Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Encyclopedia
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park
along the Pembrokeshire
coast in West Wales
.
It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom
to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline. It is one of three National Parks in Wales
, the others being the Brecon Beacons
(Bannau Brycheiniog) and Snowdonia
(Eryri).
s, sandy beach
es, wooded estuaries and wild inland hill
s, covering a total area of 629 km² (242.9 sq mi). It falls into four distinct sections. Running clockwise around the coast, these are the south Pembrokeshire coast, including Caldey Island
; the Daugleddau estuary; the St Bride's Bay
coast, including the coastal islands; and the Preseli Hills
. However, not all of the park is coastal, and there are even forests and marshes on the edges of the park.
The geology
of the area is of particular interest with many good exposures both inland and along the coast, exhibiting a variety of rock types and structural features such as natural arch
es, stacks
, rock folding
and sea caves. A stack of note is Stack Rocks (Elegug Stacks), two large detached pillers of limestone. In the north, the rocks of Carn Llidi, Pen Beri and Garn Fawr, together with the extensive moorland
on Mynydd Carningli
and Mynydd Preseli, give an exposed and mountainous feel to the landscape, cut through by the wooded valleys of the Gwaun
and Nevern
. In the west, the National Park is dominated by the broad sweep of St Bride's Bay
, bounded at its northern end by Ramsey Island
, near St David's
peninsula, and at its southern end by Skomer
. The southern coast is another contrast, with the limestone plateau and cliffs of the Castlemartin
peninsula, the steep-sided wooded valleys inland from Amroth
; the Bosherston
lakes - now, like much of the coastal strip, in the care of the National Trust
- and the tourist resorts of Tenby
and Saundersfoot
. Between the western and southern areas of the National Park lies the Milford Haven
waterway, where the tranquil Daugleddau estuary feeds into one of the finest natural deep water harbours in the world.
The National Park includes many sites and areas which are of national or international conservation significance in their own right, including 7 Special Areas of Conservation, a Marine Nature Reserve
, 6 National Nature Reserves and 75 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
National Trail. Its offices are in Pembroke Dock
Brecon Beacons
s have been introduced by the National park authority for use by its employees.
National parks of England and Wales
The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949...
along the Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
coast in West Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
.
It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline. It is one of three National Parks in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, the others being the Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
(Bannau Brycheiniog) and Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
(Eryri).
Landscape
The National Park has a varied landscape of rugged cliffCliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
s, sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es, wooded estuaries and wild inland hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
s, covering a total area of 629 km² (242.9 sq mi). It falls into four distinct sections. Running clockwise around the coast, these are the south Pembrokeshire coast, including Caldey Island
Caldey Island
Caldey Island lies south of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales.The island is home to a small village, but is best known for its monastery. Caldey Island is separated from the mainland by the Caldey Sound which is 1 km to 2 km wide between Caldey Island and the coast of Pembrokeshire...
; the Daugleddau estuary; the St Bride's Bay
St Bride's Bay
St Brides Bay is a rocky bay inlet in western Pembrokeshire, West Wales.Either Skomer Island or the mainland extremity of Wooltack Point at the western end of the Marloes Peninsula marks the southern limit of the bay whilst its northern limit is marked by Ramsey Island off St Davids Head...
coast, including the coastal islands; and the Preseli Hills
Preseli Hills
The Preseli Hills or Preseli Mountains are a range of hills in north Pembrokeshire, West Wales...
. However, not all of the park is coastal, and there are even forests and marshes on the edges of the park.
