed, not suggested. Stages cannot be reordered or broken in half, so for each day-count we take the arrangement whose longest day is as short as possible — the most even walk available for the number of days you have. The daily ascent is shown alongside, because that is what actually decides whether a day is hard.
5 days
longest day 40.5 mi- 1St Dogmaels → Pwll Deri40.5 mi · 2290 m
- 2Pwll Deri → Solva lower harbour33.0 mi · 1680 m
- 3Solva lower harbour car park → Sandy Haven35.5 mi · 1750 m
- 4Sandy Haven → West Angle Bay car park32.0 mi · 570 m
- 5West Angle Bay car park → Amroth beach38.0 mi · 1480 m
7 days
longest day 27.5 mi- 1St Dogmaels → Lower Town Fishguard27.5 mi · 1590 m
- 2Lower Town Fishguard → Porthgain harbour25.0 mi · 1370 m
- 3Porthgain harbour car park → Newgale beach26.0 mi · 1390 m
- 4Newgale beach → Dale seafront23.5 mi · 1070 m
- 5Dale seafront → Pembroke25.5 mi · 620 m
- 6Pembroke → Stack Rocks26.5 mi · 700 m
- 7Stack Rocks car park → Amroth beach25.0 mi · 1030 m
9 days
longest day 25.0 mi- 1St Dogmaels → Newport Parrog15.5 mi · 970 m
- 2Newport Parrog → Pwll Deri25.0 mi · 1320 m
- 3Pwll Deri → Whitesands Bay car park20.0 mi · 1120 m
- 4Whitesands Bay car park → Broad Haven25.0 mi · 1340 m
- 5Broad Haven car park → Sandy Haven23.5 mi · 970 m
- 6Sandy Haven → Pembroke18.5 mi · 320 m
- 7Pembroke → West Angle Bay car park13.5 mi · 250 m
- 8West Angle Bay car park → Freshwater East car park19.5 mi · 630 m
- 9Freshwater East car park → Amroth beach18.5 mi · 850 m
12 days
longest day 19.5 mi- 1St Dogmaels → Ceibwr Bay8.5 mi · 410 m
- 2Ceibwr Bay → Lower Town Fishguard19.0 mi · 1180 m
- 3Lower Town Fishguard → Pwll Deri13.0 mi · 700 m
- 4Pwll Deri → Trefin10.0 mi · 580 m
- 5Trefin → Whitesands Bay car park10.0 mi · 540 m
- 6Whitesands Bay car park → Solva lower harbour13.0 mi · 560 m
- 7Solva lower harbour car park → St Brides Haven17.5 mi · 1110 m
- 8St Brides Haven → Sandy Haven18.0 mi · 640 m
- 9Sandy Haven → Pembroke18.5 mi · 320 m
- 10Pembroke → West Angle Bay car park13.5 mi · 250 m
- 11West Angle Bay car park → Freshwater East car park19.5 mi · 630 m
- 12Freshwater East car park → Amroth beach18.5 mi · 850 m
Before you book anything on the strength of this
These splits balance walking, not beds. Some of the points a day lands on have no accommodation at all — the path runs through a lot of nowhere, which is rather the point of it. Check each end has somewhere to sleep before committing, and expect to shuffle a day or take a taxi inland at least once. Baggage transfer services operate along the route and are worth their cost on the strenuous northern stages.
Planning the rest of it
Much of this path crosses unfenced clifftop and grazed land. Dogs on leads, children close, and in an emergency anywhere near the coast dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard — not the mountain rescue, and not the local police.