FRESHWATER EAST TO BROADHAVEN SOUTH KAYAK

CONTENTS

1. Date, Distance & Map of Route
2. Weather, Sea conditions & Tide
3. The Freshwater East to Broadhaven South kayak
4. Logistics
5. Dangers & Issues
6. Kayak used
7. The Wales Coast
8. Summary

1. DATE, Distance & Map of Route

14 July 2019.

I launched at about 11:30am and landed at about 3:30pm. The trip coniststed of about 3.5 hours paddling and 30 minutes lunch break.

2. WEATHER, SEA CONDITIONS & TIDE

Low tide at 11.20, 1.89 meters at Stackpole Quay.

High tide at 17.44, 6.99 meters at Stackpole Quay.

Light Wind from South West, about 5 knots.

Sunny, high of about 23 Celsius.

There was a fairly light swell and the calm sea made conditions favourable for kayaking.

3. THE FRESHWATER EAST TO BROADHAVEN SOUTH KAYAK

After 20 minutes or so to inflate my Proaqua inflatable kayak and getting myself sorted out, I was soon launching off of the wide sandy beach at Freshwater East at about 11:30am.

I started to paddle Westwards and as I rounded the first headland a wide vista opened up in front of my and I could see as far as Barafundle Bay and Stackpole Head to the West.

As with much of the terrain along this stretch of the South Pembrokeshire coast, the cliffs had a reddish hue and rose up starkly from an aquamarine sea.

I came to the harbour at Stackpole Quay which was the half way point along the route. Stackpole Quay is an inlet protected by an historic stone quay built by Earl Cawdor in the late 18th century to ship out stone from his nearby quarry and to bring in luxury goods for his extensive estate at Stackpole Court.

There is a quite large National Trust car park, some toilets and a National Trust café at Stackpole Quay. The 387/388 bus also stops here.

As I rounded the small headland West of Stackpole Quay, the golden sands of Barafundle Bay came into view.

Barafundle Bay is one of the top rated beaches in the country. It’s golden sands, aquamarine waters, lovely setting and unspoiled character make it a superb beach and definitely worth a visit if you are down this area.

I had a short stop on the beach. My lunch consisted of some crisps and a beer, not the most healthy fare!

    I paddled along the long headland to the West of Barafundle Bay which is known as Stackpole Head. I passed a strange archway called “Griffith Lorts Hole”.

Stackpole Head was something of a spectacle, being peppered with magnificent archways and caves along it’s length.

As a rounded Stackpole Head I looked back East for an expansive view back towards Manorbier, Caldey Island and could even just about see the North Gower on the horizon.

Paddling round to the West side of Stackpole Head opened up another expansive view, this time across to St Govan’s Head to the West. Dozens of Guillemots swarmed around like gnats.

There was a more noticeable swell as rounded onto the West side of Stackpole Head but the sea was still very calm and it was nothing to worry about.

I paddled down the West side of Stackpole Head, passing more caves and dramatic fissures in the cliff faces.

Broadhaven South beach seemed to come up upon my rather suddenly as I paddled the final stage of the route.

Just behind the East side of the beach are the wonderful Bosherston Lily Ponds which are well worth a visit if you are down this area.

I passed the very distinctive “Church Rock” which juts out of the sea like a church steeple (hence the name) just off of Broadhaven South beach.

I landed on the beach at Broadhaven South at about 15:30. What another great kayak along the amazing Pembrokeshire coast.

4. LOGISTICS

It was £3 to park for 3 hours or £6 to park all day at Broadhaven South car park at the end of the route. The beach is about 300 meters down a track from the car park.

I caught the 387 bus from the car park which took me East on a bus journey of just under half an hour to Freshwater East (the bus stopped at Bosherston, Stackpole and Trewent on the way and the roads are not the best down that area!).

If you wanted to do this kayak in the other direction then there is also parking near to the beach it Freshwater East

5. DANGERS & ISSUES

I did not notice any dangerous points along this route and this section of coast seems to be quite sheltered, especially to the East of Stackpole Head.

I did technically go against the tide which was coming in and on the South Wales Coast, including South Pembrokeshire, the tides moves Eastwards when coming in and moves Westwards when coming out.

That said this is not a stretch of coast which is very tidal, when compared to the parts of the South Wales coast further Eastwards. Therefore, you can paddle it ‘against the tide’, as I did, although it may still slightly slow you up.

The wind direction is probably more of a factor.

6. KAYAK USED

I used a ProAqua inflatable kayak. This was a brand of kayak we used from about 2016 when we started kayaking until about late 2021. The Pro Aqua kayak used to be sold by Clas Ohlson but has been discontinued for a couple of years.

They are a dependable and quite stable little inflatable kayak which we used to do countless journeys sea and river kayaking for almost 5 years or so being made from a traditional construction of PVC tubular side pontoons and an insertable floor chamber.

7. THE WALES COAST

This 6 mile kayak on the South Pembrokeshire coast was part of my undertaking to kayak around the entire 870 miles or so of the Wales Coast.

We are breaking this up into sections which are generally between about 6 miles and 14 miles.

I’m uploading blog posts of my kayaks around the Wales Coast to the pages relating to the different regions that I have broken the coast up into

I am also uploading videos of my trips to the Wales Coast playlist of my YouTube channel

8. SUMMARY

The kayak could of course be done either from Freshwater East to Broadhaven South or vice versa. As always, I’d suggest going with the tide and/or wind and of course check the sea conditions, tide times wind and swell before you go to make sure it’s safe.

The 387/388 Coastal Cruiser bus service is very useful for getting a bus from the end point to the start (or vice versa).

There are some great pubs to stop at Broadhaven, Freshwater East and Stackpole before or after your paddle.

If you have any questions about this route or any other of my routes then feel free to contact me.

Below is the link to the video I uploaded for this great kayak from Freshwater East to Broadhaven South.