Best Autumn Walks
Is there a better feeling than scuffing your feet through the piles of colourful leaves on an autumn walk? Autumn is a wonderful time to visit Pembrokeshire as the seasons change - and there are few more rewarding ways to explore than getting out in the crisp air and crunching through one of the county's many beauty spots.
Here's a collection of some of our favourite walks together with a few recommendations of places to warm up.
Preseli Hills - Foel Eryr
Distance: About one and a half miles - taking around an hour
Start/finish: There’s a car park by the B4329 as you drive towards Foel Eryr
Distance from Bluestone: The car park is about a half an hour drive.
Refreshments: You’re in the middle of the Preseli Hills, which is a bit remote. You’ll pass through the pretty little village of Rosebush on the way to a stop in the pub there would be convenient.
Foel Eryr is the second highest peak of the rolling Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, translating as the ‘Hill of the Eagle’ in English. While you’re unlikely to see an eagle, it's worth keeping your eyes on the skies for the buzzards, kestrels, ravens, skylarks, and kites that swoop overhead.
This walk isn’t as wooded as others on this list - so there will be fewer leaves crunching underfoot - but in the crisp autumn air, there aren’t many places on earth that can compare to the summits of the Preseli Hills. This is often something of a windy walk but the view from the top is utterly spectacular, the 360 panoramic taking in views that stretch out to sea and miles and miles of glorious open countryside.
Start in the car park and just off the B4329, which cuts over the Preseli Hills. Cross over the road to follow the grassy footpath. Follow the path up to Foel Eryr, which is clearly marked, so it's fairly simple to find your way. You won’t be able to take in those panoramic views right away - you’ll need to stick with it but on the way up you’ll pass through Bronze Age cairns on the hillside. As you make your way up the views gradually become broader and broader until you reach a National Park observation point, from which you can see as far as Ireland on a clear day.
It also marks where all the various landmarks are on the horizon - which is great fun pointing them out with the children. Also at the summit is a Bronze Age burial site marked out by a stone enclosure. Make you’re way back down again the way you came once you’ve taken in the views.
Minwear and Sisters’ House
Distance: 3-4 miles, about two hours
Start/finish: You can walk from the Bluestone resort or from Blackpool Mill
Refreshments: Pop into Blackpool mill for a drink and a spot of lunch or dinner (booking for evening food is required).
Minwear Wood is another autumn walk on our doorstep, just to the west of the Bluestone resort. Like Canaston Wood, you can walk to Minwear Woods from Bluestone - take the same route from Bartholomew Rise, turning right when you met the bigger path and then turning left onto the path into the woods. From there you’ll meet the Knight’s Way, but this time turn left and it will take you to the beautiful Blackpool Mill, which dates back more than 200 years.
Head left, to the south of the banks of the picturesque Eastern Cleddau, and you’ll be walking into Minwear Woods - a mix of conifers and broad-leaved trees - oak, ash, and hazel. It is a great place to see woodland birds, including tiny long-tailed tits, great spotted woodpeckers, and treecreepers. There’s a choice of paths to take, but the main one will take you in a loop of the woods and back to Blackpool Mill - you can download a map of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s official walk here - but it’s a simple circle to follow.
The main path will take you near Minwear Farm and the 12th-century Minwear Church, once controlled by the Knight’s of St John - who created the Knight’s Way. Keep an eye out for the medieval ruins of Sisters’ House (not open Savour the breathtaking moment you arrive and enjoy one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
Bosherston Lily Ponds
Distance: About one and a half miles - taking around an hour
Start/finish: From the car park in Bosherton
Distance from Bluestone: Bosherton is just under a half an hour drive
Refreshments: There’s a choice of food and drink options in Bosherton village
Bosherton’s beautiful lily ponds are famed for their tranquil atmosphere and carpets of lilies any day of the year - particularly when the flowers bloom in June. Those blooms will be gone by autumn but as the seasons change the leaves of the woods that surround the water burst into colour. September and October bring an abundance of birdlife and if you get there early enough in the water you might spot some of Bosherton’s otters.
When you arrive at Bosherton follow the path from the car park until you get to a causeway crossing the first pond you see. You can follow this path in a circular walk around the ponds, or take a left turn after you cross the second causeway to stroll to the picturesque Eight-Arched Bridge that crosses one of the mains - reputed to be one the most romantic spots in Pembrokeshire!
Lawrenny
Distance: One hour and 45 minutes - about three miles of walking
Start/finish: Start from Lawrenny Quay
Distance from Bluestone: Lawrenny is a short 15-minute drive from Bluestone
Refreshments: The Lawrenny Arms is a great stop.
