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WALK 2

Manorbier

Start/finish	Manorbier (SS 063 977)
Distance	2½ miles (4km)
Total Ascent	580ft (175m)
Time	1¼hr
Terrain	Coastal path and field and farm tracks
Maps	Explorer OL36 South Pembrokeshire
Refreshments	Beach Break Tearooms and Castle Inn in Manorbier
Toilets	Beside car park at Manorbier
Public transport	Bus service to Manorbier
Parking	Car park by beach below castle (charge)

This walk explores the coast to the east of Manorbier, where there is a splendid little dolmen and some striking examples of cliff erosion, before returning to the village along a quiet inland valley.

For Giraldus Cambrensis, Manorbier was ‘the pleasantest spot in Wales’. Although he might be accused of bias since he was born in the castle, Giraldus had travelled widely throughout the country and across Europe as far as Rome, and must have seen a great many other places against which to set a comparison. His sentiments are not unfounded, and the view across the valley from the elegant church of St James to his one-time home still holds great attraction.

The castle has an imposing location, gazing out over Manorbier’s sandy bay, and was founded at the beginning of the 12th century by the Norman knight Odo de Barri. The original fortification would have been of wood protected by earthen ramparts and it was his son, William, who began the stone fortress. Built from the local hard limestone it has survived the passing centuries well and boasts many fine features, including state apartments, a baronial hall and a brutally powerful gatehouse.

Walk through the car park away from the beach to the far right corner and there double back right on a track that climbs the hill above to the church. Walk up through the graveyard and go right at its top edge, continuing along a hedged path signed ‘To the Coast Path’. Shortly, the King’s Quoit dolmen becomes visible ahead, but instead of falling to it the path climbs again to a junction. Turn right, dropping to meet the Coast Path beside the burial chamber.

The dolmen is known as the King’s Quoit, its capstone, the ‘quoit’, supposedly hurled by some mighty legendary ruler. Archaeologists, however, tell us that it is of Neolithic origin, the top slab originally being supported by three uprights, but one has collapsed leaving it canted to the ground. More ancient remains lie on nearby Old Castle Head, but unfortunately this is MOD property and there is no public access. The settlement there dates from the Iron Age, with a number of hut circles having been identified. However, it is suggested that the promontory continued to be inhabited long after that time and may have been occupied by the Normans before the castle at Manorbier was begun.

GERALD OF WALES

The de Barris held the manor for over 250 years, but it was Odo’s youngest grandson, Giraldus Cambrensis – Gerald of Wales – who is most remembered today. Born in 1145, he was a remarkable scholar and, before he died at the age of 77, had written some 17 books. Unlike his brothers who followed military careers, Gerald entered the Benedictine abbey of St Peter in Gloucester when he was 13 and later went to St David’s. Although offered bishoprics in Ireland and several places in Wales, his life’s ambition was to oversee St David’s, but after many rejections Gerald’s zeal finally waned and he spent his remaining years writing. He had travelled extensively during his life and his prolific literary legacy provides many amusing anecdotes and fascinating insights into the life of the period, albeit sometimes erring on the fanciful.

St James’ Church, Manorbier

ST JAMES’S CHURCH

Set in the middle of its churchyard on the steep slope of the valley, St James’ Church is one of the most attractive in the area. Perhaps occupying the site of an original Celtic church, the present building has its origins in a Norman foundation and is mentioned by Giraldus when, as a child, he asked to be taken there for safety during a Welsh raid on the Norman stronghold of Tenby in 1153. The oldest part of the church can be seen in the nave, but the chancel and transepts were rebuilt in the middle of the 13th century. The tower, erected around the same time, must have served a defensive role, for its only access is through a door high in the wall from which the ladder could be drawn up after entering.

Other points of interest include the effigy of a mailed recumbent knight with crossed legs; arms on his shield show him to be one of the de Barris, the Norman lords who built the castle.

To the left, the Coast Path continues around Priest’s Nose, passing, just beyond, above a dramatically narrow chasm that falls sheer to the sea, so amazingly precise that it might have been cut by a gigantic saw. There is another gash a little further along, but being wider, is less sensational. Around the point, the view ahead is to the bold prominence of Old Castle Head, site of a prehistoric fort, but now occupied as an artillery training school.

Towards Great Castle Head from Priest’s Nose

The path carries on above a steepening grassy slope that falls to low bare sandstone cliffs overlooking the sea, later tucking in and dipping behind inaccessible coves, which in turn offer an equally dramatic retrospective view as you climb beyond. After gaining height onto a small headland, the over-vertical cliffs turn in around Presipe Bay, the path leading to a gate.

Looking back along the cliffs to Priest’s Nose

Climb away from the coast at the field edge, continuing in the next field. Towards the far end, swing across right. Leave through a gate and follow a field track that skirts Hill Farm. Winding left past the end of a barn, look for a stile on the right. Head more or less straight downhill from field to field, leaving the third one through a gap in the bottom wall opposite a lime kiln, half hidden in the scrub.

The way back lies over a stile to the left, following a track away past a cottage. Keep right as you join the track from Hill Farm, eventually reaching the village. The tearoom and pub lie just to the right, otherwise, follow the lane left below the castle back down to the car park.