Coast Walking (Wales): Castlemartin to Stackpole 21 June 2015 (Midsummer Day)

We did this section in reverse in order to fit in with bus transport. We had chosen a Sunday because the Castlemartin Artillery Range was open only one day a week and otherwise we would have missed out 6 or 7 kilometres of classic limestone cliff of Carboniferous age. Even so, slightly more than that distance of coast remained inaccessible, including the far Linney Head and a large expanse of dune.

We started at Stackpole, parking at the Stackpole Inn, where we were to stay the night. There was over a mile of road to walk to get to the nearest part of the coast at Stackpole Quay. Over one headland we descended into Barafundle Bay, which has a good clean beach, dunes at the back and limestone cliffs on the north side. The dunes were mainly overgrown with rank vegetation (just a little sea bindweed), but the cliffs and slopes below were very flowery with lots of pyramidal orchids, salad burnet, squinancywort, wild madder, ivy broomrape, burnet-rose, and viper’s bugloss. We searched for small rest-harrow at one of its only two sites here, but only came across lots of common rest-harrow. Washed up on the beach were remains of large Barrel Jellyfish, many more of which were to be seen on subsequent days.

At the end of this bay the massive limestone cliffs began in earnest, marked by vertical descents, sea-stacks and sea-caves, ledges providing guillemot nest-sites. Stackpole Head was covered with limestone grassland, colourful with many flowers, including spring squill and the red variety of kidney vetch, coccinea. The next major headland was Saddle Point, after which we descended into Broad Haven beach. The limestone cliff just above the beach at its seaward end had a diminutive rock-sea-lavender in rock-clefts, just beginning to flower, and this turned out to be the very rare endemic which only grows at this site, Small Rock Sea-lavender or Limonium parvum. The beach was relatively clear of shells, although there were a few more varieties than at Barafundle, including blue-rayed limpet and spotted cowrie. The dunes at the top were again deficient in plants. The next section of cliff was within the militarised area, but there was relative freedom to explore along the paths and seawards of them, although inland access was prohibited. The turf varied according to the underlying geology, limestone or sandstone, sometimes floriferous with lots of yellow rattle and both confused and western eyebrights, and at times impoverished with mainly bracken and heather, with occasional trailing and slender StJohn’s-worts. Most of the cliffs, however, were massive vertical limestone, making for a scenery close to that of Dorset. We descended into one early bay, New Quay, which had quite unsullied sand and rocks where we could sit to eat our lunch all by ourselves.

Shortly afterwards we came to the first of two car-parks where roads brought visitors down on Sundays. Near here was a narrow sea-cleft occupied by a restored chapel, a most unlikely situation. There followed several cliffs favoured by guillemots, nesting, flying by and fishing in flotillas on the sea, along with the familiar stench of sea-bird colonies. Damper sections of cliff-top turf included early and southern marsh orchids, bog pimpernel and lousewort. Marsh orchids were quite frequent in places, although we saw fewer spotted orchids (common and heath). At one point we observed the leaves of golden samphire among cliff-edge rocks, yet to come into flower, whereas it was difficult to find a surviving flower on the spring squills. The scenery was generally attractive with many sea-arches and sea-stacks, and lots of sink-holes inland, probably associated with the many geological faults and fractures. The cliffs were very popular with climbers. At one point we were passed (slowly) by a long procession of tractors (30 or so), covering us with fumes and dust, an outing for a vintage tractor club. Sea-stacks near the second car-park (Elegug Stacks), where we had to leave the coast, were so crowded with guillemots that they were squashed in side by side in continuous mats of nesting birds along every ledge and the top platform.

We then had a long trek north along the road, passing the deserted hamlet of Flimston, where the church and churchyard survived but other buildings were roofless, and the once extensive barley fields were replaced by tank tracks. At a crossroads, where a road went right to Merrion, the site of the military camp, we turned left to Castlemartin, where we had to wait almost an hour for the bus back to Stackpole, and wished we had delayed longer at the coast. There was a fine specimen of alexanders here, a plant which we have only seen occasionally on this part of the walk.

Stackpole Inn was very welcoming, popular and provided good food. The room was spacious and clean.