We Must Be Mad: Day 74: Castlemartin to Bosherston

This section of the walk offered some truly stunning limestone cliff scenery, including the Green Bridge of Wales.

Green Bridge of Wales

We started out inland from the coast at the small village of Castlemartin. From here we followed the permissive route through the Castlemartin Firing Range. The range was requisitioned by the War Office in 1939 to be used for tank training during the war; though it was very productive agricultural land, a solitary landowner meant negotiations were easier here. Fifteen families were removed from their farms, whose ruins now dot the bare limestone plateau along with landmarks such as the restored fifth century chapel at Flimston.

Viewing tower and bunker, Castlemartin Firing Range

Church and farmhouse ruins at Flimston

Abandoned farmhouse at Flimston

Ruins at Flimston

Flimston Chapel, St Martin

Just beyond the chapel we arrived back at the coast and the gaping limestone arch of the 'Green Bridge of Wales', one of the most famous landmarks on the Welsh coast.

Green Bridge of Wales

Just beyond the arch we came across the eponymous rock pillars, the Elegug Stacks (an ‘elegug’ being a guillemot, who along with razorbills crowd the cliffs here). The limestone here is estimated to be 1500 metres thick and each corner of the cliffs houses its own remarkable features.

Elugug Stacks

Elegug Stacks as viewed along the coast

Flimston Bay

Bullslaughter Bay

The next headland contained the Devil’s Cauldron, a series of arches and collapsed caves. You can see how steep and high the cliffs are along here by viewing the person walking along the top of the cliff ... and not a fence or barrier in sight to stop people falling off the cliffs!

Devil's Cauldron

Further along the coast we came across a large blowhole known as the 'Huntsman Leap'. The unheralded presence hides a dizzying crevice across which a rider was said to have leapt before dying of fright when he looked back!

Huntsman Leap

Beyond this we took a slight detour off the path to explore St Govan’s Chapel. St Govan is said to have established this tiny hermitage in a cleft in the cliffs after escaping from pirates in the sixth century, though most the building dates from the thirteenth century.

St Govan's Chapel

From here the path took us inland of St Govan’s Head and along the coastal cliff edge until we reached the cool arc of Broad Haven where we dropped down to the beach.

St Govan's Head

Stackpole Head and Church Rock

Broad Haven Beach

The path travelling through the dunes to the rear of Broad Haven Beach

Waterway behind Broad Haven Beach

We then headed inland following a path past the Bosherston Lakes – a series of tidal pills that were blocked off to create ponds by the Earls of Cawdor, who owned Stackpole Court which was built around the same time near the head of the lakes but demolished in 1963. Further inland the lakes are covered in waterlilies.