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Pembrokeshire Coast national Park The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, established in 1952, is one of the smallest of the UK national parks. It's predominantly coastal based and contains a rich variety of landscapes of dramatic coastline and offshore islands, and the Celtic culture is an important aspect of Pembrokeshire life with Welsh spoken in many communities in the northern area of the Park. Fantastic cycling roads on this western part of the Celtic Trail, and always close to basking seals, small bays and ports, woolen mills, sheltered coves and sandy beaches, seabird colonies, stack rocks, high cliffs, hill forts, some fifty castles, and the ancient and submerged forests of Amroth, Manorbier and Newgale reveal themselves at low tide. The route takes in the sheltered, walled St David's, with its lovely cathedral, then shadows several off-shore islands, of which most have Viking names. These islands, such as Caldey, Stockholm and Gateholm, are internationally important for their seabird and seal populations, and Caldey is also home to Cistercian monks. Ramsey Island is just off St. David's and you can take boats cross the water to see the grey seals on the Island. To the north-west of the Park there are prehistoric man's burial cairns, chambers, hill forts and stone circles. and just north of the cycle route beyond Fishguard is the monument of the 7ft high Neolithic chambered long barrow of Pentre Ifanon. The Preseli Hills are also where it has been proved the blue stones of the inner circle of Stonehenge - 80 massive stones of spotted dolerite - were sourced and rafted 180 miles, probably using a combination of rafts on rivers and sea, and finally rolled to their resting place at Stonehenge. Ireland lies across the water and it has always been a major market for this part of south-west Wales - even frail craft have chanced a voyage across to Ireland, and it's said that local farmers often used smuggling and fishing to supplement their living in the Pembrokeshire coastal areas. Information Pembrokeshire Park Nature Authority |
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