Photo: Dylan Moore (CC BY-SA 2.0)Ceibwr Bay to Newport
The wildest stage on the north coast: a collapsed sea cave, a long switchback over unfenced cliffs, and almost nobody else on it.
- Distance
- 7 miles / 11.3 km
- Time
- 4½–5 hours
- Difficulty
- Strenuous
- Climbing
- about 560m
- Type
- Coast Path stage
- Dogs
- On a lead
The route
If you want to know what the Pembrokeshire coast was like before anyone put a car park on it, walk this stage. It is the emptiest seven miles on the path.
Ceibwr Bay itself is worth the drive down the lane from Moylegrove even if you walk no further. The cliffs on either side are folded into tight zigzags — the rock was crumpled during the Caledonian mountain-building and the strata read like a diagram. There's a shingle beach, a couple of parking spaces and nothing else.
Head south-west and within half a mile you reach the Witches' Cauldron, Pwll y Wrach. A sea cave collapsed here, leaving a deep circular blowhole open to the sky, still connected to the sea by a tunnel under a natural arch. At high tide the water surges in and out of it. The path runs right along the lip, unfenced, and the drop is serious — this is not the place to be looking through a camera and walking at the same time.
After that the stage settles into its real character: down into a valley, up the other side, repeat. Foel Hendre and Pwllygranant come and go. The ascent totals well over 500m and it is all in short, steep, relentless pulls. Five hours is realistic, not pessimistic, and the going is rough and wet in patches. There's no café, no bench and no way off except back the way you came.
What you get is the coast to yourself, choughs working the cliff faces, peregrines, and seals hauled out on beaches you can only look down at.
The last mile is a relief. The path drops to Newport Sands — Traeth Mawr — and follows the estuary of the Afon Nyfer round to the Parrog, Newport's old quayside with its lime kilns and boat moorings. There is a crossing of the estuary at low water, but the road bridge is the sensible option and it's not much further.
Where to finish. Newport is the best-fed small town in north Pembrokeshire and you will have earned it. There are pubs, a couple of good restaurants, a deli and a bakery within a few minutes of the Parrog.
If seven miles is too much, park at Ceibwr, walk to the Witches' Cauldron and back — under a mile, and it's the best bit.
Getting there
- Start
- Ceibwr Bay (National Trust), near Moylegrove
- Finish
- Newport Parrog
- Parking
- A small National Trust parking area at Ceibwr — only a handful of spaces, and the lane down from Moylegrove is single track. Newport has car parks at the Parrog and in the town.
- Buses
- 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.
The next few hours
Nearest forecast point: Preseli Hills
dry for the next few hours, around 9°C, breezy, gusts near 20 mph.
01:00
9°
Clear
W 20 mph
02:00
9°
Clear
W 20 mph
03:00
9°
Clear
W 20 mph
04:00
9°
Clear
NW 19 mph
05:00
8°
Clear
NW 19 mph
06:00
8°
Clear
NW 18 mph
07:00
8°
Clear
NW 18 mph
08:00
8°
Clear
NW 19 mph
Forecast from MET Norway, used under CC BY 4.0. It's a forecast for the nearest of six points across the county, not for this exact spot — on a coast this shaped, one headland can be in sun and the next in rain.
Light today at Ceibwr Bay (National Trust), near Moylegrove
- Sunrise
- 07:34
- Sunset
- 18:40
- Daylight
- 11h 7m
The light goes gold from about 17:55.
Calculated for these coordinates, accurate to a minute or so. A cliff or a headland to your west will take the sun sooner than this suggests.
Tides near Ceibwr Bay to Newport
Port Cardigan · about 4 miles away
Low water
02:54
Sat 10 Oct · 0.7m
High water
08:08
Sat 10 Oct · 4.7m
Low water
15:08
Sat 10 Oct · 0.7m
High water
20:24
Sat 10 Oct · 4.9m
Predicted times from the UK Hydrographic Office. Wind and pressure shift real water levels, and the tide at a specific cove can run earlier or later than its port. Never plan a tidal crossing on this alone.
