Trailblazer Guide Books

Worth watching out for.
 - John Cleare

Practical information for the walker

ACCOMMODATION

Most of the coast path is well served with accommodation for all budgets, from campsites to luxurious hotels. The route guide (Part 4) lists a selection of places to stay along the full length of the trail. It’s advisable to book all accommodation in advance, particularly during the high season (Easter to August). The most barren area for accommodation is from Manorbier to Pembroke where pre-planning is even more crucial. Remember that the advantages of walking at less busy times are countered by the fact that many places are closed during the winter months.

Camping
Wild camping is not strictly allowed in the national park but a kind landowner may let you camp in a field (see p51). There are a number of official campsites with basic facilities such as toilets and the all-important showers with prices from as little as £2 to £12 per person making this the cheapest accommodation option.
    In the summer there are usually plenty of places to camp along the length of the coast path, but if you are planning short days you may have to find alternative accommodation on two or three nights. This is particularly true around Bosherston and the Dale peninsula where you can stay in bed and breakfasts instead (see box p30). Those hardy souls who plan to walk in winter (November to Easter) will find many of the campsites closed, although a few remain open all year.
    Camping is like being a snail; carrying your home on your back and travelling at a similar speed. However, there is great satisfaction to be had from spending not just the day but the night in the great outdoors, watching the stars and witnessing the sunset and sunrise. Those who shy away from tented travel because of its perceived disadvantages really miss out on an enlightening experience.

Hostels and bunkhouses
The YHA hostels (see box opposite) on the coast path are cheap (members pay £11.95-19.95/£7.50-11.95 adult/child under 18 per night) so enable you to travel on a budget without having to carry cumbersome camping equipment. Non members can stay in YHA hostels but pay an additional charge (£3/1.50 adult/child) per night.
    YHA hostels vary greatly in style; St David’s hostel, above Whitesands Bay, is an old farmhouse while the one at Manorbier is a converted NATO storage building. They are good places to meet fellow walkers and in many cases are just as comfortable as B&Bs. However, there is a problem. With the exception of Manorbier Hostel (Lydstep) there are no other hostels or bunkhouses for the first 70 miles or so between Amroth and Marloes Sands. Depending on your speed, you will need to use B&Bs for the first 3-7 nights and again in St David’s itself if you plan to stop there (see box p31).
    On the positive side there are six YHA hostels conveniently spaced a day apart from Marloes Sands to the end of the coast path at St Dogmaels. All these provide bedding so there is no need to carry a sleeping bag. Increasingly YHA hostels have (en suite) rooms with locks as well as the traditional dorms. Additionally they all have self-catering kitchens; most on the route are self-catering only but a couple provide meals. All provide toilets and washing facilities, most have a sitting area and a drying room, some also have a games room/tv lounge. A few have a small shop for emergency groceries. Most YHA hostels will only save your booked bed until 6pm which puts you in an uncomfortable rush if you have a lot of walking to do. It’s worth phoning ahead to let them know if you’re going to arrive later.
    If you are planning to walk in winter you should bear in mind that some or all of the YHA hostels may be closed, especially during the week. However, if there is enough demand they may open so it is always worth checking.
    In addition to the YHA hostels there are independent hostels at Trefin and Fishguard. These have the welcome advantage of having few rules and no curfew. Otherwise they are similar to YHA hostels with accommodation in dormitories and/or single/twin/family rooms, bed linen is provided and they have fully equipped self-catering kitchens. Rates are similar also.
    Finally you could try the only remaining bunkhouse on the coast path (at Cyffredin, near Abereiddy). Bunkhouses provide more basic accommodation but are generally full of character and eccentricity and are well worth visiting, if only for one night. The drawback is that you need your own sleeping bag.
    By using hostels on the northern half of the walk and bed and breakfasts on the southern half you cut out the need to pack a sleeping bag altogether, thus significantly lightening your load.

Bed and breakfast
Anyone who has not stayed in a bed and breakfast (B&B) has missed out on something very British. They vary greatly in quality, style and price but usually consist of a bed in someone’s house and a big cooked breakfast (see p15) in the morning. For visitors from outside Britain it can provide an interesting insight into the Welsh way of life as you often feel like a guest of the family.
What to expect  All the coastal walker wants is a warm bed and a hot bath. For this reason most B&Bs listed in this guide are recommended because of their usefulness to the walker and their proximity to the path.
    Many B&Bs now offer rooms with en suite facilities. However, often this means a shower and toilet squeezed into a corner of the room. For a few pounds less you can usually get a standard room and it’s rarely far to the bathroom; in some places you may have your own bathroom but even if you have to share access it may be preferable to be able to relax in a hot bath after a long day’s walking, rather than having a shower.
    Anyone walking alone may find it hard to find establishments with single rooms. Twin rooms and double rooms are often confused but a twin room usually comprises two single beds while a double room has one double bed. Family rooms are for three or more people; they often have a double bed and bunk beds but occasionally three single beds.

