The way points of this bicycle route:
I'd arrange a lift to the start point as the finish is near where I stay when I'm down this way.
Go straight on at left hand bend. Start of off-Road Section 1. I've been unable to find this track on previous visits.
The track appears to go across the middle of the ancient earthworks to the right of the farm.
Not exactly sure where the RUPP runs from here
It looks like somewhere here, the RUPP joins a gravel track. Looks like we steer to the right of the pond.
There's a right turn onto the main track out of this Section which is crucial if you're running in the opposite direction.
End of off-Road Section 1. Hairpin left onto A487. Take care - fast busy A-road. Look for the first right around the corner.
Take the first right, hairpinning back on yourself.
Past the radio mast, look for the beginning of the next RUPP in front of the front garden of a house. [Reverse direction route rejoins here.]
Hairpin right onto Off-Road Section 2, a narrow lane leading towards a farm.
Turn right in front of the farm buildings and pick up the continuation of the lane into a field.
Through the bridleway gate and across field keeping the hedge to your right.
Through the bridleway gate and into the next field. The hedge should now be on your left. Cross the field keeping close to the hedge.
Exit the field through a bridleway gate into a green lane. Follow this down to the road. Should be a good, albeit rocky and deadwood littered, downhill.
Turn left onto the road. End of Off-Road Section 2. [If you're following this route in reverse, go right onto the road, round the bend, up the steep hill and turn left at the T-junction to rejoin the route.]
Turn left at T-junction.
Turn right at crossroads, then next right. [If you're following this route in reverse, go straight-on, take the next left and pick up the start of Off-Road Section 2 in the intended direction.]
Turn right, then next left.
Turn left.
Go straight-on at crossroads down a sealed farm road and look for the next bend in the road.
This bend effectively forms a crossroads with two sealed roads and two off-road RUPPs. Go straight-on onto the left one of the unsurfaced tracks. Start of Off-Road Section 3. [If you're following this route in reverse, you'll have arrived on the other unsurfaced track. From this point follow the route in the intended direction until you rejoin this point. So, turn right up the other off-road track.]
Follow the lane up the hill. It starts off well but gets a little difficult and muddy in places.
The lane opens out through a gateway into field. The track is easy to see across the field. This is the start of a fast downhill, watch out for electric fences crossing the track!!
Eventually you arrive at a gateway into a farm. When I passed through, the way I wanted to go was gated off for milking. I got redirected out the opposite direction via a footpath. If it happens to you, it's no bad thing, it was quite a good route. The proper route is to turn right in front of the barn and follow the farm road/RUPP out to the public road. End of Off-Road Section 3.
Turn left onto the road.
When you reach the lifeboat station, there's a good beach here and nice cafe if you're looking to stop. To continue turn left up the hill and follow the lane for quite a long uphill slog. You're next point of reference is a little white cottage on a bend, with a bridleway running off to the left.
When you reach a little white cottage on an S-bend, you should find the start of a bridleway and Off-Road Section 4 off to the left. Following the bridleway is easy as it runs up the hill between two raised banks.
As you leave the lane the bridleway opens out into a field. The precise route isn't clear, but it appears to run in a wide loop around the field and back into the farm on the left.
Go through the farmyard and follow the gravel track away from the two farms.
At the corner in the track bear right onto another bridleway. This is a fast grassy downhill.
At the old derelict chapel turn sharp left.
Just after the track passes in front of the farm buldings look for another bridleway down a bank to the right.
Turn right onto the road. End of Off-Road Section 4. Look for sharp left in road.
At sharp left in road, continue straight-on onto bridleway and Off-Road Section 5. Follow bridleway between raised banks.
Within sight of farm, look for another hedge-lined bridleway off to the right through a gateway between two fields. This is a good straight grassy downhill. Take care of the gate at the bottom.
At the T-junction at the bottom, turn right. Again, this is another good, not too severe downhill. When you get nearer to the bottom, turn left around the end of the dry stone wall then watch out for ruts in the track which crosses the bridleway.
Turn left around the end of the dry stone wall then watch out for ruts in the track crossing the bridleway.
At the bottom of the hill the route of the bridleway is a little confusing. I finished turning right by the ruined buildings then climbing over the style onto the road with the bike on my shoulder (but, styles are not the norm for bridleways?). Turn right onto the road. End of Off-Road Section 5. Be aware there may be a right of way issue on this road. Parts of the road are shown as footpath and parts are shown on OS maps as an unclassified road. I'm working under the assumption that it's a county road??
Turn left onto main road and look for a bridleway along a farm track to the right.
Turn right into farm track/bridleway. Start of Off-Road Section 6.
Bear left through farmyard onto dirt track.
Exit the lane through a gateway into a field. Keep to the left hedge and aim for the gateway in the next corner.
