The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is 186 miles of the most dramatic coastline in Britain. We parked the van and walked it in sections over three weeks.

The genius of doing a long coastal walk from a van is that you do not need to walk it end to end. You park at one trailhead, walk a section, return to the van, drive to the next section, and repeat. You can walk in either direction, prioritise the best weather, and stop whenever you find a beach that demands it. We did not walk all 186 miles — we walked perhaps 120 — but we saw every dramatic headland we had planned and several we had not.

The Best Sections

The stretch between St Govan’s Head and Stackpole Quay is extraordinary — dramatic limestone cliffs, natural rock arches, and a stairway descending to a tiny chapel wedged into a sea cave. The section from St David’s Head south past Whitesands Bay gives you views of Ramsey Island and, on a clear day, Ireland. Marloes Sands, approached by foot from the headland, is one of the finest beaches in Wales and is never as crowded as it deserves to be.

Wild swimming along the path is, depending on your tolerance for cold water, either exceptional or character-building. The water in August sits around 17 degrees — invigorating rather than warm. Blue Lagoon near Abereiddy, a flooded slate quarry of intense blue-green water, is the most photographed spot on the path and is worth it despite the Instagram crowd.