Abercastle

A Solo Crossing and a Sheltered Harbour

On the quay wall at Abercastle there is a slate plaque marking the spot where, on 12 August 1876, a Danish-born fisherman called Alfred Johnson stepped ashore. He had spent 66 days sailing single-handed from Gloucester, Massachusetts, in a 20-foot dory named Centennial, surviving a gale that capsized the boat along the way. It was the first solo crossing of the Atlantic. His grandson, Charlie Dickman, unveiled the plaque in 2003.

The harbour faces north-west, which is the whole point of it — sheltered from the south-westerly gales that hammer the rest of this coast, giving the fishing fleet somewhere safe to sit. At the mouth of the bay is Ynys y Castell, a craggy 26-metre islet crowned by an Iron Age promontory fort. The village takes its name from it. At low tide you can cross to the island on a rock causeway, past a sea cave on its southern side.

Cwm Badau and the Trading Port

Abercastle is small in the way that requires definitions. There is no pub, no shop, and no church. What there is: a working harbour, the ruins of 19th-century lime kilns, a three-storey stone granary standing empty above the water, and steep wooded valleys running inland. The old Welsh name, Cwm Badau, means Bay of Boats.

In the 19th century this was a trading harbour, shipping slate, grain, limestone, butter, honey and coal out to Bristol and Liverpool, and burning imported limestone and coal in those kilns.

Coast-Path Stones and Nearby Inns

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs straight through the village, all 186 miles of it. Half a mile west you reach Carreg Samson, a 5,000-year-old Neolithic burial chamber whose capstone — 4.7 metres of it — rests on three upright stones. Local legend says St Samson of Dol set it in place with his little finger. The longer walk is the circular to Abermawr, about 5.7 miles, passing the granary ruin, the lime kilns, and the earthworks of a railway Brunel started and abandoned.

For a pub, go to the Ship Inn in Trefin, about 1.3 miles from Abercastle in a straight line; it has traded since 1797 and remained with the Maddocks family for more than 200 years. It is a traditional village local with a green-valley beer garden, three changing real ales and Welsh ciders. The Sloop Inn in Porthgain, about 2.5 miles from Abercastle in a straight line, has been going since 1743 and offers fresh fish alongside locally sourced lobster and crab. Road journeys to both inns are longer.

Handwoven Wool and Getting There

About 2.6 miles inland from Abercastle in a straight line at Tregwynt, a woollen mill still warps its looms and ties its knots by hand. The road journey is longer. The mill dates from the 18th century; the present owner's grandfather bought it in 1912. It became employee-owned in 2022, and the mill has a café.

There is no station. You reach the village off the A487 via Trefin or Mathry, and visitor parking is paid, with free parking for National Trust members and residents of Mathry, St Nicholas and Llanrhian. The T11 serves nearby Trefin; during its summer season, the hail-and-ride Strumble Shuttle 404 serves both Abercastle and Trefin.

The Bay in Use

On a calm day the bay fills with kayaks, swimmers, and the boats of the Abercastle Boat Owners Association, working the same sheltered water that made the harbour worth building in the first place.