Pembrokeshire Coast Path: Porthgain to Abereiddi

Ruins, fauna and flora, dramatic scenery and a picnic lunch on a magnificent beach were had on this short but beautiful feature packed walk.

During our glamping trip to St David’s we drove a few miles around the coast to Porthgain for this spectacular coastal walk to Abereiddi and back.

Chris and I had done this walk 5 years ago with Matt and Yvey so we knew what to expect!

We met Matt, Yvey, Kay Marie, Russ, Mick and Andrew at 11 am in the Sloop Inn where Chris and I enjoyed a refreshing a pre-walk cider 🍻 The Sloop Inn is a characterful historic pub in the midst of Porthgain which dates back to the 18th century. And we remembered this pub stop from our visit in October 2020.

Porthgain was a busy port of industrial activity back in the early 1900’s where bricks were manufactured using waste from the nearby slate quarry. Stone from Porthgain was used for surfacing roads throughout the UK.

To reach Abereiddi, we set off walking to the left side of the harbour at Porthgain and climbed the steps to the top of the cliff.

At the top of the steps we looked back and had a great view of Porthgain harbour.

The photo above is looking towards Porthgain East.

As it was early October when we previously did this walk, this time in mid June we were treated to an abundance of wildflowers

The ruins of Porth Ffynnon can be seen perched up on the cliffs. You can walk round them if you wish to venture a short distance away from the coast path.

We climbed down the steep metal steps and the first view of beautiful Traeth Llyfn beach was just as stunning as I remembered.

We had this amazing beach almost to ourselves as we sat on rocks eating our lunch, with the dark shale cliffs providing shelter and creating a sun trap.

After lunch, Yvey, Mick and Andrew walked back to Porthgain and Chris, Matt, KM, Russ and I continued high up on the cliffs above heading towards Abereiddi.

The Blue Lagoon is popular with people who want to jump off cliffs when participating in coasteering activities, or those who wish to do some paddle boarding or kayaking.

We got as far as Abereiddi before turning round and re-tracing our steps back along the coast path and back to Porthgain.

On the way back we spotted some seabirds including a male linnet, which is a type of finch. These have dropped in numbers significantly throughout the last 50 years.

We also saw chough’s nesting in the cliffs, these are a part of the crow family and can be found in coastal areas, particularly in Pembrokeshire. Choughs are rare and there are only around 72 breeding pairs along the Welsh coastline.

We finished off with another drink in the Sloop Inn before driving back to St Davids.

Summary

A highly recommended way to spent a relaxing few hours along the Pembrokeshire coast line.