Walk 41: Cardigan to Aberporth

Having reached the end of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in August 2023, after a five-month break, we took to the Wales Coast Path for our first walks of 2024 during February half term.

On the first day of our trip, we got up super early (for us!), keen to ensure we had enough light for what would likely be a muddy walk. We drove from our accommodation to Aberporth Beach, where we were able to park the car for £3 for the whole day, and caught the bus to Cardigan. After grabbing some bits for lunch (we hadn’t had the opportunity to go shopping as we’d arrived at our cottage at midnight the previous night), we set off on our way.

The first section of the walk took us along roads and through farmland as we walked along the River Teifi towards the coast. I was aware that some walkers had come across fields of cows in this section of the path, and, as regular readers will know, fields of cows make me nervous. I had hoped that, by walking in February, we might avoid them, and thankfully, our luck was in. The only tricky thing we had to navigate along this section of the path were some very muddy fields!

As we walked along the river, we enjoyed views of St Dogmaels and Poppit Sands, which we passed during our last Pembrokeshire Coast Path walk in August. As we continued along the road, we passed a pretty marina, before reaching the village of Gwbert. We stopped at a bench for some food at a viewpoint, with beautiful views of Poppit Sands – our first proper coastal view of the year.

Before we reached the coast, the road bent to the right as the path diverted around Cardigan Island Coastal Farm Park. We walked through a few more fields before we finally got to the coast, where we enjoyed pretty views of Cardigan Island, which was once the home of puffins and Manx shearwater, and now of a small colony of grey seals.

After navigating a very muddy and sludgy field, we finally reached our first section of  what I would consider to be ‘classic’ coastal path. While it was still wet underfoot, the path was generally pretty easy to navigate, apart from a few muddy patches. We continued along the path, soon getting our first glimpse of Mwnt. The landscape of this tiny settlement is dominated by a small but impressive-looking hill – Foel-y-Mwnt – a stunning sheltered beach, and a little white church, Church of the Holy Cross. As we were walking in February, the beach was quite quiet, but there were a number of people in wetsuits braving the sea!

Once we reached Mwnt, we stopped for some lunch, grabbing a hot drink from the kiosk before we continued on our way. We had now passed the halfway point of our walk, and I was feeling quite smug that we had been blessed with some lovely blue skies, mild temperatures, and a very quiet time of the year – an ideal day for a coast path walk.

We continued along the path – our next and final stop, Aberporth, around six miles away. We passed a few people on this section of the path, which clearly makes for a nice mid-length winter walk. There were a few patches where it was quite wet underfoot (including a section with a burst pipe), but other than that, it was relatively easy walking. There were a few ups and downs, but these were nowhere near as steep as in our previous walk from Newport to Cardigan.

We soon spotted the MOD site which would bring us to the road to Aberporth. At this point, the walk got a bit tedious. The sky had clouded over, and there was intermittent rain and drizzle. The path was quite windy, meaning we weren’t getting very far very quickly. And with five months of no coastal walks, we were starting to get a bit tired! At one point, I got into a bit of a fight with a small wooden bridge, which was incredibly slippery – the bridge won, but I managed to catch myself to avoid falling into the stream below it – and, miraculously, got away completely unhurt!

The path then took us through a wooded section, a field for a final bit of sludge, and finally came out onto the road. Although road walking isn’t the most exciting, I was looking forward to some easy walking, having navigated some pretty slippery sections, and it felt like we were home and dry!

We passed the MOD site and walked into Aberporth for some nice beach views to finish the day. All in all, a good start to the year, and I was very relieved to have dodged any potential Ceredigion cows!

🥾 Distance: 12¼ miles.

⭐ Highlight: Mwnt – such a beautiful place!

👎 Less Good: Stacking it on a small bridge!

🚗 Transport: We parked in Aberporth, caught the bus to Cardigan, and walked back to the car.

🛏️ Accommodation: We stayed at Thatched in Wales – a stunning thatched cottage in Ceredigion which I wholeheartedly recommend.

🌱 Food: We had dinner back at the cottage.

🗺️ Map: This route is featured in the official Snowdonia and Ceredigion Coast guide.

Still not convinced? Read my ten reasons to walk the Wales Coast Path. If you’re ready to start planning your walk, you can find lots of resources to help you on your way here. Please note, I collect a share of the sales from the links on this page.