Pwllgwaelod

Pwllgwaelod is a beautiful west facing Pembrokeshire cove, set at the base of Dinas Island, it’s a sheltered old smugglers cove, which has stunning views over to Fishguard Bay, just a few minute walk from Dinas village.

Pwllgwaelod’s pretty little cove used to be a popular smuggling spot with an old fisherman’s pub virtually on the beach.

Pwllgwaelod is now a popular beach for visitors’ and locals, there are few small fishing boats kept at the beach, if you’re lucky you may be able to buy your supper form one of the local fishermen when they return with their catch.

Pwllgwaeloed has also become a favourite place for artists to come and draw, also popular with photographers especially during the summer evening when there are often superb sunsets.

This silver sand beach is a lovely little beach for families with children, as it is a horse shoe shaped beach and not too big making it relatively easy to keep your eye on your children at all times when the tide is out, there are plenty of rock pools for the very young fishing enthusiasts to explore.

There is easy access on to the coastal path from the beach at Pwllgwaelod, an extremely popular walk from here is around Dinas Island, to Cwm yr Eglwys, there is well maintained footpath which cuts back through the valley, the whole walk is just over 3 miles.

Dinas island headland is approximately 200 aces and is a working farm, mostly with sheep and cattle, so please take care to keep dogs on leads.

Look out for seals in the coves around Dinas island, they are frequently sighted, September is particularly popular when they find sheltered coves and beaches to have their young seal pups on.

Newport bay is several miles across from Dinas island head to Morfa headland in the north and it is often a playground for dolphins and porpoise, most frequently spotted on warm summer evenings when they play in Newport bay.

At Pwllgwaelod, there is free car park, with disabled parking, a boat park and slipway. Pwllgwalods old smugglers pub on the beach has also become a restaurant and bar, called the Old Sailors, which is widely recognised as one of the most romantic venues in north Pembrokeshire (It is closed every Monday, all year round), locally caught fish are a speciality of the restaurant.

If you are walking greater stretches of the coastal path North to Newport or South to Fishguard, Pwllgwaelod is a good place to leave your car as you can return on the local coastal bus service called the Poppit Rocket, which is in service all year round, and travels along the coastal road from Cardigan to Fishguard (limited in the winter months).