Sustainable Beach Hopping Guide to the St Davids Peninsula
Part Three – South on St Davids Peninsula
This is part three of my blog series helping you to know how you can have a lower impact on our little community and the planet too, when you visit us, by accessing some of our local beaches by catching the local bus shuttle service.
Destinations like St Davids are heavily impacted by huge volumes of traffic during summer months but the good news is, that during your stay at Galwad y Mor (which is Welsh for ‘the call of the sea’), you can help ease this pressure, by leaving your car in one of our free, onsite, private parking bays, right in the centre of St Davids. If you are not up to walking all day on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, you can access parts of it and spend some time on its beaches by using the local shuttle buses. Our friendly onsite office is manned daily and we’ll point you in the right direction for bus stops and provide you with timetables and valuable local knowledge.
Leave the stress behind and unwind, let someone else drive you around and you’ll get a birds eye view over the hedgerows as you fly around on the buses. You won’t need to battle for car parking space either and you’ll be helping to ease congestion on our little roads, thus doing your bit for our precious community.
Galwad y Mor Apartments’ guide to sustainable beach hopping in St Davids
Our 17 apartments take their names from local beaches or harbours. From Abercastel in the North, to Solva in the South, here on the St Davids Peninsula in Pembrokeshire. Here’s part three of our exclusive Galwad y Mor Apartments’ guide to getting to them sustainably, along with their local Welsh names and an insight to their history and what makes them special.
To get to Solva, Porth y Rhaw and Caer Bwdy from St Davids take the 400 Puffin Shuttle/Pâl Gwibio St Davids-Marloes/Tyddewi-Marloes shuttle bus on a Monday to Saturday (not Sundays), from 28th May to 2nd October 2022, from New Street at 08:40, 12:40 or 16:40 (This is literally a couple of steps from our apartments). The service also calls at Carfai Road, where there is pay and display car park for those not staying with us. Then walk back along the coast to St Davids via one or more of these beautiful bays.
Solfach Harbour
Solfach is named after the Welsh name for Solva, an idyllic harbour village, just 3 ½ miles South of St Davids. The village is split into upper and lower Solva by a steep hill. Lower Solva has a narrow river valley which winds down to its harbour, set in a glacial meltwater channel with rocks which contain fossils from the Cambrian age. This popular boating and crabbing spot of today was the main trading centre of St Bride’s Bay in the mediaeval period. Between upper and lower Solva there are several pubs, cafés, restaurants, galleries and shops with public toilets at Lower Solva. There is limited parking here in the summer but it is serviced well by the local buses so it also makes for the perfect lunch out, walk or swim and bus ride home to your apartment. Click for availability and prices of accommodation at our Solfach apartment.
Porth y Rhaw Cove
Porth y Rhaw is a remote cove (with no amenities), which translated means port of the shovel or possibly the oar – a tiny rocky, shale cove at the bottom of a lovely small valley walk, with only a few parking bays just off the road at Ninewells (hence its best to get the bus and walk to it along the coast), about 3 miles south of St Davids. On the south promontory of the cove the remains of a large Iron Age fort, which has been extensively excavated, is being eroded and lost to the sea. The descent to the beach is awkward and very steep, rocky and slippery, so beware and there is no real path at the bottom and descent involves a scramble over rocks as it too has been eroded. Click for availability and prices of accommodation at our Porth y Rhaw apartment.
Caer Bwdy Bay
Caer Bwdy, is a small rocky cove which only has sand at low tide. The famous purple sandstone from which the Cathedral was built was quarried from here. You won’t find any amenities here, but that is the charm of this small, steep shale beach, which is best accessed by walking on the coastal path from neighbouring Caerfai Beach or by getting the bus and walking back along the coast path from Solva.. Click for availability and prices of accommodation at our Caer Bwdy apartment.
You can also get the regular service bus to Solva, which is the T11 to Haverfordwest, and this operates all year round. For more info and bus prices please ring the bus operator directly.
All Wales Bus Pass holders travel free on the coastal buses – simply show your pass to the driver.
If you are using lots of buses in one day the WEST WALES ROVER TICKET is good value and is valid for all day travel. Adults £8.50, Children £4.50. Adult Weekly £34, Children Weekly £16. If you are planning to come to Pembrokeshire by public transport look into the WALES FLEXI PASS, which is accepted on all coastal buses.
Dogs are welcome on the bus (at the drivers’ discretion) provided they are clean, kept on a lead and sit on the floor out of the way of other passengers.For safety of all dogs must be kept on a lead on the coastal path.
Happy beach hopping
Becky x