Tariffs  B&Bs in this guide vary in price from £18.50 per person for the most basic accommodation to over £40 for the most luxurious en suite places. Most charge around £25-30 per person. Remember that many places do not have single rooms and usually charge a supplement of between £5 and £10 for single occupancy of a double or twin room.
    Rates can be substantially lower during the winter months, or if you stay for a few nights, and if you are on a budget you could always ask to go without breakfast which will usually result in a lower price.

Guesthouses, hotels, pubs and inns
Guesthouses and hotels are usually more sophisticated than B&Bs offering evening meals and a lounge for guests. Pubs and inns offer bed and breakfast of a medium to high standard and have the added advantage of having a bar downstairs, so it’s not far to stagger back to bed. However, the noise from tipsy punters might prove a nuisance if you want an early night. Rates usually range from £25 to £35 per person per night.
    Hotels are usually aimed more at the motoring tourist than the muddy walker and the tariff (£40-75 per person) is likely to put off the budget traveller. A few hotels have been included in the trail guide for those feeling they deserve at least one night of luxury during their trip.

Holiday cottages
Self-catering cottages are ideal for small groups who want to base themselves in the same place for a week or more. This can be a good way to walk parts of the coast path using public transport (see pp43-7) to travel to and from each day’s stage.
    A good base for a week’s walking in south Pembrokeshire would be the seaside town of Tenby which has good public transport links. If you prefer something quieter you could try Freshwater East which has lots of holiday cottages.
    St David’s, or somewhere close to Fishguard, would be a convenient place to base yourself for walks in north Pembrokeshire. Try the tiny holiday village of Cwm-yr-eglwys which has a good bathing beach.
    Prices for holiday cottages usually start at £120 per person for the week based on four to six people sharing. Cottages haven’t been listed in this book; contact the tourist information centre (see box p40) in the area you want to go to for details. Alternatively, contact the Landmark Trust (: www.landmark trust.org.uk) or the National Trust (: www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk), both of which have some properties in Pembrokeshire.

When to go

SEASONS
Pembrokeshire is subjected to the full force of the weather sweeping in from the Atlantic so you can expect rain and strong winds at any time of year. Equally you can be blessed with blazing sunshine; the climate is unpredictable. The main walking season in Pembrokeshire is from Easter to the end of September.

Spring
Walking in Pembrokeshire from March to June has many rewards, the greatest of which is the chance to appreciate the spectacular wild flowers which come into bloom at this time.
    Spring is also the time of year when you are most likely to have dry weather. Easter can be a busy time since it is the first major holiday of the year but at other times the path is relatively quiet.

Summer
Unsurprisingly, summer is when every man and his dog descend on the countryside with July and August, when the heather colours the hillsides purple, being the busiest months. At this time many of the beaches are packed and the coast path too. This isn’t always a bad thing. Part of the enjoyment of walking is meeting like-minded people and there are plenty of them about. However, accommodation can be hard to come by, so do book well in advance.
    Summer weather in west Wales is notoriously unpredictable. One day you can be sweating in the midday sun, the next day battling against the wind and rain. Remember to take clothes for any eventuality.

Autumn
Come September the tourists return home. Autumn can be wild with the first storms of winter arriving towards the end of September. Don’t let this put you off. Although the likelihood of rain and wind increases as winter approaches, sunny days are still possible and the changing colours of the hillsides make the coastline spectacular.

Winter
There are a number of disadvantages to walking the coast path in winter: winter storms are common, the daylight hours are short and many of the places to stay are closed until spring. Experienced walkers who are not afraid of getting wet may appreciate the peace and quiet and may be rewarded with one of those beautifully crisp, clear winter days.

TEMPERATURE
The Welsh climate is temperate and even in winter the air temperature is relatively mild thanks to the warm Gulf Stream sea current. Consequently the temperature is usually quite comfortable at any time of year although on rare occasions in summer it can get a little too hot for walking.

RAINFALL
Pembrokeshire bears the brunt of the violent weather systems that sweep in from the North Atlantic. As a result, the rainfall is usually higher here than in the more sheltered areas further east. The total annual rainfall for west Wales is 1000mm with most of it falling from late summer through into the winter with spring being the driest period.

DAYLIGHT HOURS
If walking in autumn, winter or early spring, you must take account of how far you can walk in the available light. The sunrise and sunset times in the table are based on information for Milford Haven on the first of each month. This gives a rough picture for the rest of Pembrokeshire. Also bear in mind that you will get a further 30-45 minutes of usable light before sunrise and after sunset depending on the weather.