LONG DAYS CALL FOR LONG WALKS, and in my case, as a sucker for sunsets, that means late finishes.

With sunset on the Pembrokeshire coast at about 9.45pm in the latter part of June and the sometimes exquisite twilight lasting for up to an hour thereafter, it’s not the time for early starts.

Shuttle bus start

So I had a leisurely morning, then caught the bus from Marloes, where I was based, north up the coast to Newgale.

Pembrokeshire’s coastal bus services – with user-friendly names like the Poppit Rocket and Puffin Shuttle – are a great boon for walkers: all thanks to the Council who subsidise them. But budgets are under pressure so services may be cut…take advantage of them while you can.

The drivers are usually very knowledgeable and happy to have a chat, and today was no exception: a most pleasant way to pass the hour’s journey, and a highly scenic one at that, with sea views much of the way. This particular route along narrow country lanes is no easy one for the drivers though – I was glad not to be at the wheel myself.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Dropped off at the north end of Newgale’s great beach, I enjoyed a warm-up stroll along the sands first before getting going on the cliffs, following the undulating path via Rickets Head to Nolton Haven. Spotting a chough on the way I was, well, chuffed, you could say.

More fine cliff-top walking led to Druidston Haven, just inland of which, built into the earth, is a space-age looking grass-roofed home nicknamed the Teletubby house. At low tide, Druidston has a fine expanse of sandy beach, but the tide was now in, so it was just the shingle exposed. Seeing one or two bodies in the water and duly equipped with swimming togs (popped in the pack at the last minute) I couldn’t resist venturing in for my first sea swim of the year. Wonderful! Just as I avoid the crowds when walking, so I do when swimming in the sea (it beats me why anyone enjoys a jam-packed beach). Druidston proved an ideal spot: a lovely unspoilt location with just a few locals for company.

Duly refreshed, it was upwards and onwards along the next stretch of cliffs to Broad Haven, bigger than the previous two havens. At low tide you can walk along the beach from here to Little Haven, but that wasn’t possible today. The latter being the last opportunity for refreshment, I called in at the pub to get my water bottle refilled, before heading back up the cliffs again.

Superb cliff scenery

The last few hours were blissful: excellent walking, superb cliff scenery and not another soul. Foxgloves, red campion and thrift added foreground colour, while honeysuckle filled the air with its sweet fragrance. Rounding Tower Point I watched the sun set off Ramsey Island in the far distance, but it was that magical twilight hour thereafter – the sky suffused with ever-changing shades of yellow, orange, pink and mauve – that proved the real highlight of a delightful day’s walk.