Walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path: Where to Stay, Section by Section

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs 186 miles between St Dogmaels and Amroth, and climbs about 35,000 feet doing it. That second number is the one people underestimate. There is very little flat walking on this coast — the path drops to sea level at every stream mouth and climbs straight back out.

Most people never walk the whole thing, and they're not missing much by not doing it. They walk the good stretches from a well-chosen base, and where that base is decides how well the week works.

Two ways to do it

Fixed base. Stay put, walk linear sections, and use the seasonal coastal buses to get back to the car. The Puffin Shuttle, Strumble Shuttle, Poppit Rocket and Coastal Cruiser exist for exactly this. They're seasonal, they don't run daily on every route, and timetables change each year — check the current one before you build a day around it.

Two bases cover the whole National Park: one south around Tenby, Pembroke or Bosherston, one north around St Davids, Solva or Newport.

Nightly moves. Ten to fifteen days end to end. The problem isn't the walking, it's that some villages have three places to stay and all three are full. Book summer nights months ahead.

Two stretches are awkward for beds: the Castlemartin range section between Angle and Bosherston, where you'll want Angle or somewhere inland, and the Dale peninsula, a long loop with one village on it that Dale solves and nothing else does.

The range closure

This one is not optional. Castlemartin Range closes for live firing, and when the red flags are up the coast path and the road are shut. Stack Rocks and the Green Bridge of Wales are only reachable when the range is open. Firing dates are published in advance. Check them before you plan the Stack Rocks to St Govan's stretch, not on the morning.

Six sections worth planning around

Stackpole Quay to St Govan's — about six miles. Barafundle, the blowholes, the lily ponds and a chapel wedged in a cliff. The county's greatest hits in an afternoon. Base: Bosherston, Freshwater East or Pembroke.

The Marloes peninsula — eight miles round. Marloes Sands, the Deer Park, Skomer sitting offshore, and seals in the coves from late summer. Base: Marloes or Dale.

Whitesands to Solva — nine miles, harbour to cathedral to surf beach, and the busiest good walking in the county. Base: St Davids or Solva.

St Davids Head from Whitesands — shorter, rougher, and the most obviously ancient bit of coast here: a Neolithic burial chamber, an Iron Age rampart, Carn Llidi behind you.

Newport to Ceibwr — seven strenuous miles of folded cliff and the collapsed sea cave at the Witches' Cauldron. The north coast at its wildest.

Amroth to Tenby — seven gentle miles through the old tramway tunnels and Saundersfoot. The easiest walking on the path.

Stage by stage: where to sleep along the whole path

Nobody else publishes this plainly, so here it is — the path in walking order, north to south, with the village that actually works as the overnight for each stretch. Mileages are from the National Park's own chart; every stage links to our full description of it.

St Dogmaels to Poppit Sands (2.5 miles) — sleep in St Dogmaels the night before you start; it has the pubs and the abbey, and Poppit has the beach but almost no beds.

Poppit Sands to Ceibwr Bay (6 miles) — Moylegrove is the only village near Ceibwr and it is tiny; many walkers push on or arrange a pickup to Newport.

Ceibwr Bay to Newport (7 strenuous miles) — end at Newport, the best overnight town on the north coast: proper pubs, restaurants and a choice of beds under Carn Ingli.

Newport to Fishguard (12 miles) — Fishguard and Lower Town have year-round accommodation, and it's where the Strumble Shuttle starts making a fixed base plausible.

Fishguard to Pwll Deri (13 miles past Strumble Head) — Pwll Deri has a famous youth hostel on the cliff and nothing else; otherwise base in Fishguard or Goodwick and use the shuttle.

Pwll Deri to Trefin (10 miles) — Trefin is a proper walkers' village with beds and a pub.

Trefin to Porthgain (2 easy miles) — most people bolt this to the previous or next day, timed so lunch lands at Porthgain's harbour.

Porthgain to Whitesands (8 miles) — from here to Solva, St Davids is the base: Britain's smallest city has the county's densest cluster of places to stay and eat.

Whitesands to Solva (13 miles round the head) — St Davids again, or end-of-stage beds in Solva above the harbour.

Solva to Newgale (5 miles) — Newgale is a beach with a campsite more than a village; Solva behind you or Broad Haven ahead are the firmer beds.

Newgale to Broad Haven (7 miles) — Broad Haven and Little Haven sit a few minutes apart; the second has the pubs.

Broad Haven to St Brides Haven (5.5 miles) — St Brides Haven is a cove with a church, not a village; sleep back in Little Haven or ahead in Marloes.

St Brides Haven to Dale (11 miles round the Marloes peninsula) — Marloes mid-stage for the Skomer boat, Dale at the end. Book both early; each has only a handful of beds.

Dale to Sandy Haven and Sandy Haven to Milford Haven (7 + 6 miles, two tidal crossings) — time the pills or add miles inland; Milford Haven has town accommodation and the marina's restaurants.

Milford Haven to Pembroke (12.5 miles) — cross the Cleddau and sleep under the castle in Pembroke; Neyland halfway is the marina alternative.

Pembroke to West Angle Bay (13.5 miles) — Angle is the one village on the peninsula and the essential overnight before the range.

Angle to Freshwater West (6 miles) and Freshwater West to Stack Rocks (7 miles, range willing) — beds are scarce; Castlemartin and inland farms carry this gap, and the firing timetable decides your day.

Stack Rocks to Freshwater East (6.5 miles past St Govan's and Barafundle) — Bosherston mid-stage or Freshwater East at the end.

Freshwater East to Manorbier (4.5 miles) — Manorbier puts a castle and a beach outside your door.

Manorbier to Tenby (7 miles) — Tenby is the grand finish for most southbound walkers, with the widest choice of rooms on the whole path.

Amroth to Tenby (7 gentle miles) — the official southern end. Amroth is small and seasonal; Saundersfoot mid-stage or Tenby bookend it better.

What a walker should want from a stay

Somewhere to dry things. It will rain, and a radiator in a porch is worth more than a second bathroom.

Breakfast early or a kitchen of your own, secure storage for boots and packs, and — the one people forget — honesty about how far the property is from the path. "Coastal location" can mean two miles inland, up a hill you'll walk twice a day.

Moving nightly, baggage transfer services operate along the path and are the difference between a holiday and an expedition.

Practical

Car parks at the popular trailheads fill by mid-morning in July and August. Start early, or start somewhere else.

Cliff edges are unfenced almost everywhere, and the path crosses grazing land constantly. Dogs on leads throughout.

See walks across Pembrokeshire, places to stay on the Coast Path, or when to come.