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Where to walk 4-5 days in Wales

Hello, my wife and I are planning a 7-8 day trip to Wales September 2025. We want to spend a couple of days in the Cardiff area, but also want to spend around 4-5 days walking and would like some suggestions on where we should focus our walking.

Thus far, I've focused on the Pembrokeshire area, but we are open to other areas. If possible, we'd like to have mix of stunning scenery (of course!) and historic elements (castles, churches), plus it would be nice to have mix of villages and countryside on the daily walk. We'd prefer to have a different destination each night as opposed to branching out on daily hikes from a base. Each day's walk doesn't necessarily have to be contiguous with the previous days walk, but this would be dependent on good public transport between points. We're hoping to keep the mileage to around 10 miles / day.

I'm hoping to do this without the assistance of a tour company. I've planned a few inn to inn (or hut to hut) hikes in Europe (e.g., West Highland Way, Alta Via 2), so am comfortable with handling the details. However, one of the challenges, I'm encountering in the Pembrokeshire area is locating lodging w/meals (e.g., half-board) in the vicinity of the actual path. This issue might not be as daunting if public transport is sufficiently widespread and available.

Thanks in advance for your help on walking locations.

Posted by
247 posts

The Pembrokeshire coast path is beautiful! A few years ago we did the last third of it (58 miles)- from Abereiddy to St Dogmaels. It was meant to be over six days but due to very inclement weather we wound up compressing it to five. The scenery was amazing- I don't know what it's like in September but in May the entire path was carpeted with wildflowers, and we even saw porpoises swimming. You can definitely stop at a new destination each night along the way and you could easily start in/near St David's (with its famous cathedral).

You would need to check the latest on transport, but when we did it in 2021 all the local buses which are meant to help walkers had been reduced to once per week, which needless to say is not very helpful, so we did it with a car and taxis. You can do other walks in the area as well but I would strongly recommend at least one day on the Pembrokeshire coast path, and focussing on the end towards St Dogmaels. I also recommend walking poles as it's extremely hilly. And of course, the Cicerone guide, which are my favourite walking guidebooks. Good luck with the planning!

Posted by
6 posts

Thanks so much for your reply. It's encouraging. I'd be happy to use taxis to fill the gap when bus service is lacking.

Posted by
627 posts

One idea is to walk near Tintern Abbey: https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/tintern-abbey. It's a stunning site, though I haven't been there. I was an English literature student who studied the English romantic poets, including William Wordsworth, who wrote an evocative poem about the site. My English literature professor did visit Tintern and loved it.

Posted by
7499 posts

I too was going to suggest the Pembrokshire coastal path. There are also a number of walking areas on Anglesey.

Posted by
20 posts

The Wales Coast Path website should provide lots of inspiration, especially the "Itineraries" section - you could easily combine a couple of the sections!

Wales Coast Path