2025 Monday, Sept. 21

Cardigan to Newport

Day 1 hiking the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail. We expected it to be long, but were surprised how hard it was.

11.96 miles, sunny to partly cloudy, 53 degrees, 70% humidity, 2951 ft. elevation  gain.

Richard’s ReLive video for the day is here: https://www.relive.com/view/vYvrwkeeWLO

Ready to begin the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail. We’re off in good weather!

This acorn is the icon for our hike, although we will criss-cross with several other trails.

The trail begins aside the River Teifi near St. Dogmael. Here we saw the river mixing with the Cardigan Bay.

Finally we’re making progress. I try not to think about being on the side of a cliff.

The weather is spectacular and the views are stunning. However, we are walking along the coast so each inlet involves walking down a ways and then up the other side. Very slow going!

Multiple paths intersect. The down and up paths don’t look too challenging here, but don’t be fooled. It’s hard work and slow.

Fellow pilgrim, Louie, is waving across the inlet. It’s a long way down.

Sometimes the paths are dirt, sometimes grass, sometimes rocky dirt. Here we had steps to go down to the base of the inlet; it may be stairs up the other side or rocks to climb.

Simon coined the new phrase to describe trails as “not Jan-friendly.” These next few trails qualify. 

Farm fields sometimes follow the inlets toward the sea and sometimes they are parallel to the coast and we walk outside the fences.

Sometimes we have a gate to transition between fields, and sometimes we climb a stile. It helps when there is a signboard to identify our track.

It’s getting later in the afternoon and the wind has picked up and is gusty. Richard is no longer wearing his hat.

We can see Newport in the distance but it’s taunting us and the rocky trail is slow going.

The light is beautiful, but we still have a way to go and we’re losing daylight. Luckily, Simon has already arrived and is consulting with our B&B hosts. Mike agrees to pick us up at the beach to save a couple of miles and get us in before dark.

Now the cruel irony: we want to get to our meeting point to keep Mike from waiting long, but the trail has become exceptionally rocky and is too dangerous to hurry. Every srep has to be carefully placed.

It’s a beautiful sunset but we’re still on the trail. Not much further!

No sooner did we arrive but we needed to head out for dinner. On Sunday night in Newport, there is only one pub open and we had arrived a bit late. Thank goodness it was a good meal: fish, and meat pies.

6 Responses

  1. Wow, what a beautiful hiking day! It doesn’t seem like you have had this nice of weather in some time. And what beautiful scenery! Some of your best pictures! Unfortunately, the trail looked very challenging! And to be walking at dusk! And 12 miles, you are real troopers! Dooo be careful, though!!! Dan and Wendy

    1. We did have a beautiful hiking day with great scenery. It took a bit to get used to our proximity to the cliff (since I’m afraid of heights) but both Richard and Simon were understanding and helpful. I picked this hike, but it’s difficult to understand it until you’re on the trail. It was comforting when everyone we met commented how difficult this trail day was, particularly at the end when we’re tired.

      We are being very careful and slow—that’s why we are sometimes after sunset.

  2. Richard, after watching your video we are even more astounded over your efforts on this adventure. The trail, though having one of the most beautiful views, looked like pure hell to walk on. So proud of both of you for persevering the up and downs of such challenging trail conditions, but also worry about the risks you are taking. You still have some great places to visit and enjoy, so please do be careful and don’t push yourselves into walking places that pose a risk to your health and well being! Dan and Wendy

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