Pwll Deri to Trefin

Very few people walk this stage and that is exactly the reason to. Between Pwll Deri and Trefin there are no towns, one road that comes near the sea, and about ten miles of coast that has been left alone.

Set off south from Pwll Deri under the bulk of Garn Fawr. The path threads round Pwllcrochan, a narrow cove with a waterfall at the back of it, then out along Penbwchdy, a long headland that takes a while to get round and gives the best views of the day back towards Strumble.

The middle of the stage is the pair of storm beaches. Aber Bach and Abermawr are steep banks of grey shingle thrown up across the mouths of two wooded valleys, with marsh and alder carr behind them. Abermawr has a story attached: Isambard Kingdom Brunel surveyed it in the 1840s as the western terminus of the South Wales Railway and the port for the Irish traffic. Some earthworks were begun. The money ran out, the scheme moved to Neyland, and Abermawr stayed a shingle beach with a wood behind it. Walk into the trees behind the bank for five minutes — it's the only shelter on the route and a good lunch stop.

Inland from here, up the valley, is Melin Tregwynt, a whitewashed woollen mill that has been weaving on the same site for centuries and still does. It's a short detour by road rather than an on-route stop, but worth knowing about if you're driving the area.

After Abermawr the path climbs again for the last stretch past Pwllstrodur and Trwyn Llwyd, low cliffs with small inaccessible coves below, before dropping to Aber Draw below Trefin. The ruined stone mill on the shore is Melin Trefin, the subject of a well-known Welsh poem by Crwys about the mill that fell silent — the wheel stopped in the 1920s and the shell has stood there since.

Trefin village is five minutes up the lane. It's small, it has a pub and a hostel, and it makes a sensible overnight stop if you're walking the path in stages.

Where to eat. Trefin has the nearest food. Otherwise it's four miles on to Porthgain, which is the better meal if you have the legs for it.

Continuing. The next few miles to Porthgain and Abereiddi are far easier walking — see the Abereiddi to Porthgain route for the best short section of this coast.