Between valley and headland
Dinas Cross
A sea captains' village with a steep coastal circuit, an easy-access valley path, coves on both sides of Dinas Head and the storm-marked ruins of St Brynach's Old Church.
- Headland walk
- About 3 miles; 2–2.5 hours
- Valley path
- About 0.6 mile each way; mainly level
- Coast
- Pwllgwaelod and Cwm-yr-Eglwys coves
Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped
The Fox verdict
Choose the headland climb or the easier valley crossing
Dinas Cross works best as a coast-and-valley visit, with two contrasting routes between Pwllgwaelod and Cwm-yr-Eglwys.
Take the steep, rocky circuit for Dinas Head, Needle Rock and Pen-y-Fan, or follow the shorter, mainly level path through the wooded valley. Cwm-yr-Eglwys adds a sandy beach and the surviving west wall of St Brynach's Old Church; Pwllgwaelod adds a beachside inn focused on local Pembrokeshire seafood.
Where to go
Places in Dinas Cross
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesCwm-yr-Eglwys Beach
A sandy beach with rock pools and the ruins of St Brynach's Old Church standing above it.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 60 minutes
- Locality
- Cwm-yr-Eglwys
- Access
- Crabbing is especially good on the jetty to the left-hand side of the beach when the tide is in.
Pwllgwaelod Beach
A sandy cove at one end of the level wooded-valley path to Cwm-yr-Eglwys.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 45 minutes
- Locality
- Pwllgwaelod
The Sailors' Safety
A beachside pub and restaurant at Pwllgwaelod whose menu highlights Pembrokeshire seafood and foraged local ingredients.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 90 minutes
- Locality
- Pwllgwaelod beach
- Access
- Tables can be booked ahead.
Walks & outdoors
2 placesPwllgwaelod to Cwm-yr-Eglwys Valley Path
A level route through the wooded valley that almost divides Dinas Head from the mainland.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 75 minutes
- Locality
- Between Pwllgwaelod and Cwm-yr-Eglwys
- Access
- The route is mainly tarmac, with short gradients and a 90-metre honeycomb-surfaced section near Cwm-yr-Eglwys that may judder under wheelchair wheels.
Aber Bach Beach
A small, quiet cove backed by a pebble bank on the coast west of Pwllgwaelod.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 45 minutes
- Locality
- Aber Bach
History & heritage
1 placeSt Brynach's Old Church
Only the west wall and bellcote remain of St Brynach's medieval church. Storms severely damaged it in 1851; the Royal Charter Storm of 1859 destroyed the rest.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 30 minutes
- Locality
- Cwm-yr-Eglwys
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Three ways to explore Dinas Cross
Signature outings
The Valley Way Between Coves
Wind can leave one cove bracing while the surrounding cliffs shelter the other. Check both ends of the valley before choosing where to linger.
One Wall Above the Sand
The level approach to the church and seats on the seawall make it easy to pause and see the remaining west wall and double-arched bellcote above the bay.
Pwllgwaelod's Sandy Shore
Spend time at the sandy cove before taking either the wooded valley path or the Dinas Head circuit toward Cwm-yr-Eglwys.
The village story
Dinas Head, Two Coves and a Storm-Worn Church
A near-island headland and a church wall that records the force of the sea.
Captains' Houses and Beachside Food
A community walk on Feidr Fawr passes Ty Cambria, a sea captain's house built around the 1870s.
At Pwllgwaelod beach, the Sailors' Safety is a historic pub and restaurant. The name refers to a light once kept burning to guide ships safely to shore; the menu highlights Pembrokeshire seafood and foraged ingredients. Dylan Thomas once frequented the tearoom, and tables can be booked ahead.
Village Provisions and the Coast
Dinas Cross has a village shop and fish-and-chip takeaway.
The wooded valley almost cuts Dinas Head off from the mainland, making the name Dinas Island feel apt. Pwllgwaelod and Cwm-yr-Eglwys sit at opposite ends of the crossing; farther along the coast path lie Aber Bach to the west and Aberfforest to the east.
A Headland Almost Cut Adrift
The three-mile Dinas Head circuit climbs steep, rocky coast path past Pen-y-Fan and Needle Rock. In summer, razorbills, guillemots and fulmars breed on the cliffs, and the higher ground gives wide views over the coast.
For an easier crossing, the valley path between Pwllgwaelod and Cwm-yr-Eglwys is about 0.6 mile (1 km) each way. It is suitable for wheelchairs, though there are short gradients and a 90-metre honeycomb-surfaced section near Cwm-yr-Eglwys.
The Church Wall and the Sea Captains
Above Cwm-yr-Eglwys beach stands the west wall and bellcote of St Brynach's medieval church. Storms badly damaged it in 1851, and the Royal Charter Storm of 1859 destroyed the rest. A replacement church was built inland at Brynhenllan in 1860–61.
Sea captains left their mark on Dinas Cross: the community walk points out Ty Cambria and cottages along the A487 as nineteenth-century captains' houses. Pencnwc Farm was the birthplace of William Batine James, who emigrated to America and died at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.
Road, Rail and Regatta
Dinas Cross sits on the A487 between Fishguard and Newport, each a few miles off. The nearest train is at Fishguard, and coastal buses run the road between Fishguard and Cardigan.
The annual Cwm-yr-Eglwys regatta is held at the beach, usually in early August, with sailing, rowing and crab-catching among its competitions. Outside regatta week, try crabbing from the jetty to the left of the beach when the tide is in.
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Photography credits & licences
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- File:Boats on the beach at Pwllgwaelod - geograph.org.uk - 2580808.jpg — photograph by Bill Boaden; Boats on the beach at Pwllgwaelod by Bill Boaden. Source record on Wikimedia Commons. Declared source image. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0. File changes: Downloaded from Wikimedia Commons, resized to a maximum 1920px edge and encoded as an optimised JPEG. Display changes: Displayed with responsive CSS cropping.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- Pwllgwaelod to Cwm-yr-Eglwys Valley Path — pembrokeshirecoast.wales other published source
- Cwm-yr-Eglwys Beach — visitpembrokeshire.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Pwllgwaelod Beach — visitpembrokeshire.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- St Brynach's Old Church — cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net other published source
- Aber Bach Beach — pembrokeshirecoast.wales other published source
- The Sailors' Safety — visitpembrokeshire.com operator, sector body or destination organisation