Contents List:
- Date, Distance & Map of Route
- Tide Times & Weather Conditions
- The Pembroke Dock to Lawrenny Quay circular kayak
- Logistics
- Dangers & Issues
- Kayak Used
- Kayaking the Cleddau River
- Summary
1. DATE, DISTANCE & MAP OF THE ROUTE
16 September 2021.
8 miles circular route from Hobbs Point, Pembroke Dock to Lawrenny Quay and back
Launched 12:45. Landed 16:15. Approx 3.5 hours paddling.
2. TIDE TIMES & WEATHER CONDITIONS
Time Height
Low Tide 9:10 2.56 meters
High Tide 15:22 5.49 meters
Low Tide 21:57 2.25 meters
It was a sunny day day with high of about 20 Celsius.
The wind was from the South West and only about 5 to 10 knots.
3. THE PEMBROKE DOCK TO LAWRENNY QUAY CIRCULAR KAYAK
I parked up at the car park at Hobb’s Point, Pembroke Dock. The plan was to kayak up the River Cleddau with the tide to Lawrenny Quay and then come back to Hobb’s Point when the tide turned at about 15:20.
I inflated my ProAqua kayak on the wide slipway at Hobb’s point and launched onto the flat waters of the Cleddau. Ahead of me the Cleddau Bridge spanned across the river, a dominant feature on this part of the river.
Not far downstream from Hobb’s Point, I could see the Pembroke to Rosslare ferry moored up at Pembroke Dock.
Directly opposite Hobb’s Point, the Georgian houses and the marina of Neyland lined the Western bank of the Cleddau.
As I headed upstream, I soon passed under the impressive Cleddau Bridge.
I kayaked past on the Ferry Inn on the East bank and was tempted to call in but I wanted to get to Lawrenny Quay about high tide so I pressed on.
I kayaked past Burton Ferry and the monolithic like structure of Trinity Wharf across on the West bank.
I passed the remains of some strange, jetty like installations as I headed up the South bank of the river. I’m unsure what their purpose was, presumably some sort of wharves, but they looked like they hadn’t been used for many years.
I came upon the entry to Cosheston Pill, a tributary of the Cleddau which flows up towards the village of Cosheston on the South side of the Cleddau.
Cosheston Pill itself can be explored as part of the Cleddau river system. It runs for a couple of miles off the Cleddau up to the village of Cosheston.
This was my first kayak on the Cleddau and I have to say that it was something of a revelation, the scenery was sublime.
It felt more like a long inlet of the sea, more like a ria than an estuary. It did not actually feel very “estuarine”, with the wide aqua-marine waters being quite abruptly flanked by heavily wooded escarpments.
As I paddled upstream, the incoming tide and the South Westerly was definitely giving me assistance although I was hardly flying along. I was taking my time enjoying the amazing scenery on this sunny September afternoon.
I passed quite near to a the gleeming white tower Benton Castle on the North bank of the river, near to the village of Benton. The castle was apparently built in the 13th Century and is said to have been damaged in the Civil War.
It was about 14:15 when I neared Lawrenny Quay which sits at the mouth of the Carew River which is a tributary coming off the South side of the Cleddau.
There is a small boat yard at Lawrenny Quay with a slipway down onto the river. As I passed this, there was a couple launching a hard shall tandem kayak off of the slipway.
At Lawrenny Quay is a super pub called the Lawrenny Arms which has it’s own pontoon out onto the Carew River. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to stop there but I’ve called there on several other kayak since.
I started to head back out into the main channel of the Cleddau River. It was now about 14:40 and about 40 mins before the high tide so the water was starting to become rather ‘flat’ as it always does near to high tide.
The wind was more noticeable on the return journey downstream because it was blowing up from the South West directly against me. I therefore decided to tuck into the South bank for the first mile or so to get more shelter from the wind. I passed the small, heavily wooded Mill Bay.
The tide was going out now and taking me downstream, although it seemed to be to a degree negated by the wind blowing up from the south. The long span of the Cleddau Bridge loomed back into view.
I kayaked past the Jolly Sailor pub at Burton Ferry on the way downstream. This also looks like a great place to stop on a kayak, being right on the water.
I passed underneath the Cleddau Bridge and paddled to the entrance to Neyland Marina on the Western bank. I did paddle up Westfield Pill on a later kayak on the Cleddau and it’s a nice little paddle.
I turned around and started to paddle across the river towards Pembroke Dock on the other side. The river seemed quite wide and daunting at this point, being maybe ¾ of a mile wide. There were some quite fasting moving boats plying back and forth and I was wary of becoming an RTA (‘River Traffic Accident’) victim.
At 16:00 I landed back at Hobb’s Point, Pembroke Dock after my first but certainly not my last paddle on the Cleddau River.
4. LOGISTICS
This kayak was very easy logistically. There is easy parking at Hobb’s Point and the slipway gives easy launching/landing to/from the river other than when the water level is very low (under 1.5 meters). Remember, all of the Cleddau is tidal.
If you did want to land at Lawrenny Quay, then the best place is probably the pontoon of the Lawrenny Arms. This pontoon is for patrons of the pub though, but as long as you have a. drink and/or food there, then they are happy for paddlers to use it.
Alternatively, you can land on the slipway of Lawrenny Yacht Station, but do check in with their office and they usually ask for a donation to the RNLI.
5. DANGERS & ISSUES
The Cleddau river is a relatively safe waterway to paddle.
However, it is very wide, open body of water and it’s best paddled on calm days when the wind is under 15mph or so since when it’s windy it can become quite rough in parts.
Also, since it’s tidal, you need to plan all of your paddles on the Cleddau around thew tide times. If doing this same trip then you should head upstream with the incoming tide, get to Lawrenny Quay a bit before high tide and then to come back downstream with the outgoing tide.
It’s obviously highly advisable to paddle in the same direction as the tide. Also, tributaries such as the Carew river up at Lawrenny Quay do start to largely empty of water within 2 hours or so either side of low tide with the result that much of them become mud flats with only a narrow channel to paddle in.
Finally, the Cleddau is often times quite busy with yachts and boats so you always need to keep a look out for them.
6. kayak used
I did this trip back in 29021 when I was still using my old ProAqua inflatable kayak.
This was a brand of kayak I used from about 2016 when I started kayaking until about late 2021 when I progressed to drop stitch inflatables.
The Pro Aqua kayak used to be sold by Clas Ohlson but has been discontinued for a couple of years.
7. KAYAKING the cleddau RIVER
The Cleddau River and its tributaries extend to over 40 miles of tidal waterways which can offer some superb paddling.
Downstream of Pembroke Dock, the waterway is over a mile wide and while it is flanked by oil refineries, terminals and gas tanks, it’s natural beauty still shines through.
Upstream of Pembroke Dock, the waterway has a much more rural charm with some of the best scenery that I’ve paddled through.
8. SUMMARY
This was my first kayak on the River Cleddau and I was so impressed that it motivated me to kayak the entire river system.
As long as it’s not a windy day and you go upstream from Pembroke Dock to Lawrenny with the incoming tide and back downstream with the outgoing tide then I can guarantee that you’ll love this route.
With waterside pub stop options at the Ferry Inn, the Lawrenny Arms and the Jolly Sailor, what more can you ask for out of a paddling route?
The video of this route on my Youtube channel is below: