Neyland to Cleddau Bridge South

Myself, my husband and my 2-year-old took on one of the more accessible stretches of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path so we could accommodate the buggy.

Our route took us from Neyland Marina across the Cleddau Bridge to the Cleddau South Car Park. We took one car and parked by Neyland Marina in the Brunel Quay Car Park, making the decision to do the route twice - once there and once on the way back. 

Once parked up and with the toddler in the buggy, we set off. The views were scenic right from the start, with scenes across the Cleddau Estuary towards Burton and Pembroke Dock opposite. The weather was dry and a little windy, particularly lovely when the sun came out.

You pass by Neyland marina and The Bar Restaurant which is highly recommended for lunch and evening meals. Below is Manillas Cafe, a fantastic eatery where you can enjoy breakfast and lunch, or even just sit outside for a coffee and take in the amazing views. Both The Bar and Manillas offer great food with a picture-perfect view!

We passed by the bustling marina with plenty of bobbing boats, clocking both as potential spots for a lunchtime break upon our return.

Continue past the marina towards the bridge in front of you and you'll soon come across a cycle path. Being a safe trail with no vehicles, we decided to let our toddler out for a run, which he thoroughly enjoyed and helped to burn off some of that excess energy that busy children have!  It's clearly a popular dog walking route in the area as we saw many people strolling along with their four-legged friends.

A wonderful surprise along the way - a mini waterfall.

At approximately the one-mile mark, you will see a small sign for the Coastal Path. As it was very narrow and not quite suitable for our buggy, we decided to go on a little further and continue to follow the cycle path towards the bridge.

From here, the trail follows a zig-zag tarmacked hill up to the first bridge - it was fairly level underfoot so still easily accessible to anyone like us walking with a buggy. Walking up whilst pushing the buggy was somewhat of a workout but luckily the views are that pretty, there are plenty of excuses to stop for a breather.

At the top, you join onto the main Neyland to Pembroke road to follow the footpath across the bridge over the Westfield Pill Waterway (note, the larger Cleddau Bridge is yet to come). Make sure to cross the road here otherwise you lose the footpath on one side. Be aware here that this is a fast road with heavy traffic so if you're looking for a traditional peaceful walking trail, perhaps this isn't the one for you. You will be walking towards oncoming traffic here and it may feel very close to you at times so just be wary of the vehicles around you.  

Continue along the path passing by the main turning for Burton and The Jolly Sailor until you reach a second bridge you need to cross. This is the well-known Cleddau Bridge that adjoins the two lands on either side of the estuary, also known as the hidden waterway. This bridge has a safety barrier between pedestrians and cars, so we felt much happier walking across this bridge with the buggy.

Almost immediately upon reaching the land on the Pembroke side of the estuary, you'll find the Cleddau Bridge South Car Park complete with a picnic site - handy if you bring along some snacks or a packed lunch.  We decided to go back the way we came as we had our eye on somewhere for lunch back at Neyland Marina. 

We decided to stop at Manillias Cafe for some lunch on the way back to the car and would certainly say it was a top choice for a pitstop. They have a range of meals on the menu including breakfasts, brunches, soups and daily specials plus a mouth-watering selection of cakes. I had the special of the day which was Chicken Satay Flatbread, my husband had a Bacon and Sausage Rustic Roll whilst our toddler enjoyed a Child's Tuna Sandwich with some crisps and fruit on the side.  

The whole of the route is very flat making it great for both pushchairs and wheelchairs, or anyone with mobility difficulties. 

It was 2.8 miles each way so we did a total of 5.6 miles in just over 2 hours after stopping for lunch too.