Pembrokeshire Coast Path · Stage 12
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
Round the Angle peninsula to Freshwater West: 16.1 km by the Park's section header, about 14.6 km by its subsections. Beyond Angle there are no roads, houses or amenities, and mostly no mobile signal, the National Trail page says. Bathing at Freshwater West is dangerous.
Best season: All year; spring and autumn are the favourites. The path is open all year, the Park and National Trails say, and many walkers prefer the cooler spring, for breeding birds and wild flowers, and autumn, for migrating birds and seal pups. In winter, storms, high wind and fog make the cliff tops dangerous, and some pubs, cafés and shops close. Seals are likely at Ceibwr from 1 August to the end of November: keep dogs on a lead. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A village with a pub and a camp site; beyond it, the National Trail page says, there are no roads, houses or amenities, and mostly no mobile signal, until Freshwater West.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 1 place to stay within about 1300 m (read 13 October 2026). TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Stage end
Trailhead
A surf beach behind dunes, with no village, shop or bed; Gupton Farm camp site is about 2 km inland. Bathing is dangerous here, the Park says: rips, undertow and quicksand at the north end.
Gupton Farm · Camping spot
No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 3 h 02 of walking.
Make it your trip
Book places to stay well ahead in summer, especially for single nights, the Park says: some stretches have very few. Camp sites are small, and booking is essential for bank holidays and from June to September; some open only briefly in summer. No permit is needed to walk the path.
The Park's fifteen sections, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe north coast and the St Davids peninsula in seven sections.
Plan this journeyThe Marloes peninsula, the Haven, the Castlemartin coast and Tenby in eight sections.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (28 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 1–55 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Day / night | 9°/5° | 9°/5° | 10°/5° | 12°/6° | 14°/9° | 17°/11° | 18°/13° | 18°/13° | 17°/12° | 14°/10° | 12°/8° | 10°/6° |
| Rain, mm | 88 | 68 | 62 | 59 | 54 | 64 | 68 | 86 | 72 | 109 | 121 | 101 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 8 h 17 | 9 h 56 | 11 h 46 | 13 h 49 | 15 h 35 | 16 h 38 | 16 h 15 | 14 h 42 | 12 h 45 | 10 h 47 | 8 h 54 | 7 h 51 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
On section 10, the Gann near Dale is passable about 3 to 3½ hours either side of low water, and Sandy Haven about 2½ to 3 hours either side; they are about 7 km (4 miles) apart on the path, and the Park advises allowing about 2½ hours between them. It points to the Milford Haven Port Authority's tide tables. The high-tide alternatives are long road walks, about 4 miles round Sandy Haven. Minor spring-tide floods also cover the path at Newport Iron Bridge, Quoits Mill, Pwllcrochan, Point House Lane, Little Wick and Castle Pond.
The Park: Coast Path FAQ (read 13 October 2026)Castlemartin Range West, between Freshwater West and Stack Rocks, is never open: the path goes inland. Range East, Stack Rocks to St Govan's, is normally closed on weekdays for firing (the Park gives 09:00 to 16:30; the MOD's October 2026 notice gave 07:30 to 16:45), sometimes into the night, and normally open at weekends, on public holidays and through August; on about a quarter of firing days St Govan's to Broad Haven South closes too. Check the MOD's monthly firing notice or the answerphone on 01646 662367 the day before. At Penally, when the red flags fly, take the signed path inland of the Giltar cliffs.
MOD: Castlemartin firing notice (read 13 October 2026)Much of the path runs along unfenced cliff tops: keep to the path, and turn back in high wind or fog. Bathing is dangerous at Freshwater West. In an emergency on the coast, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
The Park: planning your walk (read 13 October 2026)Getting there
Travel around Angle to Freshwater West.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
TrawsCymru T5 runs from Aberystwyth and Haverfordwest by Fishguard to Cardigan, about hourly from Monday to Saturday. Bus 408 runs from Cardigan to St Dogmaels on Monday to Saturday; only two runs a day reach Poppit Sands, the others turn about 1.5 km short.
Pembrokeshire County Council: bus timetables (read 13 October 2026)Fishguard and Goodwick, Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Pembroke, Lamphey, Manorbier, Penally, Tenby, Saundersfoot and Kilgetty have railway stations (Transport for Wales), some of them 1 to 2 km from the path, so the path splits into stretches between stations.
Transport for WalesThe coastal buses (Poppit to St Davids, the St Davids peninsula, St Davids to Martin's Haven, and round Angle, Castlemartin and Stackpole) ran daily in summer 2026, most from 23 May to 27 September, the Celtic Coaster from 28 March. From 1 October 2026 to 28 May 2027 only the Coastal Cruiser runs, on Thursdays and Saturdays. The T5, T11, 351 and 408 run all year, and the Fflecsi on-demand bus from Monday to Saturday (booked by app or on 0300 234 0300).
Pembrokeshire County Council: coastal buses (read 13 October 2026)Bus 351 runs from Amroth by Saundersfoot to Tenby, Monday to Saturday all year, for trains from Tenby or Kilgetty.
Pembrokeshire County Council: bus timetables (read 13 October 2026)Take your trip with you
Prepare each section while you still have a connection: beyond Angle there is mostly no mobile signal, the National Trail page says.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
The Park and National Trails give 186 miles (299 km) from St Dogmaels to Amroth; the Park's fifteen sections add up to 181.5 miles (292 km), the rest probably town routes. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 20279882, "Pembrokeshire Coast Path main route", from the planet of 11 October 2026): 285 km, cut at the Park's fifteen section ends. It follows the inland route round Castlemartin Range West, which is never open, and the coast path over Range East. Our climb is measured on terrain heights: short, steep coves are smoothed out, so expect more up and down than the figures say. The Park publishes no section times, only lengths (read 13 October 2026), so the times here are measured on our line.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park: the Coast PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation