How difficult is the Pembrokeshire Coast Path?

The hardest ground per kilometre on the whole Pembrokeshire coast: a relentless switchback of short, brutally steep pitches down into and out of every inlet, with almost no flat ground anywhere. Ceibwr Bay and the sinkhole at Pwll y Wrach (the Witch's Cauldron) are the standout features, but the terrain itself is the story. Each climb is short, taking only minutes, yet they come one after another with no let-up. Wild, rugged and remote, with no shops, water or realistic escape until Newport at the far end. A serious opening day that catches out anyone expecting an easy start.

Navigation: The path itself is easy to follow, there's only one line along the cliff edge, but the constant short, steep climbs make pace far slower than the map distance suggests.

In poor weather: Fully exposed cliff-edge walking throughout; wet grass and mud on the steep pitches make the climbs and descents genuinely slippery after rain.

Escape options: None between St Dogmaels and Newport, this is the most committing stretch on the whole trail, with no roads or villages reaching the coast in between.

Short and easier than the section before it, though still properly hilly by any normal standard. Newport Sands gives a flat, sandy start before the cliffs resume past Cwm-yr-Eglwys toward Dinas Head, a rocky peninsula the main trail skirts on a lower valley path rather than climbing over, avoiding the steepest ground. A good stretch to recover pace after the opening day's punishment, with Newport's full services right at the start.

Navigation: Well waymarked; the valley path around Dinas Head is a deliberate lower-effort alternative to the headland summit, signed clearly at the junction.

In poor weather: Exposed on the open headland sections; the Dinas Head valley path gives some shelter if conditions are bad.

Escape options: Newport at the start and Dinas Cross at the end both have road access; Cwm-yr-Eglwys has limited parking access too.

Pwllgwaelod and the climb over Dinas Mountain's flank lead on to Fishguard, the biggest town on the north coast, then out again through Goodwick toward the harbour. Repetitive is the word: short, sharp ups and downs recur constantly, with the highest proportion of repeated climbing anywhere on the whole trail even though the total ascent isn't huge. Fishguard breaks up the wildness with a proper town stop, shops, cafés, the ferry harbour, before the coast turns quiet again toward Strumble Head in the next section.

Navigation: Well waymarked throughout, including through Fishguard's streets; the short repeated climbs either side of town are tiring rather than technical.

In poor weather: Exposed on the headlands either side of Fishguard; the town itself offers a break from the wind.

Escape options: Fishguard and Goodwick both have bus links and the ferry harbour, the best transport options on the entire north Pembrokeshire coast.

The longest section on the trail and one of the most spectacular: Strumble Head's lighthouse and remote, rocky headland, then a long, wild stretch with few villages before Abereiddy's flooded blue slate quarry and the ancient hillfort and Neolithic burial chambers on St David's Head. Trefin and Porthgain break up an otherwise sparsely served stretch. St David's Head itself is the wildest ground on the whole peninsula, open, treeless, archaeologically dense, before the trail rounds Whitesands and drops into St Davids, Britain's smallest city. Big cumulative climbing, short and steep throughout rather than sustained.

Navigation: Well waymarked but relentless in its short climbs and descents; Strumble Head's headland paths have several informal tracks near the lighthouse, so keep to the marked line.

In poor weather: Fully exposed throughout, with Strumble Head and St David's Head the most wind-battered points; low cloud can remove the lighthouse and headland views entirely.

Escape options: Trefin and Porthgain give limited road access; otherwise this is a long, committing stretch with few realistic bail-out points until St Davids.

St Davids' cathedral city gives way to a run of small, popular coastal villages, Solva's sheltered harbour, Newgale's long pebble-backed beach, then Broad Haven and Little Haven, the best-populated stretch of the whole trail after the far south. The pattern is constant short climbs and descents into each cove rather than sustained cliff walking, and it adds up: this is one of the most repetitively hilly sections on the trail despite never feeling remote. Newgale in particular has a steep run of steps on its northern side. Plenty of places to stop, eat or finish a day.

Navigation: Well waymarked and busy with day walkers; the repeated short climbs into each village are the main source of slower-than-expected pace rather than any route-finding difficulty.

In poor weather: Less exposed than the sections either side, since villages and coves offer some shelter, though the open clifftop stretches between them still catch full weather.

Escape options: Solva, Newgale, Broad Haven and Little Haven all have road access and bus links, the easiest section on the trail to adjust plans on.

Wild and increasingly remote out to the Marloes peninsula, where the trail reaches its most westerly point overlooking the tide race of Jack Sound and Skomer Island, some of the finest headland scenery on the whole coast. The Dale peninsula continues the drama around St Ann's Head. Then the character flips entirely: past Sandy Haven the trail enters the Milford Haven waterway, and the rest of this long section is gentler, more sheltered estuary walking past Milford Haven town, in view of the refineries and industrial waterfront that define this stretch, a deliberate, honest change of scenery rather than a highlight.

Navigation: Well waymarked throughout; the Dale/St Ann's Head headland has several converging paths around the old fort sites, so check the acorn markers rather than the most obvious track.

In poor weather: Marloes and the Dale peninsula are fully exposed to Atlantic weather; the Milford Haven waterway beyond Sandy Haven is sheltered and far less affected by wind or rain.

Escape options: Marloes, Dale and Milford Haven town all have road access and bus links; the headlands in between have fewer options.

The gentlest stretch on the whole trail, and it shows: Neyland and Pembroke Dock's waterfront lead to Pembroke itself, with its castle dominating the town, before the trail rounds the Angle peninsula on largely easy, low-level ground. Angle village and Freshwater West's big surf beach are the highlights of an otherwise quiet, undemanding run. Lowest climbing per kilometre anywhere on the trail, a deliberate breather before the Castlemartin firing range and the dramatic south coast begin in the next section.

Navigation: Easy, low-level waymarked walking throughout; the gentlest navigation on the trail, with the waterway and peninsula paths both straightforward to follow.

In poor weather: More sheltered than the open headlands elsewhere on the trail, though Freshwater West and the outer Angle peninsula are exposed to Atlantic swell and wind.

Escape options: Pembroke Dock, Pembroke and Angle all have road access and bus links, one of the easiest sections on the trail to adjust plans on.

The Castlemartin firing range dominates the start: when it's open (weekends, holidays and August) the coastal path leads past St Govan's Chapel, the Elegug Stack Rocks and the Green Bridge of Wales, dramatic limestone scenery found nowhere else on the trail; when it's closed, a signed inland diversion around the range's edge replaces it entirely. Beyond Bosherston and Barafundle Bay the trail turns properly spectacular again around Stackpole, then Manorbier's castle, before the character shifts to busy, populated coast at Tenby and Saundersfoot, the trail's biggest tourist towns, finishing at the quiet beach village of Amroth.

Navigation: Well waymarked throughout, including both the range's coastal and inland alternatives; Tenby's streets briefly replace clifftop waymarking with town signage.

In poor weather: Exposed on the range's open clifftops and around Stackpole Head; Tenby and Saundersfoot are sheltered, built-up stretches largely unaffected by weather.

Escape options: Bosherston, Stackpole, Manorbier, Tenby and Saundersfoot all have road access and bus links, frequent options for the second half of this section, fewer while inside the range itself.