All walks › North Pembrokeshire Coast
North Pembrokeshire CoastSolva Harbour and the Gribin
A drowned valley harbour with a steep grassy ridge between it and the sea, giving the best view of the inlet from directly above.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 50
- Ascent
- 200 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Climb the Gribin from the harbour, then follow the coast path east or west before dropping back to the village. Short, steep and rewarding.
Worth knowing
- The Gribin is a narrow ridge with an Iron Age enclosure at the seaward end.
- Solva harbour is a ria, a valley drowned by rising sea level, which is why it bends out of sight.
- Limekilns line the harbour, built to burn imported limestone.
What you’ll see
The harbour winding out to sea, the Gribin ridge, and limekilns along the quay.
Background
Solva was a trading port shipping local produce and importing limestone and culm; the kilns on the quay date from the eighteenth century.