Welcome back to Short Walks, Long Paths!

After an extended break it’s good to be out on the coast path again

Resuming where we left off in Pembrokeshire ( walk 26 ) this walk starts at Strumble Head, the spectacular vantage point overlooking Ynys Meicel island and the impressive lighthouse.

We followed the coastal path eastwards along rugged cliff tops with spectacular views of the remote landscape and the many wonderful coves and bays dotted along this stretch of coastline.

Porth Sychan is a particularly scenic bay, the grey craggy rock faces topped by a lush landscape of richly coloured heather, gorse and bracken covering the ground above the cliffs.

There’s historical interest on this walk too. At Carreg Goffa, a memorial stone commemorates the ‘Last invasion of Britain’. An event that would certainly qualify as one of those ‘stranger than fiction’ episodes.

In February 1797 at nearby Carreg Wastad Point, a French invasion fleet landed 1,400 men with the intention of seizing the nearby harbour at Fishguard. However, once ashore many promptly ran amok raiding the local farms, which just happened to be well stocked with strong liquor retrieved from a recent shipwreck. Some French troops were soon drunk and disorderly and in no fit state to put up a fight against what they thought was an advancing army of Welsh soldiers.

In fact, the advancing ‘army’ was a local Welsh lady, Jemima Nicholas who fearlessly led a band of women in traditional Welsh dress and stovepipe hats, armed only with pitchforks to confront over a thousand troops. Jemima herself rounded up at least a dozen French soldiers and fearing a bloody defeat, the remainder soon surrendered.

Jemima Nicholas, a brave and remarkable woman, had written herself into Welsh folklore and her legendary exploits are still celebrated today.

We continued along the path, winding its way around more scenic coves with quite a few descents and climbs back to the clifftops. The high ground offering superb views ahead to the headlands of North Pembrokeshire in the distance.

After walking along exposed clifftops in sunshine for a few miles, the descent into the shaded thickly wooded valley at Cwm Felin provided some welcome cool relief. We crossed a stream on a small footbridge then a steep path led up out of the valley back onto the clifftops above a rocky bay at Aber Felin.

At Aber Felin we paused for a short while along this stretch as our attention was drawn to a large group of seals. It was a fantastic sight and quite entertaining to watch as a dozen seals were making quite a splash as they noisily frolicked in the waters and on the rocks in the bay below.

At Pen Anglas, the final headland on this walk, there’s a wonderful view over Fishguard Bay, and the huge breakwater at the harbour entrance which protects the ferry port.

After the remote landscape of the coast, the path emerges into a residential street at the top of Harbour Village.

At the end of the walk, we headed to a local pub for the essential post walk refreshments. Given the walk through history earlier at Carreg Goffa, it seemed only fitting to enjoy a pint of ‘Jemima’s Pitchfork’ a golden ale, named in honour of the great lady of Fishguard.

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