BUDGETING
The amount of money you are likely to spend depends on your accommodation plans and how you’re going to eat. If you camp and cook your own meals your expenses can stay very low but most people prefer to have at least some of their meals cooked for them and even the hardy camper may be tempted into the occasional B&B when the rain is falling.
Camping
You can survive on as little as £9 per person if you use the cheapest sites and cook all your own food from staple ingredients. Nevertheless, most people find that the best-laid plans to survive on the bare minimum soon fall flat after a couple of hard days’ walking. Always budget for unforeseen expenses as well as for the end-of-day drink (a pint of beer costs around £2). Assuming such liquid treats and the occasional pub meal or takeaway a budget of £10-15 per day is more realistic.
Bunkhouses and hostels
YHA hostels on the route charge between £9.50/7 and £14/10 per adult/child per night; most places have a self-catering kitchen allowing you to create your own meals from food bought at local shops or supermarkets. Some YHA hostels provide meals (breakfast costs £4.20/2.45 adult/child, a picnic lunch costs £4.80/3.80 and an evening meal costs £8.40/6.15). Bunkhouses cost £10-20 per person; sometimes this includes breakfast. There may also be an additional charge if you want to rent bed linen.
Now and then you will need, or want, to eat out which adds to your daily costs. Around £25-30 per day should be enough to cover the cost of accommodation while still allowing for the occasional bar meal and end of day tipple. If you are planning on eating out most nights you should clearly increase your budget to around £35 per day.
B&Bs, inns, guesthouses and hotels
B&B prices can be as little as £17 per night but are usually nearer half as much again but this will almost always include breakfast. Add on the price of a packed lunch, pub evening meal, drink and other expenses and you can expect to need around £30-50 per day, and probably more if you are walking on your own. If staying in a guesthouse or hotel expect to pay £40-60 per day.
Extras
Don’t forget all those little things that secretly push up your daily costs: postcards, stamps, souvenirs, beer, camera film, buses here, buses there, more beer and getting to and from the trail in the first place; it all adds up!
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 of 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 opposite 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 and after sunrise and sunset depending on the weather.
ANNUAL EVENTS
The free national park newspaper Coast to Coast has a comprehensive ‘What’s On’ page updated annually. Check with tourist information centres for details and times.
The National Park Authority also organizes events, see their website (www.pcnpa.org.uk) for details. Below is a taster of what can be found to distract you along the way:
Fishguard Folk Festival (tel 01348-872514, www.pembrokeshire-folk-music.co.uk/festival.htm) The sound of fiddles and bodhrans fill the town in the last weekend of May. Concerts and workshops are also organized. The main venue is The Royal Oak Inn in Market Sq.
Fishguard International Music Festival (tel 01348-873612, www.fishguardfestival.org.uk) Lots of strings and brass in the last week of July. A number of orchestras perform during the week.
St David’s Cathedral Festival (tel 01437-720271, www.stdavidscathedral.org.uk/festivals) Nine days of music in the wonderful St David's Cathedral, beginning the last weekend of May; widely considered to be one of the best music festivals in Wales.
Tenby Arts Festival (tel 01834-842404, www.tenbyartsfest.co.uk) Exhibitions in various venues around town in the last week of September. Dance workshops, kite-flying competitions, sand sculptures, music and drama.
ITINERARIES
This guidebook has not been divided up into rigid daily stages. Instead, it’s structured to make it easy for you to plan your own itinerary. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path can be tackled in any number of ways, the most challenging of which is to do it all in one go. This does require around two weeks, time which some people just don’t have.
Most people do the walk over a series of short breaks coming back year after year to do a bit more. Others just walk the best bits, avoiding the ugly industrial stretches around the Milford Haven estuary and others use the path for linear day-walks using public transport there and back.
To help you plan your walk see the planning map (opposite the inside back cover) and the table of village/town facilities on pp24-5; the latter gives a run down on the essential information you will need regarding accommodation possibilities and services.
The suggested itineraries in the boxes above, opposite and on p28 may also be useful; they are based on different accommodation types – camping, hostels and B&Bs – with each one divided into three alternatives depeiiending on your walking speed. They are only suggestions, feel free to adapt them to your needs. Don’t forget to add your travelling time before and after the walk.
There is also a list of recommended linear day and weekend walks on p29; these cover the best stretches of the coast and those which are well served by public transport. The public transport map and table are on pp39-41.
Once you have an idea of your approach turn to Part 4 for detailed information on accommodation, places to eat and other services in each village and town on the route. Also in Part 4 you will find summaries of the route to accompany the detailed trail maps.
WHICH DIRECTION?
There are a number of advantages in tackling the path in a south to north direction. An important consideration is the prevailing south-westerly wind which will, more often than not, be behind you, helping rather than hindering you.
On a more aesthetic note the scenery is tamer in the south, while more dramatic and wild to the north, so there is a real sense of leaving the best until last. In addition a south to north direction allows you to get used to the walking on easier ground before confronting the more strenuous terrain further north.
Some may choose to walk in the opposite direction, perhaps preferring to get the hard stuff out of the way at the beginning. The maps in Part 4 give timings for both directions so the guide can easily be used back to front, or for day trips.
SIDE TRIPS
The coast path gives a fairly thorough impression of what the national park has to offer. However, there are some other hidden gems to be discovered both inland and off-shore for those with some time to spare.
One of the wildest and most beautiful places is the Preseli Hills (see pp192-4) rising above Newport offering extensive views over the whole peninsula with gentle walks in the Cwm Gwaun valley. Closer to Tenby are the Bosherston Lily Ponds (see p90) for short woodland walks; a great place to spot otters. Over on the islands of Skomer, Skokholm and Grassholm (see box p134) and Ramsey (see box p157) gannets, gulls and puffins festoon the cliffs while the lazy creeks of the Daugleddau estuary (see pp111-12) make a relaxing change from the seething Atlantic surf. It is worth planning a few extra days on your trip to take in one or two, if not all of these side trips. A boat trip to one of the islands makes for a good day off since it is not too strenuous.
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park website (www.pcnpa.org.uk) lists 200 circular walks in the National Park many of which are based around the coast path.
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