A Long Weekend in North Pembrokeshire

The north of the county is rockier, emptier and more Welsh-speaking than the south, and for a long weekend it's the better half — you can reach almost everything worth reaching inside forty minutes.

Before you set off

The drive in is longer than people expect. From the M4 you come off at Carmarthen and then it's A-road all the way, and the last stretch past Haverfordwest is slow in summer. Arriving Friday evening, plan to eat where you're staying rather than to press on somewhere.

Once you're here, stay north. The Cleddau bridge is the only way across the estuary to the southern half, and hopping over it for an afternoon eats the day.

August rule, as everywhere here: the car parks at Whitesands and Newgale fill by mid-morning. First thing or late afternoon.

Where to stay

St Davids is the obvious base — Britain's smallest city, walkable, and ten minutes from two boat harbours. Solva is quieter, prettier at high water, and closer to the Newgale end. Newport suits you better if the Preselis and the Nevern estuary are the draw, and it has the best food-to-size ratio in the county.

Pick one and don't move. This is a three-day trip.

Friday evening

Get in, drop the bags, walk somewhere. If you're in St Davids, the walk down to Caerfai Bay takes twenty minutes and gets you the coast on the first night. In Newport, walk out along the estuary as the tide comes in.

Saturday — St Davids and the head

Morning. St Davids Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace. The cathedral sits in a hollow below the city, so you look down on it, and the ruined palace next door is the finest medieval ruin in Wales. Two hours, easily.

Afternoon. Park early at Whitesands and walk the St Davids Head circuit — Iron Age remains, a burial chamber and a view to Ramsey that explains why the boats look small.

Evening. Back into St Davids to eat, or down to Solva for the harbour.

Sunday — the quarry coast

Morning. Drive up to Abereiddi and walk to Porthgain along the cliffs, past the Blue Lagoon — a flooded slate quarry, and better under cloud than sun — and Traeth Llyfn. The route is here. Allow around forty-five minutes each way.

Afternoon. Lunch in Porthgain, where the old brick hoppers still stand above a harbour barely wider than a tennis court. Then either back down the coast through Trefin, or on to Fishguard and Goodwick for the lower town and the harbour.

Evening. Early dinner. Sunday kitchens in the villages close earlier than you think.

Monday — Preseli and home

Morning. Carn Ingli above Newport if you want a hill, or the flatter Dinas Island circuit from Cwm-yr-Eglwys — a headland walk that feels like an island without being one.

Afternoon on the way out. Nevern church and its bleeding yew, Castell Henllys Iron Age fort, or Cilgerran Castle above the Teifi gorge if you're heading east.

Got longer? Continue with the full week plan, or head south for the southern long weekend.