D170: MANORBIER to ST GOVANS HEAD
Sunday 15th June 2025
Today miles: 12.1 Total miles: 2797.5
I first noticed a red coloured ‘Acorn’ national trail insignia a few days ago but wasn’t sure what they actually meant. It wasn’t easy it work out and I couldn’t find any specific information on the internet. The ‘Red’ for me suggested that the route was particularly difficult or dangerous but then having walked these paths, this wasn’t necessarily the case. I spotted several more today.
I set off walking around 8am and within a few minutes I unexpectedly heard several very loud bangs coming from some distance behind me. Around thirty seconds later I heard a similar number of thuds in the far off distance. I’m walking adjacent to the Manorbier military firing range and today is obviously an active firing day. This routine of loud bangs and then dull thuds would continue for the first couple of hours and then start once again after lunch, I got into the silly habit of counting the bangs and then counting the thuds to make sure they matched. There’s a further few miles of nice grassy fields to cross with no significant climbs. There were some great views out across the water as I walked across the cliff tops. The first proper and accessible beach that I reached was at Freshwater East. It’s a popular beach with several surfers in the water and a group of children playing in the dunes. I stopped for a whilst and took the opportunity to have a drink and dry out my damp camping gear.
I found out from a local woman that this is the actual beach where ‘Dobbie’ the house elf from the Harry Potter movie died. My son Ben is a huge fan of the HP films so I took a quick photo of the dunes and sent it to him with a short message. The decent views continued across the cliff tops for another two miles until I reached Stackpole Quay. I hoped to find a small local shop as I hadn’t had anything to eat since last night. I was out of snacks and was feeling pretty hungry. I spotted a solitary man inside of a small checkpoint box. He was there to stop cars and people from entering the firing range. I spoke to him briefly about any local shops and he confirmed that the nearest was several miles further inland and there’s no public transport. He then generously produced several packets of snacks from under the counter and told me to help myself, all courtesy of the Ministry of Defence. I grabbed several items and then immediately devoured three of them, sat on a nearby wooden bench.
I continued across more cliff tops and the military firing started again. As I looked out further down the coastline I could see huge plumes of smoke rising into the air close to St Govans Head and even further beyond. The route circumnavigates around a flat grassy area named Stackpole Warren Nature Reserve and I thoroughly enjoyed the walking. I could see several small islands and several fishing boats in the water. An hour later, around 3pm I arrived at Trafelen Campsite which is where I’ll be pitching tonight. The owner of the site was very friendly and helpful and offered to charge up my power bank, I gratefully accepted.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 