ALTHOUGH ALMOST ANY STRETCH ALONG THE SUPERB PEMBROKESHIRE COAST PATH (now part of the larger Wales Coast Path)  is sure to prove a fine walk (the section around Milford Haven being the obvious exception), when it’s National Trust owned land, too, you’re guaranteed quality.

National Trust coastline

While OS Explorer maps are, of course, the best for walkers on the whole, one of the features of the Landrangers that I particularly like is the mauve band denoting National Trust land, especially along the coast.

Spread the Landranger maps out and at a quick glance you can pick out the mauve-edged stretches of coastline that are certain to provide some of the best walking there is (which is not to say other sections aren’t just as good!)

On the Explorer maps, National Trust land is shown as sandy-shaded access land, so it’s not obvious it is theirs, and along a coastline where you’ve got sandy coloured beaches, too, and closely-packed contours of a virtually identical hue, it’s far from easy to identify NT land

Stackpole Estate

On the south Pembrokeshire coast, the NT’s Stackpole estate includes not only some spectacular limestone cliff scenery and two of the best beaches in Wales, but also, inland, woodland and lakes: the picturesque Bosherston Lily Ponds (as they are known). These artificial lakes were created by the Stackpole Estate in the 18^th and 19^th centuries by flooding the three narrow limestone valleys through the building of a series of dams, weirs and sluices. Today they are a haven for wildlife and famous for their water lilies, hence the name.

Freshwater East beach, Pembrokeshire

It was my last day at lovely Two Hoots cottage in the hamlet of Hodgeston where I’d been based, and a beautiful one, too. I’d walked to Stackpole earlier in the week along the highly scenic stretch of NT coastline south-west of Freshwater East, but the heavens had opened, and they meant business that day. So I was keen to do the walk again….. A 15-minute stroll down a peaceful country lane brought me to a small car park overlooking Freshwater Bay, from where I descended to the Wales Coast Path/Pembrokeshire Coast Path and beach. With the tide well out, there was plenty of firm sand on which to walk.

The old red sandstone cliffs from here to Stackpole Quay contrast markedly with the limestone scenery beyond; and the walking is more strenuous along the up-and-down cliffs of the former than the level grassy limestone cliff tops. On a clear day Lundy can be seen. Although not visible today, the views along the coast were still excellent.

Barafundle Bay

Not far from Stackpole Quay is beautiful Barafundle Beach, which has been voted the best in Britain and one of the top 12 in the world; such popularity-boosting accolades have an obvious downside but today, being the low season (and a weekday), I was glad to find only a few others.

Continuing along the coast, I kept as close to the cliff edges as possible (you miss out on the views of the splendid cliff scenery if you take short cuts across the headlands), spotting a pair of choughs en route. Access along the coast beyond Broad Haven is restricted by the MoD, but that wasn’t a concern today as I headed inland alongside the eastern arm of the lakes to aptly-named Eight-Arch Bridge and then via a track back to Stackpole Quay.

From there it was simply a matter of retracing my earlier steps to Freshwater East, enjoying the views once more, but in the opposite direction.

A delightful day’s walk.