Pembrokeshire.

A local adventurer's guide.

I often get asked for the best places to adventure around this area of the world I live. Here's it all in one place.

Bouldering.

Tucked away up in the north of the county lies the Preseli hills. Scattered across these hills are a few rocky outcrops, this area is home to some truly amazing bouldering of the highest quality.There isn't loads, far from it. However by many accounts it's the best in south Wales. There are a few other bits of bouldering along the coast, such as at Newgale beach, but the hills are where you can find the gold.First some history.
These hills are called the Preselis or Mynyddoedd Y Preseli in welsh and are thought to be the origin of some of the rock used to build Stonehenge. The landscape up there is beautiful and on a clear day the view stretches for many miles, including up to the mountains of Snowdonia or even across to Ireland.Where are the boulders?
The bouldering is split up into three main areas, these are Mynydd Dinas, Carn Ingli and the main Preselis and these areas are all split into a number of different sections. Mynydd Dinas and the main Preselis area are where most of the problems are and have the highest quality rock, if you’re just here for a quick visit go to either of these.Main Preseli Area
Park here.
This is in my opinion the best bouldering in the area. It has quite a walk that seems to get longer every time, it takes about 40 minutes. However it is certainly worth it even just for the views.I would recommend trying:
- Pete's Prow 6A. Possibly south Wales' best boulder? HIGH!
- Josh's Groove 6C. Known to me and my mates as Bloody Nipple after Dylan took a little scrape while trying this. Good fun.
- Grass Gulley 6C+. An initially tricky but then once you have cracked it very fun dyno.
- Pete's Arête 6C. A nice arête that requires trust in your shoes on a tiny little edge.
- Silent Hill 7B (probably 7A+). A hard one move slapping up high with the right hand.

Mynydd Dinas
Park here.
The walk in here is a lot more relaxed. You can clearly see the first set of boulders from the car and the next set are about the same distance again just over the hill. There are amazing views north of the coast from up here and back across the rest of the Preseli hills to the south east. A perfect evening spot, with great sunset views.Conditions☀️🌧
Ok, as is well known, it rains a lot in Wales. The good news is most of the rock here dries super quick! The boulders are out on the open hills so get the wind and the sun whenever it is out. In the past it has been raining when I have parked and the rock dry by the time I get to it.Be careful the weather changes quickly up on the hills, try not to get lost or any other bad thing like that.Guide books.
The Mynydd Dinas area features in a couple of different guides.
Pembroke North
Boulder BritainA specific South Wales Bouldering guide is coming soon.UKC has a lot of information as well as a couple of other websites. As usual this does make it a lot more difficult to find the problems but it is worth putting the effort in as the boulders are great.Links
Climbers Club Pembroke Bouldering
UKC Mynydd Dinas
UKC Preseli
UKC Carn Ingli
Summit Post Mynydd Dinas
27 Crags Newgale South Bouldering
Out One Evening - Preseli Hills Bouldering FilmGive me a shout here if you would like to know any more. Or I might even be around to join you for a climb.

Mountain Biking.

A lot of people seem to think there is no mountain biking in Pembrokeshire. They are just looking in the wrong places.I'm not going to lie and say it is great or there is loads, but there is fun to be had around here.The mountain biking in Pembrokeshire is mostly up in the area of the Preseli hills. There is no purpose built singletrack around yet but it is on its way. The riding is best in the summer when you are less likely to sink to your axles in bog but has great views all year round.The riding is mostly on the bridleways of the Hills and the Gwaun Valley as well as the tracks of Pantmaenog forest above Rosebush.Here are some good rides to start with.

Preseli Ridge
This is the main event when it comes to mountain biking in Pembrokeshire. The route takes you along the length of the hills from Rosebush to almost Crymych. It then returns along a quit country lane.You start up through the forest of Pantmaenog then out onto the moorland towards Foel Feddau, passing the highest point Foel Cwm Cerwyn on your right. The track descends for over a mile along natural singletrack and through scattered rocks.Next there is a short but very steep climb that is a struggle to get up with out pushing before leveling off until you get to Carn Bica. From here you descend through the middle of the Bedd Arthur stone circle and then up to Carn Menyn home to some great bouldering.From the rocks the track heads downhill and past Foel Drygarn on your left before you get to the track at the bottom which leads you to the road back to the start.

Below are some other trails that are worth an explore.

Carn Ingli, Cwn Gwaun and Bedd MorrisThis is a great figure 8 loop that takes you around the best parts of the Carn Ingli area. There are great views over Newport and Dinas Island from here.

Foel Eryr Loop
A quick little loop down a fast and dusty trail (during the summer) into the Gwaun Valley and back.

Bike to the Beach
Over the hills to the beach at Newport. This is fun, you cross the Preselis, drop into the Gwaun Valley and then arrive at the beach. You can return the same way or pick some of the other bridleways back.

Mix and Match
I hope these few routes give you a good start. There are many other routes you can do mixing and matching the trails here. Give me a shout here if you would like to know any more.

Sunrise spots.

The west coast of most places is usually better for amazing sunsets but Pembrokeshire's funny shape and hilly bits make it an interesting place for sunrises too.Here's some of my favourite spots I've enjoyed watching the sun come up. And they're also some of my favourite spots simply for adventuring to.Carn Ingli
This is possibly my favourite peak in the Preselis. I love the rocky top and the views of the other hills and out to the sea over Newport. This is a sunrise spot for any time of the year but during the winter months the sun rises from behind the hills creating a great silhouette.You're going here, start here, and walk up the obvious path, heading around to the right a little once you get to the rocky bit.St. Davids Area
This area has many great spots to see the sun come up. Have a look at Carn Llidi, Caerfai, or any of the other nearby hills or coast. You're unlikely to be disappointed anywhere in this area but different spots will be better at different times of the year.Foel Drygarn
A classic Preseli Hills spot. It's a short walk but steep for the last bit.As you will see there are three large Cairns at the top of this hill (where the name Drygarn comes from 'Dry' is three and 'garn' is cairn. These are actually part of an ancient hill fort that was built up here.You're going here, start here. Aim for the top it's hard to miss.

Foel Feddau
I feel this is a bit of an under rated spot on the Preselis. It sits not far from the highest point and takes maybe 30-40 minutes walking to get to, but once you are there the view to the east along the hills is amazing. A good spot any time of the year for the sunrise.You're going here, start here. It's worth the walk and you can pop to the highest point, Foel Cwmcerwyn on the way back.Newgale - Up On The Cliff
You could stay on the beach but that's what most people would do and you might miss the best bit. Not much beats sunrise light on the sea and the cliffs and this is a nice spot for it during the winter side of the year.Start here, head north up the coast path. Go as far as you want and find a spot to enjoy.You Can't Lose
Sunrises are never easy. They never start with a lie in. And sometimes the sun doesn’t even bother turning up. But when by this time you’ve already been up and out, you can’t really lose for the rest of the day. - From my film You Can't Lose about getting up for sunrise everyday for a month.Useful
I'd recommend having a look at suncalc.org. It shows you which direction the sun will come up on a given day, perfect for finding the best sunrise spots.

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Adventures.
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