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If you are looking for a unique way to explore the hidden coves and dramatic cliffs of the Pembrokeshire coastline then this may well be for you. You could even make the argument that there is no better way to explore this extraordinary part of the British coastline.

Difficulty:

Obviously requires a certain degree of upper body stretch if you are planning on going far, although if you just want to paddle about a bit then not even much of that is required. And although you should really wear a life jacket, it is also important that you are a fairly proficient swimmer on the off chance that you capsize. Although it is important to add that this is pretty unlikely.

Time:

You pay for the kayaks on a daily rate and are able to take them out from10-5 should if you wish. We made the mistake of only taking them for a few hours in the afternoon and regretted it as there is so much to see on this stretch of coast. If you can afford the time we recommend the whole day.

The Adventure:

There are plenty of places to rent sea kayaks in Pembrokeshire but after speaking with a couple of locals we opted for St Davids, a picturesque little town just to the West of the national park. Here we rented our kayaks from TYF, an outdoor adventure company that specialises in coastal adventure; Surfing, coasteering, rock climbing and of course sea kayaking. Group trips with a professional are available and might be appealing if you’ve not tried kayaking before. However, if like us, you’re keen to do your own thing and explore at your own pace then you can rent individual kayaks for circa £30 each with an additional £5 if you want to rent a dry bag to house all your stuff. We highly recommend doing this.

The TYF shop is in the middle of St Davids and opposite is a local bakery/deli where we suggest you stock up on lunch and snacks in advance. They sell pasties, sausages rolls, posh olives, snacks, drinks etc. It's a good place to pick up some substance pre-adventure.

Note: It’s tasty enough but it’s not going to change your life. However what it lacks in flavour it makes up for in convenience.

So we had packed our dry bags full of lunch bits and valuables, rented the kayaks and spoken to the guys who worked at the company about the best places to explore. Next the guys who worked at TYF strapped a temporary kayak rack to the top of our car and mounted the two vessels and we were off.

Note: This was a really quick and easy part of the service. They did it all for us and then meant we were good to go anywhere we pleased. Really useful.

They had pointed us in the direction of Porthclais, a small port where the river Alun meets the sea, a 7 minute drive west along the coast. We were told that this was a great launching spot as it was so close to several cool little hidden bays. We parked up at the small car park (take £2 cash if you can to pay the man who sits on the gate), lifted the kayaks off the roof and carried them down the estuary to the sea. We had accidentally arrived at low tide which meant this walk was a little longer than expected but it turned out to be the best time to be heading out as the low tide reveals many more little coves.

So we hopped into our kayaks and got paddling, taking the advice of heading left (or East) out of the estuary and along the coast. It was a beautiful day and we immediately settled into the rhythm of paddling along. The water was calm meaning that the waves just occasionally bobbed us up and down, hardly affecting our flow.

It wasn’t long before we understood why people bang on about sea kayaking on this stretch of coast. The water is a gorgeous blue, interrupted on one side by the dramatic dark shapes of the coastline and on the other by absolutely nothing. Sat in our kayaks we felt small but very versatile as we paddled our way between rocks and into little coves. Round every corner was a new hidden inlet or beach and so we kept paddling in search of the perfect private beach.

We made our way past St Nons and Caerfai Bay before reaching a stretch of water that occupies the gap between the mainland and a tiny rocky island called Penpleidiau. Here the water became really shallow and sheltered from the wider ocean by the island and was really calm. This combination resulted in crystal clear water, revealing beautiful seaweeds, white stones and tiny fish, you would be forgiven for thinking we were in the mediterranean.

This is also where we found a beautifully secluded little pebble bay, hidden away from the world, out of the breeze and home to warm water. So we spent the rest of our time sunbathing, swimming and climbing the surrounding rocks… if we hadn’t already scoffed all our food this would have been the perfect place to eat lunch. In fact if you’re reading this and planning to find that bay then do exactly that!

The sun began to lower in the sky meaning that it was time to head back, which we did.

What a great few hours that had a bit of everything… only regret was not leaving longer!

Conclusion:

There is a real freedom to sea kayaking. The vastness of the ocean makes the possibilities feel endless and the ability to paddle where you want and jump out makes it the perfect way to explore the Pembrokeshire coastline.

The Numbers:

/ 3.5 Hrs

/ £32 per kayak

/ £12 Lunch (for 2)

/ 4K Paddled

/ 3 Hidden coves