Time Arrived: 5.10pm
Distance: 24kms
Cumulative Distance: 157.4kms
Percentage Completed: 54%
Ascents and Descents: 626m
Cumulative Ascents and Descents: 3604m
Weather: Overcast in the morning, sunny and warm in the afternoon - max 19
Accommodation: Southwood B&B
Feelings: Neil - Fine, Henk - Good , John - Eager, Di - Good
We enjoyed staying two nights at The Clockhouse B&B at Marloes. It was a comfortable and tasteful B&B with hosts who know the needs of walkers. They also served delicious, modern cuisine for breakfast and dinner.
This was our longest walking day of the walk so far and it also had the most ascents. By the time we reached our B&B we were pleased to have arrived and get our boots off and have a hot shower.
Today, we were joined by our friend, Ron at St Brides. Ron took the bus from St David's where he is staying and we timed our walk from Marloes to meet Ron at ten o'clock. It was good to see Ron again and we were soon underway talking and catching up with all the news as we walked.
The walk up to lunchtime was mostly easy going on top of the cliffs. We had lovely views down to crystal clear waters.
At one o'clock we arrived at the lovely place of Little Haven. It is nestled between two steep cliffs and the pub overlooking the little harbour had picnic tables in the sun. We thought it was an ideal time to stop for lunch.
The walk after lunch became much more difficult. We had a steep climb out of Little Haven to the larger town of Broad Haven which was only ten minutes further on. From Broad Haven the cliffs rose higher and the ascents steeper. We reached some rocky outcrops known as Haroldston Chins and had a break looking over wonderful views.
It was now 2.45pm and Ron realised that he would not make the 3.15pm Puffin Shuttle Bus at Newgale to get back to St David's. The next bus was scheduled for 7.15pm.
We walked on further and reached the isolated area of Druidston Haven at 3.04pm. The timetable on the post said the Puffin Shuttle Bus was due at 3.05pm. It arrived on time and we farewelled Ron and no doubt he arrived at St David's at a much more suitable time. If I had known how steep the next part of the walk was I would have joined Ron on the bus and got off at Newgale!
We had a further seven kilometres to walk and it now became a lot tougher. We had many steep ascents which made this day the highest we have climbed so far. One very steep ascent was the result of a cliff landslide and the path took us steeply up an edge to a higher cliff path.
The Newgale beach was stunning from the high cliffs. Many were making the most of the late afternoon sun walking their dogs, flying kites and wind surfing.
We had to divert off the coastal path just before Newgale to go to our B&B. We climbed a steep, long grassy meadow and then had to walk about 600m on the edge of a very busy narrow road. At 5.00pm it was peak hour on the only road leading in and out of Newgale. We were pleased to arrive safely at our B&B and we were warmly greeted by our hosts Jo and Paul.
Our B&B is a National Trust house built in 1820. It was a substantial farm and the house is very large. Jo and Paul lease the house off the National Trust and the Trust is currently restoring the extensive farm buildings. A descendant of the original owners lives in Tasmania and visited the house last year.
Paul is a chef and he offered to cook us dinner. We agreed immediately as we didn't want to walk a further couple of kilometres into the village for a pub meal. Nor did we want to walk on the road again. Paul cooked a delicious chicken and mushroom dish with lots of vegetables. They served a large amount and we ate nearly the lot of it. A long walk with many steep ascents had sure given us an appetite.
It was an early night for us after such a long day.
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