Through the gateway into the next field. Now keep the hedge to your right and aim for the gateway in the next corner.
My memory's a little fuzzy here I think there were a set of two or three gates to get from this field to the next. But seem to remember it was a case of follow your nose.
I seem to remember a deceptively difficult downhill here; not sure if it was hoof churned surface, rocks or deadwood, but I think I went arse over tip here.
Turn right through the gate at the bottom of the hill.
Merge right onto farm track.
Pick up next leg of bridleway through first gate on left into a field. Follow the bridleway down the right edge of the field. When I passed this way the surface was very tricky with hoof churn.
Cross the stream at the bottom right corner of the field and pick up the continuation of the bridleway through a bridleway gate and up the hill.
Bear right in front of the farmhouse and follow the farm track out of the farm. Watch out for the rather enthusiastic dog!
End of Off-Road Section 6.
At the corner in the road, you're back to the crossroads visited earlier. Go straight-on onto the short RUPP back to the road. Off-Road Section 7.[If your following this route in the reverse direction, turn right keeping to the sealed surface track.]
Merge left onto the road. End of Off-Road Section 7. Now we have a fast spin down into St. Dogmaels.
Once into the vilage of St. Dogmaels you reach a T-junction. Hairpin left on yourself and look for the first very quick right.
Take the first right. I'm not 100% sure if this is a through road. May not be for cars but you'll probably be OK on a bike. If not continue round High St. then Finch St. then right onto David St.
Turn left onto Cwmdegwel and look for the first right onto Longdown St.
Take the first right onto Longdown St. then up a steep hill.
You're looking for a sealed surface lane hairpinning back to the right at the top of the hill, signposted Blaenwaun Chapel. Stop and check out the view behind you down the Teifi Estuary. [If you're following the route in reverse you'll be approaching down the hill so you'll bear left onto the RUPP. After running Off-Road Section 8 in the intended direction you'll come back to this point where you should continue down the hill and continue the reversed route.]
The sealed surface peters out past the farm into a green lane. Start of Off-Road Section 8. In theory this should turn into a nice downhill, but on my passage it was covered in wood chip from what smelt like leylandii trees!! Made for a very surreal surface to ride on - bit like riding on mattresses!! Follow the lane to the chapel.
Turn left in front of the chapel to pick up another RUPP. Not sure of the exact route but I think it'll be obvious. Try to follow it if possible, it needs using. I did it in the opposite direction and was diverted into the fields by the farmer. If you can't make progress head for the fields on your left and keep adjacent to the bridleway. Eventually you'll hit the farm on the other side.
Emerge form the lane into the farmyard.
Dog leg through the farm yard and follow the track out to the road.
Turn right onto the road. End of Off-Road Section 8. [If you're doing the route in reverse continue straight on past this lane and pick up the start of the other RUPP so you do Off-Road Section 8 in the intended direction. When you arrive back here turn left onto the road.]
Turn left onto a RUPP. Start of Off-Road Section 9.
Pass down the right side of the farm buildings heading for a couple of bridleway gates into a green lane. This should be a good downhill, despite being a tad overgrown and a bit boggy in places. Watch out for pedestrians, looks well used towards the bottom.
End of Off-Road Section 9. I consider this to be the end of my Pembrokeshire Coast MTB Route, really. The path it's based on ends near here too. However, there follows a contiuation which takes in one more off-road section and links in with my Gwbert loop of the the route. Turn right onto the road.
Turn left at the T-junction.
Turn left across the the bridge and follow the main road up the hill then through the centre of Cardigan.
Bear left onto Gwbert Rd. sign posted Gwbert.
Turn left onto the B4548.
As the road comes down the hill to meet the estuary take the right at the T-Junction.
Past the farm the road peters into a dirt track across the golf course. Start of Off-Road Section 10.
Follow the track keeping a fairly straight course.
The track becomes less distinct as you cross open golf course, but you're aiming for the lane between the gorse bushes.
Down the lane between the gorse bushes.
Merge right onto the gravel track past the houses.
Follow the sealed road away from the golf course. End of Off-Road 10.
Turn left at the staggered crossroads.
This was my end point. But it's worth a visit for it's views alone. Behind is a bar and ahead is a hotel. So it can be a watering point too!
Welcome to Bikely, take a step by step tour of this path:
Press Start Tour - then use the navigation buttons below to move along the path.
This is based very very loosely around the Pembrokeshire Coast path. Since we can't ride on footpaths, the idea was a MTB route drawing some inspiration from the coastal path. As always with me the emphasis is to get off-road otherwise I'd have just followed the coastal road. I've had some difficulty locating the first off-road section. This route can be run North to South too and includes instructions [in square brackets] to tailor it to suit that orientation. 40.9% off-road.
Tagged with: Onroad, MTB, Steep, Offroad, Rough, Rural, Scenic
