Carn Llidi

Carn Llidi is a rocky hill in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, east of St David’s Head. It rises 181 metres above Whitesands Bay, standing alone and visible from far away. On clear days the view stretches west to Ramsey Island and the Bishops and Clerks islets. Northwards, Strumble Head appears in the distance. When summer evenings are fine, the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland may be glimpsed at sunset. The hill holds traces of long-ago lives. Two Neolithic burial chambers lie on the higher southwest slopes, and nearby stones could be the capstones of megalithic tombs. Prehistoric field walls and enclosures lie northwest of the summit, close to an Iron Age defensive bank. During the Second World War a radar station operated here; its concrete base and a Lewis gun pit still survive. In June 1943 an American bomber crashed into the hillside, killing its crew; a memorial with one of the plane’s propeller blades stands in Whitesands Bay car park. The easiest way up starts from the car park at Whitesands Bay. Walkers may choose a route through Porthmawr Farm or follow the coast path towards St David’s Head. The climb is straightforward for anyone in ordinary walking clothes. At the top the wide horizon shows Whitesands Bay below and the open sea beyond.