Porthgain/Trefin

DISTANCE/DURATION: 3.0 miles (4.9 km) 1 hour 15 minutes.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Service bus Llanrhian 413, *Strumble Shuttle 404 (*seasonal, hail & ride).
CHARACTER: Rugged coast, cliff edge, fields and livestock, farm track can be muddy, 0.3 mile (0.5 km) minor road walking.
LOOK OUT FOR: Industrial archaeology, harbour and fishing boats, old maritime beacons , stone circle, superb coastal views and seabirds.

The rocky coast between Trefin and Porthgain is good for birdwatching. There is always something to see, but if you are very lucky you may spot one of the ‘stars’ of the north coast, the chough and the peregrine falcon.

Choughs are rare in Britain but can often be seen foraging for food among the short tough grasses on and near Pembrokeshire’s clifftops. It is an easy bird to recognize; black like a crow but with a long beak and legs that are bubblegum pink.

Peregrine falcons like to nest on sea cliffs where there are always plenty of smaller birds to be ambushed in flight. The peregrine is a fast flying bird with narrow, back-swept wings and slate grey feathers on wings and back.

The pretty little village of Porthgain is a peaceful place today but was once buzzing with industry. Until the 1930s the cove was a busy port from which stone was shipped for house and road building.

Look out for the huge ruins alongside one side of the inlet; these are a series of red brick hoppers that once held crushed granite. Ships were loaded through chutes that reached the harbourside.

The stone, a hard igneous rock called diorite, was quarried from the cliffs between Abereiddi and Porthgain and transported over to Porthgain by tram.

To add to all the activity there was a brickworks at Porthgain. However, the quarrying activities went into sharp decline in the 1920s and came to an end in 1931.

The route also skirts the large village of Trefin. Although Trefin is set back from the sea it has close links with it.

Many Trefin men were globetrotting seafarers, while the village also once had a reputation as a centre for smuggling.