St David's Head

St David’s Head is a wild headland in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, where the Irish Sea meets the Celtic Sea. It lies about four kilometres northwest of the cathedral city of St David’s and marks the narrowest point of St George’s Channel. The land is owned by the National Trust and reached on foot along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. From the cliffs there are views south to Whitesands Bay and Ramsey Sound, west to the Bishops and Clerks rocks, and east to the rocky outcrop Carn Llidi. The westernmost point of mainland Wales, Pen Dal-aderyn, stands just south of the headland. The place is recognised for its ancient human remains and rich wildlife. Iron Age cliff forts, prehistoric settlements and a defensive wall show early occupation, while Coetan Arthur is a Neolithic burial chamber. Wildflowers colour the slopes and peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs. Grey seals and porpoises feed in the surrounding waters, joined by seabirds throughout the year. In 140 AD Ptolemy’s Geography called the headland the Promontory of the Eight Perils. Sir Richard Colt Hoare wrote in 1793 that no place seemed more suited to Druidical mysteries. Visitors walk the coast path to the headland and find wide ocean views on all sides. The Iron Age fort walls still stand along the cliff edges, and Coetan Arthur’s capstone rests where it has since the Neolithic period. Wild thyme and sea thrift bloom in summer, while seals rest on nearby skerries. The path is open to all and leads back to St David’s through windswept dunes and farmland. The air carries the scent of salt and gorse, and the only sounds are waves and seabirds.