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
of the area is of particular interest with many good exposures both inland and along the coast, exhibiting a variety of rock types and structural features such as natural arch
Natural arch
A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
es, stacks
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
, rock folding
Fold (geology)
The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in...
and sea caves. A stack of note is Stack Rocks (Elegug Stacks), two large detached pillers of limestone. In the north, the rocks of Carn Llidi, Pen Beri and Garn Fawr, together with the extensive moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
on Mynydd Carningli
Mynydd Carningli
Mynydd Carningli is a small mountain or hill near the town of Newport in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales.It is less than 400 m high, but it is close to the coast and dominates the surrounding countryside. It is easy to climb but has a rocky summit and a steep scree slope on its southern and...
and Mynydd Preseli, give an exposed and mountainous feel to the landscape, cut through by the wooded valleys of the Gwaun
River Gwaun
The River Gwaun is a river in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, which flows principally westwards draining to the sea into Fishguard Bay at Fishguard....
and Nevern
Afon Nyfer
The Afon Nyfer is a river in North Pembrokeshire, West Wales which runs into the Irish Sea.The river rises at Blaencwm , just east of Crymych. It flows northward then westward, skirting the slopes of the Preseli Hills. It passes through Felindre Farchog and Nevern, and reaches the sea at Newport...
. In the west, the National Park is dominated by the broad sweep of St Bride's Bay
St Bride's Bay
St Brides Bay is a rocky bay inlet in western Pembrokeshire, West Wales.Either Skomer Island or the mainland extremity of Wooltack Point at the western end of the Marloes Peninsula marks the southern limit of the bay whilst its northern limit is marked by Ramsey Island off St Davids Head...
, bounded at its northern end by Ramsey Island
Ramsey Island
Ramsey Island is an island about 1 km off the coast of the St David's peninsula in Pembrokeshire on the northern side of St Brides Bay, in southwest Wales....
, near St David's
St David's
St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
peninsula, and at its southern end by Skomer
Skomer
Skomer is a 2.92 km² island off the coast of southwest Wales, one of a chain lying within a kilometre off the Pembrokeshire coast and separated from the mainland by the treacherous waters of Jack Sound....
. The southern coast is another contrast, with the limestone plateau and cliffs of the Castlemartin
Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire
Castlemartin is a village, parish and community in the Hundred of Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire, West Wales.- Location :...
peninsula, the steep-sided wooded valleys inland from Amroth
Amroth, Pembrokeshire
Amroth is a holiday resort village, east of Tenby, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, noted for long sandy beach.-History:The name is Welsh, and probably means "On Rhath".The beach stretches the whole length of the village...
; the Bosherston
Bosherston
Bosherston is a small village in South Pembrokeshire, Wales within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.It is known for its beach, Broad Haven South and the Stackpole Estate lily ponds - both owned and maintained by the National Trust....
lakes - now, like much of the coastal strip, in the care of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
- and the tourist resorts of Tenby
Tenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
and Saundersfoot
Saundersfoot
Saundersfoot is a community in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. It is known as a seaside resort, and along with nearby Tenby is one of the most visited Welsh holiday destinations.-Harbour:...
. Between the western and southern areas of the National Park lies the Milford Haven
Milford Haven
Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
waterway, where the tranquil Daugleddau estuary feeds into one of the finest natural deep water harbours in the world.
The National Park includes many sites and areas which are of national or international conservation significance in their own right, including 7 Special Areas of Conservation, a Marine Nature Reserve
Marine Nature Reserve
Marine Nature Reserve is a British conservation designation officially awarded by the government to a marine reserve of national significance....
, 6 National Nature Reserves and 75 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Administration
The Park is managed by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, which has around 130 staff and a committee of 18 members. The Authority's purposes are to conserve the National Park, encourage the public to enjoy and understand it, and to foster the social and economic well-being of the communities within its boundaries. The Authority manages the entire length of the Pembrokeshire Coast PathPembrokeshire Coast Path
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is a National Trail in southwest Wales. It was established in 1970, and is 186 miles long, mostly at cliff-top level, with 35,000 feet of ascent and descent. The northern end is at Poppit Sands, near St...
National Trail. Its offices are in Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard...
Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
Electric vehicles
Electric bicycleElectric bicycle
An electric bicycle, also known as an e-bike, is a bicycle with an electric motor used to power the vehicle. Electric bicycles typically cost between and , use rechargeable batteries and can travel up to...
s have been introduced by the National park authority for use by its employees.