Marloes - Dale - St Ann's Head - Marloes Sands

Jean Shepherd

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This excellent walk was originally devised by Terry Price.

Leaving the National Trust Car Park at Marloes, the first section of the walk uses roads to take the walker to the village of Dale, where the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path is joined. After initial views over the waters of Milford Haven, the path rises and falls over a series of headlands and coves to St Ann's Head, passing the old forts at Dale Point and West Blockhouse Point en route.

Just before St Ann's Head it passes Mill Bay, which is the place where Henry Tudor made an unopposed landing in 1485, after 14 years in exile in France. He subsequently went on to defeat Richard III at The Battle of Bosworth and became King Henry VII of England. St Ann's Head is the site of earlier Lighthouses, now replaced by an automated version.

A short diversion provides a viewpoint of Cobbler's Hole, where a magnificent example of severe folding and faulting of the rock strata is exposed. The section of path after St Ann's Head provides views of red sandstone cliffs mixed with grey / green Silurian shale and of Skokholm and the Skomer Islands. This section is very flat until the path drops down to Westdale Bay with its lovely sandy beach.

A short steep climb restores the views and after traversing the clifftop along most of the length of Marloes Sands, with its rocky formations, the Coastal Path is forsaken in favour of one which provides a short return to the start.

A shorter version of the walk can be followed by parking at Dale, joining the walk there and leaving it at Westdale, with a short walk down the valley back to the car park (saves 5.5 miles).
Another way of shortening the walk is to use the Puffin Shuttle bus for the initial Marloes - Dale section of the walk.

Wales - South Wales - Pembrokeshire - Coast

Features

Ancient Monument, Birds, Butterflies, Cafe, Flowers, Great Views, National Trust, Pub, Restaurant, Sea, Toilets, Wildlife
7/9/2022 - James Brinkworth

Did the shorter version of this walk by parking at Dale beach car park in our shiny new campervan. We then joined the walk at WP4. What followed was a truly glorious walk around the headland to St Anne's Head and back up to the lovely little deserted beach at west Dale. We arrived back at the van exhausted but happy!

7/24/2016 - dave stephen

Walked this with my mate, one of the best coastal walks we've done, try to time it that the end of the walk you reach Marloes Sands at lowish tide. The scenery is fantastic, reminds me of the west coast of Ireland, Dave