This five mile ‘out and back’ walk covers a short section of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path between Bosherston Lily Ponds and St. Govan’s.

Bosherston is a small village with picturesque old cottages and an impressive Norman Church. For ramblers and visitors it has some essential amenities. Ye Olde Worlde Cafe is a quaint ivy clad cottage tea rooms, with nice gardens for enjoying refreshments outdoors, though it’s only open during holiday season.

There’s also a welcoming village pub, St. Govan’s Country Inn, which offers a great selection of bar meals and a fine pint at the end of this walk. It’s a very popular place particularly during spring and summer with coastal hikers, rock climbers, campers and day trippers.

If starting this walk at Bosherston, a National Trust car park is situated near the access to the paths around the Lily Ponds, charges apply for non members. Arrive early and there may be some limited free roadside parking in the village.

A path leads down through a woodland setting to join the trails around the Lily Ponds. You can choose to take a path to the left or to the right, and to complete a circuit by walking along the opposite bank when returning from St. Govan’s.

The Lily Ponds are wonderfully scenic and a haven for wildlife. As we walked the nature trail alongside the ponds, a variety of birdsong could be heard, with a noisy woodpecker in a tree top, a cormorant flew low over the water while ducks, and swans with signets could be seen in sheltered areas on the water.

The varied habitat of the ponds is home to otters but you’d be fortunate to glimpse these elusive shy creatures. The reed beds are a good spot for heron, kingfisher and various species of birds such as warblers. The path leads to a footbridge over a freshwater stream which runs along the eastern side of the wide, golden sands of Broad Haven South beach.

The coast path is way marked through sand dunes, as it rises on the ridge where you can enjoy fantastic views across the beach and just offshore sits the magnificent stack of Church Rock.

The path rises again as steps lead up to a car park area with washroom facilities, then continues westwards across countryside.

This area, Trevallen Downs is a pleasant walk across fields with some lovely views, particularly when looking back across this rugged coastline.

There’s also a pretty and secluded bay, Trevallen Coves near a campsite. Although there didn’t seem to be an obvious path down onto the beach, we could see some people in the bay, so there must be a little known path used by the campers.

The path opens out as a wide grassy track across green fields set back from the cliffs. A sentry gate marks the boundary of the Castlemartin East M.O.D. Range. The range is only accessible when there aren’t ‘live’ military exercises, so it’s important to plan a walk here to ensure the coast path is accessible on the day.

The path tracks above the narrow inlet of New Quay, reputedly an old smugglers cove in centuries past. A gravel path leads out onto St. Govan’s Head, where a coastguard lookout building on the headland is the southernmost point of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

The headland is exposed to bracing westerly winds which whip in off the sea, carrying the noise of waves smashing onto the rocks below. The sights and sounds here really make for an epic coastal scene.

These cliffs are very popular with rock climbing enthusiasts and as you walk by you often see some setting up their ropes nearby. There’s obvious erosion along the top of the cliffs and so it’s very wise to be cautious here and keep some space from the cliff edge for safety.

Walking back from the headland, there are stunning views along the cliffs where the historic chapel of St. Govan is hidden in a sheltered cove. To read about visiting the chapel and the Castlemartin coastline, see Coast Walk 9 to The Green Bridge of Wales.

From St. Govan’s we retraced our steps, returning along the coast path to Broad Haven South, where we spotted a heron enjoying some late afternoon sun in the wide waters of the stream on the beach.

We then walked back around the Lily Ponds along the opposite bank to finish this walk back at Bosherston.

Route Stats ~ Bosherston to St. Govan’s and return.