Constants from 15 days' observations.
Before you go
This is a genuinely strenuous stage with 560m of ascent in seven miles and no escape routes once you're on it. The cliff edge is unfenced throughout and the path runs close to it in several places, including directly above the Witches' Cauldron where the ground is undercut. There is no water, no shelter and no phone signal in places. From late August grey seal pups are on the beaches below — stay on the path and keep dogs on leads. Coast Path erosion diversions appear on this stretch after winter storms; follow the waymarks rather than the line on an old map.
Where to eat and drink on this walk
The nearest pubs, cafés and restaurants to the start and finish. Check hours before you count on one.
200m away · about 5 min walk
Photo: Pauline Eccles (CC BY-SA 2.0)Royal Oak
PubWest Street, Newport, SA42 0TA
- Phone
- +44 1239 820 632
- Website
- theroyaloaknewport.co.uk
- Opening hours
- Today 12:00–00:00
600m away · about 10 min walk
Photo: Pauline Eccles (CC BY-SA 2.0)Bridge Street, Newport, SA42 0TB
Newport's stone-built village pub — a wood-panelled bar with an open fire, a restaurant where the curries and burgers are made from scratch, a sea-view beer garden and three rooms upstairs; ten minutes' walk from the beach.
- Phone
- +44 1239 820 742
- Website
- castleinnpembs.co.uk
- Opening hours
- Today 10:30–23:00
650m away · about 10 min walk
The Canteen
RestaurantMarket Street, SA42 0PH
- Opening hours
- Today 10:00–12:00, 18:00–20:30
650m away · about 10 min walk
Pavilion Cafe
Café1.4km away · about 20 min walk
Beaches on the way
Stay near this walk
Hand-picked places to stay in and around St Dogmaels (Llandudoch), nearest first. Our picks are data-driven — we haven’t stayed — and we earn a commission when you book through a partner link. How that works.
St Dogmaels (Llandudoch) · Sleeps 2 · 1 bed
- 3 miles away
- Best for: Couples · Coast Path starters and finishers
Bookable via holidaycottages.co.uk
St Dogmaels (Llandudoch) · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
- In St Dogmaels (Llandudoch)
- Best for: Families · cyclists and paddlers
Bookable via holidaycottages.co.uk
Newport (Trefdraeth) · Sleeps 4
- 5 miles away
4.8 · 41 reviews on Hoseasons
Bookable via Hoseasons
Download the route
OpenStreetMap
A GPX track for this stage, traced from the Coast Path as mapped on OpenStreetMap — 9.1 miles of it. Load it into a watch, a phone app or a handheld GPS.
© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Traced from the mapped route, not a recorded walk, so treat it as a guide and not a substitute for a map and compass — and check tide and firing times before you set out. Route data checked 2026-10-09.
Visitor reviews
No reports yet — walked Ceibwr Bay to Newport? Tell people how it went: conditions, parking, how long it really took.
Write a review
Other walks nearby
Poppit Sands to Ceibwr Bay
The first real test of the path: up over Cemaes Head onto some of the highest sea cliffs of the whole 186 miles, then along a wild, empty top with no way off until Ceibwr.
6 miles · 3–4 hours · Strenuous
Poppit Sands to Cemaes Head
The northern end of the Coast Path, and its highest cliffs. Hard work, few people, and dolphins offshore more often than not.
4 miles · 2½ hours each way · Strenuous
St Dogmaels to Poppit Sands
The official start of the Coast Path, and by far its gentlest stage: a flat two and a half miles down the Teifi estuary to a big sandy beach.
2.5 miles · 1–1¼ hours each way · Easy
Distances and times are approximate. Conditions on the Coast Path change with the weather and the season — take a map, and check tide times and firing times where they apply.