The Sloop Inn
Pub1743 quarrymen's pub in Porthgain's harbour hollow — the finish line of the north coast's best short walk.
Dogs welcome
Trefin to Porthgain
Two easy miles linking two of the best small stops on the north coast — the ruined mill and beach at Aber Draw to the harbour, brickworks and famous fish and chips at Porthgain.
- Distance
- 2 miles / 3.2 km
- Time
- 1 hour each way
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Climbing
- about 90m
- Type
- Coast Path stage
- Dogs
- On a lead
Aber Draw beach and its ruined millPorthgain harbour and the giant brick hoppersThe Sloop Innserving since 1743Fish and chips at The Shed
The route
The shortest stage we list, and the one to give someone who wants to understand why people fall for this coast without asking six hours of their legs. From Trefin the path drops to Aber Draw, a rocky little beach with the ruin of the village corn mill beside it — it ground until 1918, and the millstones are still lying about.
The two clifftop miles that follow are easy, open walking with Strumble Head filling the horizon behind you. Then the path turns a corner and drops into Porthgain, which is unlike anywhere else on the path: a tiny working harbour walled in by the towering brick hoppers of what was, until 1931, a serious industrial port shipping crushed granite and slate out of the cliffs. The quarry workings, the tramway lines and the harbourmaster's white beacon are all still there to poke around.
It is also, mile for mile, the best-fed spot on the north coast. The Sloop Inn has been pouring beer since 1743, and The Shed, in the old machine shop on the quay, has a fish-and-chips reputation that puts a queue down the harbour wall all summer. Walk out, eat, walk back: as good a two-hour holiday as Pembrokeshire offers.
Getting there
- Start
- Trefin (village centre, by the Coast Path spur)
- Finish
- Porthgain harbour
- Parking
- Free village car park in Trefin; a car park by the harbour at Porthgain, which fills by late morning in summer because of the food.
- Buses
- The Strumble Shuttle coastal bus links Trefin and Porthgain on its St Davids–Fishguard run — seasonal and infrequent, so check times; walking back is genuinely the reliable option at two miles.
The next few hours
Nearest forecast point: St Davids
dry for the next few hours, around 14°C, gusting to 27 mph — hold on to the windbreak.
01:00
14°
Clear
W 27 mph
02:00
14°
Clear
W 27 mph
03:00
14°
Clear
W 27 mph
04:00
14°
Clear
W 27 mph
05:00
13°
Fair
W 26 mph
06:00
13°
Clear
NW 25 mph
07:00
13°
Clear
NW 25 mph
08:00
13°
Clear
NW 26 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 Trefin (village centre, by the Coast Path spur)
- Sunrise
- 07:35
- Sunset
- 18:42
- Daylight
- 11h 7m
The light goes gold from about 17:56.
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 Trefin to Porthgain
Porthgain · about 1 miles away
Low water
01:33
Sat 10 Oct · 0.7m
High water
07:30
Sat 10 Oct · 4.5m
Low water
13:44
Sat 10 Oct · 0.7m
High water
19:46
Sat 10 Oct · 4.6m
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.
Before you go
A gentle stage by Coast Path standards, but the cliff edge between the two villages is unfenced as everywhere. The lane down to Aber Draw is shared with cars.
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.
100m away · about 5 min walk
Photo: Alan Thomas (CC BY-SA 2.0)Porthgain, SA62 5BN
1743 quarrymen's pub in Porthgain's harbour hollow — the finish line of the north coast's best short walk.
- Phone
- +441348 831449
- Opening hours
- Today 09:30–23:00
100m away · about 5 min walk
The Shed Bistro
RestaurantPorthgain, SA62 5BN
Fish-and-chip bistro in a Porthgain harbour shed — best enjoyed after the Abereiddi clifftop walk.
- Phone
- +44 1348 831518
- Opening hours
- Today 10:00–17:00, 17:30–00:00
150m away · about 5 min walk
450m away · about 5 min walk
Photo: Alan Hughes (CC BY-SA 2.0)The Ship Inn
Pub35 Ffordd y Felin, SA62 5AX
- Phone
- +44 1348 831445
- Opening hours
- Today 12:00–00:00
500m away · about 5 min walk
Photo: Keith Salvesen (CC BY-SA 2.0)1.8km away · about 25 min walk
Beaches on the way
Stay near this walk
Hand-picked places to stay within a mile or so, 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.
Trefin · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
- 0.4 miles away
- Best for: Couples · small families
from £373/week
View stay →Bookable via cottages.com
Trefin · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
- 0.4 miles away
- Best for: Couples · two couples sharing
from £767/week
View stay →Bookable via cottages.com
Trefin · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
Log burner
- 0.5 miles away
- Best for: Couples and young families · Coast Path walkers
from £542/week
View stay →Bookable via holidaycottages.co.uk
Download the route
OpenStreetMap
A GPX track for this stage, traced from the Coast Path as mapped on OpenStreetMap — 1.6 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.
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Other walks nearby
Porthgain to Whitesands Bay
From an industrial harbour past the Blue Lagoon and round the wild north side of the St Davids peninsula to the county's most popular beach.
8 miles · 4½–5 hours · Moderate
Abereiddi to Porthgain and the Blue Lagoon
A short, spectacular cliff walk between two abandoned quarry harbours, past the flooded slate pit everyone photographs.
3 miles · 1½ hours each way · Easy
Pwll Deri to Trefin
Ten empty miles of low cliff and storm beach between two of the quietest corners of the coast, with a Victorian railway scheme that never happened.
10 miles · 5½–6½ hours · Strenuous
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.