Walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in Autumn

Why autumn is the finest time to walk the Pembrokeshire Coast Path

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs for 186 miles (299km) from Amroth in the south to St Dogmaels in the north, and for almost all of that distance you are within sight or sound of the sea. In July you share it. In autumn you often have it to yourself. The crowds thin after the school holidays, cottage prices soften, and village pubs rediscover their local voices. Meanwhile the weather is often better than visitors expect: September and early October frequently bring settled, bright days, and the sea is at its warmest after a long summer.

There is also the light. A low autumn sun rakes across the Old Red Sandstone cliffs, turning them a deep rust colour, and the hazel and ash woods above the path shift through copper and gold. Cooler air makes the climbing easier too — and there is plenty of climbing.

Choosing your stretch

You do not need a fortnight. The path divides neatly into day sections, and the seasonal coastal shuttle bus means you can walk one way and ride back. Good autumn choices include:

• Tyddewi (St Davids) to Porthgain — about nine miles of the most dramatic coast in Wales, taking in Whitesands Bay, the cliffs above Abereiddi and the Blue Lagoon, a flooded slate quarry with impossibly turquoise water.
• Solva to Newgale — a gentler half-day along a drowned valley, ending on a three-mile pebble-backed beach that catches the sunset beautifully.
• Stackpole and Barafundle Bay — a National Trust estate of lily ponds, limestone cliffs and a sandy cove often described as one of Britain's best; the walk in from the car park keeps it quiet even in season.
• Dinas Head and Cwm-yr-Eglgys — a short, satisfying loop with a ruined church, a graveyard full of shipwrecked sailors and views to Fishguard.
• Manorbier to Tenby — castle, sandy bays and the bright, busy town at the end of it.

Practicalities: tides, weather and daylight

Autumn walking here rewards a little planning. Daylight is the first thing to watch: by late October you lose the light around half past four, so start early and keep days short. Sunset in mid-September is nearer seven o'clock, which makes longer stages realistic.

Tides matter more than on most British paths. Several sections — Newgale, Broad Haven, Freshwater West, Whitesands — can be walked along the sand at low water, which is easy on the legs, but you must carry a tide table and know your escape routes up the cliffs. Never let the sea cut you off against a rising tide.

Kit-wise, bring full waterproofs rather than a shower jacket, boots with real grip for wet rock and mud, and layers you can peel off on the climbs. Paths become slick after rain, and gorse is prickly where it has grown in. Mobile signal is patchy in the coves, so carry a paper map and compass, and tell someone your route.

Wildlife and the turning season

Autumn is pupping season for grey seals. Between September and November, cows haul out on remote beaches — around Ramsey Island, Stackpole and the quieter coves — to give birth to white-coated pups. Keep well back, keep dogs on leads, and use binoculars rather than your phone.

Look out for choughs, the glossy black crows with red bills and a distinctive whistling call, which are a symbol of the Welsh coast. Ravens tumble on the updraughts, peregrines hunt the headlands and kestrels hover over the clifftop grass. Inland, red kites drift over the fields. Hedgerows are heavy with sloes, blackberries and haws, and the gorse keeps a scattering of yellow flowers right through the winter.

The Welsh language and the heritage under your boots

You are walking through a living Welsh-speaking area, particularly north of the Landsker line, and the place names are a map in themselves. Aber means estuary mouth, porth a harbour or gateway, pen a headland, cwm a valley, ynys an island. Tyddewi simply means "David's house" — the smallest city in Britain grew up around its cathedral and the shrine of its patron saint.

The path follows the routes of medieval pilgrims heading for that shrine, and you will pass early Christian chapels, holy wells and clifftop churches founded by sixth-century saints. In the Welsh calendar, Calan Gaeaf, the first of November, marks the start of winter — a liminal time traditionally met with bonfires and, in Pembrokeshire, a Noson Gyflaith, an evening of pulling taffy in a farm kitchen while neighbours told stories. A few hwyl-filled words of Welsh go a long way: bore da (good morning), diolch (thank you), ie and na for yes and no.

Food is part of the culture too. Look for cawl, a slow-cooked lamb and root vegetable broth served with bread and cheese, along with bara brith, Welsh cakes and fresh crab or lobster landed at little harbours along the way.

Villages, food and a warm welcome

One of the joys of an autumn walk is that the villages have room for you. Porthgain is a tiny harbour of slate warehouses, a superb fish-and-chip stop and a pub full of walkers' mud. Solva has a crooked street of painted cottages around a tidal inlet. Newport, Little Haven, Angle and Manorbier all offer somewhere to sleep, eat and dry your boots.

Book ahead for weekends and half-term, but midweek you can often decide on the day. Local firms will move your luggage between stops if you are walking a linear route, which transforms a long-distance walk into something genuinely restful. Walk steadily, watch the weather, respect the seals, and let the coast set the pace — autumn in Pembrokeshire rewards anyone willing to slow down.