The Cleddau meets the Cresswell and Carew rivers at Lawrenny. Sitting on the river bend it offers views upriver toward Llangwm, across to Burton, and down toward Cosherston. Lawrenny wood edges the river from Garron Pill down towards the quay and is well worth an explore. This circular National Trust walk is well signposted, starting at Lawrenny Quay and the combination of autumn woodland and placid rivers makes for a stunning walk.
The old trees are inhabited by lots of chirpy birds including jackdaws, tawny owls, blue tits, and redstarts. Start by passing the tea room on your left, noting it for a warming drink later. The footpath signs through the boat yard and into the trees, crossing a stile into the forest. The path swings to the right, passing a Scout hut, with views of the mudflats opposite.
The path descends to the shore where you’ll see the roots of the old oak tress exploded by the shoreline. This is Garron Pill, a tidal creek where you’ll be able to spot estuary birds - including wigeon, greenshank, curlew, and little egret. Joining the road, walk uphill towards Lawrenny village. Pass a youth hostel on your right before descending to the centre of the village and the church. Bear right through the village to rejoin the road to Lawrenny Quay.
Bluestone's Nature Trail
If you’re staying at Bluestone and don’t want to venture far, the resort’s nature trails are suitable for all levels of ability whether you’re a marathon runner or hoping for an afternoon stroll. The step-by-step signs on the way are easy to follow and there are two main trails - one taking you up to the remains of an Iron Age fort.
The trails are marked on the resort map you’ll be given at check-in - or pick up one at the Booking Office in the Village.
Cwm yr Eglwys to Pwllgwaelod
Distance: About a mile and a half both ways
Start/finish: Start either at Cwm yr Eglwys or Pwllgwaelod - the walk takes you between the two
Distance from Bluestone: Either destination is about a 45-minute drive from Bluestone
Refreshments: There’s a nice restaurant at Pwllgwaelod (with very good hot chocolate) to stop in and places to stop for food and drink at either end.
This walk is ideal for little ones as it's nice and level, with a purpose-built tarmac surface for almost the whole route. Both Cwm yr Eglwys and Pwllgwaelod have little beach coves to welcome you with and in-between is a lovely wooded walk that’s best explored in autumn when there’s plenty of piles of leaves to jump in en route. We won’t provide you with directions as you basically get on the path that’s signposted at both ends and follow it to the other end and back again!
Canaston Woods
Distance: Anything up to three hours
Start/finish: You can walk from the Bluestone resort or from Blackpool Mill
Refreshments: Pop back to Bluestone!
Canaston Woods is full of ancient routes, spectacular views, forts, and chapels - and it’s right on our doorstep here at Bluestone. During autumn the thick woodland becomes a sea of colours in the crisp air, with the satisfying sound of leaves crunching underfoot. You can walk to Canaston Woods from the Bluestone resort by taking the path from Bartholemew Rise. You’ll spot it on your right-hand side, walk along with it until it finishes at a T junction with another path. From here turn right, and then left a short while later - this path will take you into the woods until it reaches the Knight’s Way, a large path that runs through the heart of the woods.
The Knight’s Way is an ancient Pilgrim’s path that actually runs all the way to St David’s Cathedral in northwest Pembrokeshire and to Amroth on the southeast coast. If you turn right onto the Knight’s Way you can follow it into Canaston Woods - carefully cross the road over Canaston Bridge and you can explore the network of paths in the lush mixed woodland on the other side, where you’ll come across the remains of Mounton Chapel near the most southerly point of the woods. Many of the paths have undergone upgrading recently and underfoot surfaces are generally firm. If you have a couple of hours to while away in the autumn air Canaston Woods is one of the most satisfying strolls in Pembrokeshire, as you trace the steps of Pilgrims who took the same route hundreds of years ago.
Colby Lodge Gardens
Distance: As long as you’d like to make it - rambling around these lovely gardens to your heart’s content
Distance from Bluestone: About a 20-minute drive
Refreshments: There are tea rooms and a shop to indulge in.
These National Trust gardens are as beautifully kept as you would expect with picnic spots, stepping stones, and rope swings galore. As well as the network of woodland walks to enjoy in the autumn, there’s a nice wide open meadow for little legs to buzz about it - where the stream and log bridges are joined by a buzz of butterflies and dragonflies. Wander around or relax in the walled garden while the children take part in some of the free daily activities such as pond dipping and family games.
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