The Best Walks in Pembrokeshire, by How Much Time You Have

Pembrokeshire's walking is almost all coastal, almost all on the Coast Path or a loop off it, and consistently harder than the distance suggests. A five-mile walk here can hold more ascent than a ten-mile one in flatter country, because the path drops into every valley it meets and climbs straight out again.

Grade the walks by time and effort rather than mileage, and pick by how much of the day you've got.

An hour or so

Pembroke Castle and the Mill Pond — two miles, flat, entirely in town, and it gives you the best view there is of one of Britain's great castles. Good in rain.

Carew Castle, the Tidal Mill and the Millpond — three miles, easy, level, and takes in a castle, the only restored tidal mill in Wales and a Celtic cross. The best short walk in the county for anyone who doesn't want hills.

The Gwaun Valley Woodland Walk — three and a half miles of oak woodland in a glacial meltwater valley, and about as far from a cliff edge as Pembrokeshire gets. Sheltered when the coast is unwalkable.

Half a day

Abereiddi to Porthgain — three miles each way, easy, and the one to do if you only do one. The Blue Lagoon, the slate ruins, Traeth Llyfn down its steel staircase, and a harbour with a pub at the far end.

Stack Rocks, the Green Bridge of Wales and St Govan's Chapel — four miles, easy walking, extraordinary geology. Check the Castlemartin range is open first — this section closes for live firing.

St Davids Head from Whitesands Bay — four miles, circular, an Iron Age fort, a neolithic burial chamber, and Ireland on the horizon on a clear day.

Dinas Island Head — three miles round a headland that isn't an island, between two coves, with the best short-walk views on the north coast. Steep in the middle.

Barafundle Bay and the Bosherston Lily Ponds — five miles linking Barafundle, Broad Haven South and the lily ponds. Otters, herons, and lilies in flower from June.

Carn Ingli from Newport — five miles up onto the hill behind Newport with an Iron Age hillfort on the summit and the whole of Cardigan Bay below.

A full day

The Marloes Peninsula and Deer Park — six miles taking in Marloes Sands, the Deer Park and Martin's Haven. Seals below the cliffs in autumn, puffin boats offshore in early summer.

The Dale Peninsula and St Ann's Head — eight miles right round the peninsula, with the mouth of the Haven, a lighthouse, and the beach where Henry Tudor landed in 1485.

Foel Cwmcerwyn and the Preseli Ridge — four and a half miles onto the county's highest ground, where the Stonehenge bluestones came from. Navigation matters up here in cloud; this is the one walk in the county where the coast rules don't apply and the hill rules do.

Ceibwr Bay to Newport — seven strenuous miles of the wildest Coast Path in the county. Arrange transport at both ends.

Llys-y-frân Reservoir Circular — seven and a half miles right round the water, mostly on a good surfaced path, and entirely inland. The reliable option when the coast is being blown flat.

Which to skip in bad weather

Anything on an unfenced cliff edge in a strong westerly, which is most of the coastal list. The inland alternatives — Llys-y-frân, the Gwaun Valley, Carew, Pembroke — are there for exactly those days, and Pembrokeshire in the rain has more.

Before you go

Dogs are welcome on all of these, but most cross grazed land with livestock and an unfenced drop. Lead on. If cattle come at you and you're with a dog, let go of the lead.

Tides affect several — beach sections and low-level alternatives cut off. Check.

Signal is patchy to non-existent on the north coast and in the Preselis. Download the route before you leave the car; the signal guide says where.

In an emergency, 999 and ask for the Coastguard anywhere near the coast. See Pembrokeshire in an emergency.

Every walk on the site, with distance, ascent, parking and a proper description, is on the walks index.