Walking the Wales Coast Path - Pembrokeshire - Broad Haven to Solva
On the 30th June 2021 my friend Nia and I walked 13 miles of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, from Broad Haven to Solva. It was a stunning blue sky day, and one of the most beautiful stretches of the coastal path I have walked to date.
Broad Haven.
The first half of the walk from Broad Haven to Nolton Haven was a perfectly relaxed summer stroll. It eased us into a false sense of ease I think for what lay ahead. We stopped at the stunning Druidston beach for a nice little snack break, and then when we got to Nolton Haven we stopped for some lunch and Nia even went for a swim in the sea.
Druidston Beach.
Notlon Haven.
The walk from Nolton Haven to Newgale started throwing a few more uphill climbs at us, but nothing we couldn’t handle, and the coastline was breathtaking and helped keep us going. We definitely let out a sigh of relief though when Newgale finally came into view, and we were able to stop for a much needed ice cream to cool us down.
Newgale in the distance.
Looking down on Newgale.
We left Newgale feeling refreshed and ready for the final leg of our walk back to our car at Solva. However, our positive mental attitude took a big hit when we saw a sign telling us Solva was still over 5 miles away. We had both separately looked at the route and calculated it at around 10 miles maximum, we had already walked nearly 8 miles, and so a sense of dread filled our bones as we realised that chances are we were wrong and our final 2 miles were in fact a final 5.
Unsurprisingly the sign was correct and it was our math that was off. Add to that these 5 miles were an endless series of steep inlines followed by slight declines, followed by severe inclines. Or at least that is how it felt.
It was definitely a hard slog to muster the strength to keep going, but having Nia with me meant we could keep spurring each other on and have a good laugh about it. And let’s face it, the turquoise water, and endless secret beaches, and incredible views, made it a far pleasanter experience than it might have been otherwise.
Solva.
Solva.
We made it back to Solva in one piece and in total agreement that the walk was both long and incredible.
I’ve walked a fair amount of the Pembrokeshire coast now, as I write this almost 6 months later, and I can honestly say this is one of my favourite stretches. I have already re-visited some of the amazing beaches we discovered on that route, and can’t wait to go back and visit more of them.
Whether you break the walk up into smaller chunks, or do it all in one go, I have no doubt you will be blown away by this stretch of coastline.
