Water's-edge pub on Dale seafront — crab and lobster from the bay, sunsets over the anchorage.
Dogs welcome
Photo: Paul Farmer (CC BY-SA 2.0)Dale to Sandy Haven
A gentle stage along the north shore of the Haven with two tidal stepping-stone crossings that will add four miles to your day if you get them wrong.
- Distance
- 7 miles / 11.3 km
- Time
- 3½–4 hours
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Climbing
- about 300m
- Type
- Coast Path stage
- Dogs
- On a lead
The Gann estuary and Pickleridge lagoonsMonk Haven and its high stone wallLindsway BayGreat Castle Head hillfortThe Sandy Haven stepping stones
The route
After the Dale peninsula, the Coast Path turns inland-ish and follows the northern shore of the Milford Haven waterway. It's flatter, greener and less dramatic than what came before — and the tides make it more complicated than any other stage on the path.
Get the timing right first. Leaving Dale, the path crosses the Gann on stepping stones a few hundred metres out of the village. Behind them lie the Pickleridge lagoons, old gravel pits now full of brackish water, and a shingle spit that is one of the best wader spots in the county — greenshank, whimbrel, little egret, and in autumn a decent chance of something unusual. If the tide is in, the alternative is a road walk round by Mullock Bridge, which adds a couple of miles and no pleasure.
Beyond the Gann the path climbs gently through fields and woodland edge to Monk Haven, a small stony cove with a startlingly high stone wall across the back of it — an estate wall from the 19th century, with the ruined tower of St Ishmael's church in the trees nearby. It's a good shady lunch stop.
Next is Lindsway Bay, a wide sandy beach below the cliffs with a steep path down, and then Great Castle Head, which carries the ramparts of an Iron Age promontory fort and one of the navigation lights that lines up ships coming into the waterway. Below you, the tankers heading for the terminals are close enough to read the names off.
The stage finishes at Sandy Haven, where a wooded tidal creek — Sandy Haven Pill — cuts inland. The Coast Path crosses it on stepping stones, again only around low water, and the detour if you miss them is a long one inland via Herbrandston. Even if you're finishing here rather than continuing, be aware the lane on the eastern side floods on spring tides.
Where to finish. There's nothing at Sandy Haven itself. Dale has the Griffin on the water, and Herbrandston and Milford Haven are the nearest options at the eastern end.
Shorter option. Dale to Monk Haven and back is about five miles round trip, uses only the Gann crossing, and is the pleasantest part of the stage.
Getting there
- Start
- Dale seafront
- Finish
- Sandy Haven
- Parking
- Pay and display on the Dale seafront. Very limited parking at Sandy Haven — it is a lane end, not a car park, and the road floods on big tides.
- Buses
- 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.
Before you go
This stage has two tidal crossings and they are the whole planning problem. The stepping stones over the Gann just north of Dale and those over Sandy Haven Pill at the far end are each passable for only a few hours around low water. Miss either and the inland detour by road adds several miles. Work backwards from the low-water time for the day and start accordingly. The stones are slippery and uneven — don't attempt them with a rising tide behind you. Elsewhere the walking is easy but the cliffs above Lindsway are unfenced.
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.
0m away · about 5 min walk
200m away · about 5 min walk
250m away · about 5 min walk
Beaches on the way
Other walks nearby
The Dale Peninsula and St Ann's Head
A full-day circuit of the peninsula that guards the mouth of the Milford Haven waterway, past a lighthouse, three forts and the beach where Henry Tudor landed.
8 miles · 4–5 hours · Moderate
The Marloes Peninsula and Deer Park
Round the tip of the peninsula from one of Wales's best beaches to the boat slip for Skomer, with seals in the coves below.
6 miles · 3–4 hours · Moderate
West Angle Bay to Freshwater West
Round the exposed corner where the Haven meets the Atlantic, from a sheltered bay with a café to the wildest surf beach in Wales.
6 miles · 3–3½ hours · Moderate
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.