Tanker Escort

The road finished at Dale Fort, although the coastal path diverted off before entering its grounds. Later on the walk I came across a stone seat that had a memorial plaque dedicated to Brigadier Clifford T W Gough (OBE) 1911-2001. It provides the following quote from him: 'My time at Dale was a very happy period in my life.' 

The path followed the top of the cliff and was very pretty. It had a good view out to sea and I watched four huge tugs sail out from Milford Haven and then stop a few hundred yards from the shore. A little later I watched them escort a massive tanker down the channel: one at the aft, one at the stern, and two nudging the starboard side of the ship around a large buoy in the channel. 

At West Blockhouse I came across some large, derelict gun emplacements. I should have properly researched this walk before setting off since I didn't visit the fort which is further down the hill towards the cliff. I saw the fort on the approach path but then got distracted by the gun emplacements. It is on my list of things to visit, the next time I'm here.

Henry Tudor

This section of coast was very craggy with cliffs. Sections of the sea foamed white suggesting underwater rocks and reefs. I descended to a tiny cove, and on my climb back out, I came across an information plaque that said Henry Tudor landed here in 1485. Given the dodgy conditions just offshore, I thought that was very brave of him. His floating army wasn't quite as courageous and the 55 ships and 4,000 men sailed around to Dale and landed there. A much more sensible option in my view. He then went east gathering Welsh support. On the 22nd of August, just over 2 weeks after landing, he defeated Richard III at the Battle Of Bosworth. He subsequently became Henry VII and so founded the Tudor dynasty. And the rest is history, as they say. It is hard to believe that it all started from this little bay. 

As I headed over towards St Anns Head, I saw a couple of men approaching me with what looked like large poles sticking out of their rucksacks. When they were a few yards away I could see that the poles were handles to their metal detectors. They were two detectorists and obviously making their way down to that historic bay I'd just walked across. Maybe they'd have a good day and find a jewelled crown or two. 

Horses And Walkers

I started heading north from the lighthouse at St Ann's Head. The cliffs here were fearsome with massive drops down to the sea. The sun was on my back now and I didn't have to squint into the sun to see the view. I noticed a couple of islands out to sea. This coastline really is exsquisite. I came across three horses stood next to the path. I thought I might be in for a bit of trouble, but they just seemed to stand there admiring the view, and completely ignored me. I started coming across more walkers now, although I'd expected to see more people on this dramatic bit of coast. As I dropped down to Westdale Bay I could see Dale over the land to the east. I'd more or less walked in a circle around the coast. I'd take a direct route from here to Dale, later in the day. For the moment, I'd now do an out-and-back walk along the coastline to the northwest. 

Dale Airfield And Marloes Sands

Just north of Westdale Bay I came across the remnants of Dale Airfield. Sections of the concrete runways could stil be seen. Looking at the OS map the airfield had 3 runways. I'm sure it would have been quite interesting landing there since one end of each runway terminated at a cliff edge. 

After the airfield, I came upon an amazing view along the length of Marloes Sands. As the name suggests, most of the beach was sand, but there were also large areas of rocks. One particular rock at the south end of the bay looked like a pink shark fin. The bay was busy with people going for their Sunday walk. It was odd to see so many people down on the sands but only myself walking along the cliff top. I walked halfway down the bay before I decided it was time to turn back. 

Return

Back at Westdale Bay I joined a single track road that went down into Dale. Some surfers were putting on their rubber suits and setting off down to Westdale Bay. They had quite a trek to get down there. I hope it was worth it. As I descended down the road, Dale Castle came into view. Beyond it I could see the Milford Haven chimneys and pipes. The old and the new. When I got back to my car, the bay had emptied of water. I could see large numbers of birds out on the mudflats taking the opportunity to have their Sunday lunch. An elderly couple had parked next to me. They were sat in the car, ignoring the sea view, and continually stared at their phones. Whatever they were looking at must have been interesting, since they never took their eyes off them for the 10 minutes it took me to pack up and get ready to go. Maybe it was Bargain Hunt.

This was my first encounter with the Pembrokeshire coast and my first impression is that it is an amazing place. I'm looking forward to exploring the coastline further, in the next few days.