Walking Pembrokeshire

Cleddau Reach Circular Walk (Pembroke Dock)

It's good to walk, so why not step out and sample some of the walks your town has to offer. This pleasant and interesting walk which starts and finishes at Cleddau Reach, Waterloo, Pembroke Dock is one of a number of town and country walks which have been produced by Pembrokeshire County Council.

Enjoy this fairly long but not too strenuous walk around the edges of Pembroke Dock which affords beautiful riverside views and gives fascinating glimpses into the maritime, military and social history of this Victorian ‘new town'.

This is a fascinating and beautiful walk and takes in all the riverside locations of this interesting Victorian ‘new town' as well as affording insights into the maritime, military and social history of a town that was created in the 19th century around The Royal Dockyard. Even though the dockyard closed in 1926, Pembroke Dock still played an important role in the UK's military history, evidence of which is seen on this walk.

Architecturally and scenically, Pembroke Dock has as much to offer the walker as the more fashionable Pembrokeshire towns and resorts.

Walking: Cleddau Reach, Waterloo is a short walk from Pembroke Dock town centre.
Bus: Bus routes 349, 356, 361, 387, and 388 all serve Pembroke Dock. Alight at Waterloo, Tescos or Laws Street. Bus Timetables (opens in a new tab)  
Train: Nearest station is at Pembroke Dock, a short walk from Cleddau Reach. National Rail Enquiries: 08457 484 950 National Rail Enquiries (opens in a new tab) 
Road Map: Search for "Pembroke Dock".
Parking: There is a large, free car park at Cleddau Reach, Waterloo
Toilets: Public toilets Pembroke Dock town centre.
Refreshments: Available in Pembroke Dock town centre where there is a wide variety of cafes, restaurants and public houses. Pembroke Ferry, near the start of the walk, has a licensed premises that serves food - The Ferry Inn.

Start / Finish: Cleddau Reach, Waterloo, Pembroke Dock
Distance: 7.25 miles (11.7 kilometres), 3 hours
Terrain: Easy to moderate on roadways, urban footpaths, rural paths, and the foreshore (there is a high tide alternative). Can be wet, muddy and slippery in places. One strenuous section out of Llanreath.
Stiles: 0
Gates: 1
Steps: 10
Bridges: 0
Car Park: 1
Views: several

• Begin the walk at Cleddau Reach, Waterloo where there are stunning estuary views. Walk past the Activity Centre and restaurant, turn left and then right uphill past the Bridge Innovation Centre. Take the first exit at the first roundabout and the second exit at the next roundabout (which is on the approach road to the Cleddau Bridge).
• Continue straight on downhill towards Pembroke Ferry, a hamlet right in the shadow of the bridge. This is one of the oldest crossing points on the Cleddau Estuary.
• The Wesleyan chapel, built in 1880, is an interesting example of vernacular architecture.
• Retrace your steps up hill, but don't go all the way back up, instead, where the houses end, bear right onto a narrow steep path that takes you up into Llanion - now a modern housing estate but once the Edwardian Barracks, some evidence of which still remains - walk along this road (ignoring a junction on the left) and then go straight ahead onto a narrow path. Upon reaching another road, turn right and bear right again downhill onto Pier Road.
• Turn right at the T- junction here and walk to Hobbs Point where there are marvellous views up and down river. Hobbs Point was the last crossing point of the river prior to the construction of the Cleddau Bridge, which can be seen in all its modern beauty from here.
• Retrace your steps along Pier Road, past the point where you came down from Llanion, on towards the roundabout just beyond Lidls. Note the interesting 19th Century pumphouse in the middle of the roundabout.
• Turn right onto Western Way Way (toilets in the car park on the left) – where you have fine views of the former Royal Dockyard -  and just after the pedestrian crossing by Asda, turn right onto Front Street - the oldest street in Pembroke Dock has a lovely river frontage and takes you to the edge of the Royal Dockyard itself, protected here by the first of two guntowers.
• This one houses the town museum (Note- this is not currently operational and may have closed permanently). In the dockyard wall in front of you are 6 bronze relief panels by renowned sculptor Perryn Butler depicting scenes from the town's history.
• Inside the dockyard walls can be seen the huge hangars, built to accommodate the Sunderland flying boats which were stationed here in WWII.
• Turn left and walk along the wall up Commercial Row, a street that contains several unaltered shop fronts . At a small crossroads, turn right still following the wall.
• On your left is the newly restored Market Hall, a superb building.
• Continue straight on into the dockyard itself, passing on your right the Garrison Chapel, one of the finest of all of Pembroke Dock's 19th century buildings. It now houses the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre with exhinits of maritime, military and soical history.
• Continue walking along a tree lined avenue, past many other fine buildings in local stone behind the trees on your left until you see the main dockyard entrance on your left.
• Go through it and turn right onto Fort Road. Walk past the hospital on your left until you come to another guntower at the edge of the dockyard.
• Once again there are splendid river views here.
• If it is low tide, you can walk around to Llanreath, a hamlet whose beach is visible in the distance to your left.
• Alternatively, retrace your steps along Fort Road via the hospital grounds from the elevated position of which you will see, inside the dockyard walls, Paterchurch Tower - the enigmatic oldest surviving building in Pembroke Dock.
• When you reach the dockyard gates you recently exited from, turn right up hill and at the next junction, with the tree lined Barrack Hill in front of you, turn right again and shortly afterwards, bear left slightly onto a grassy path that leads up the hill, through part of a golf course and into a car park.
• Go through a gate alongside the car park and walk into Chapel Road in Llanreath hamlet. The road soon bears sharp left and at the next junction, turn right into Beach Road and walk down a very steep hill to Llanreath Beach, another ferry point where dockyard workers used to embark and disembark.
• This is the point you will have arrived at if you have walked around the foreshore from Fort Road guntower.
• Walk back uphill but continue straight on at the junction where you turned right on your way down. This road leads you onto a path where you should turn left up towards the car park, then right (following the waymarked route) across the golf course towards the magnificent Defensible Barracks - an amazing Victorian fort built as part of the defence system for the Royal Dockyard which can be seen laid out at the bottom of the hill.
• The whole grid iron layout of Pembroke Dock can also be seen from here, as well as stunning landscape views as far as the Preseli Hills to the north.
• If you are lucky with your timing, you might see the Irish ferry berthing in the dockyard.
• Continue past the Defensible Barracks into a housing estate. Follow the road through a couple of bends down to a T-junction with the main Treowen Road. Turn left, then right immediately at Bethany Chapel onto High Street. Follow High Street on the left hand side, past the Red Rose Inn, and continue across a road junction following a residential service road until you get to a cycle path.
• A short distance along this path, turn left onto another path and bear left again after about 50yds. This takes you gradually downhill. Near the bottom of the hill turn right into the Memorial Park - an interesting formal park. Exit the park at its lower end beneath the clock arch. Cross the road with care and walk down Argyle Street at he end of which you should turn right and then shortly afterwards turn left onto a surfaced cycle path that follows the railway line in the trees to the left.
• After a few hundred yards there is a level crossing on your left - cross it with care and walk down towards the roundabout on the main road. Turn left along the path and cross the road on the other side of the roundabout. After crossing turn right and go straight on alongside a road signposted Haverfordwest. After a short distance cross this main road on a traffic island and turn left. Then follow the path into Warrior Way on the right. Follow this road back to Cleddau Reach, keeping left at the mini-roundabout on route.