Porthgain
Porthgain is a small coastal hamlet on the north coast of St Davids Peninsula. Once a small commercial harbour used for exporting stone from the nearby quarry, Porthgain is now a very popular tourist centre thanks to a great pub, a super cafe restaurant and two excellent art galleries. Add to this the superb location in the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Porthgain has a winning combination. Porthgain was designated as a conservation area by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in 1997.
Picture: Porthgain Harbour from The Coast Path
There’s plenty of accommodation available in the area. Nearest hotels would be in St Davids or Fishguard but there are plenty of B&B’s, guesthouses and farmhouse B&B’s. There are lots of camp sites or touring caravan sites plus one or two holiday parks in St Davids or Fishguard where you can rent a self catering static caravan or chalet. There are plenty of self catering cottages in this part of Pembrokeshire including some in Porthgain itself. There's a youth hostel at Pwll Deri alongside the Coast Path.
Picture: On the harbour side at Porthgain
Porthgain means 'Chisel Port' in English with the chisel representing the quarrying that once took place here. From around 1850 slate, then brick, and then granite were shipped from the harbour. The crushed granite road stone was dispensed from the massive brick built hoppers, built at the beginning of the twentieth century, directly into small ships along side Porthgain harbour. These and earlier slate quarrying related structures including the lime kiln, harbour and pilots house can still be seen. Slate was also quarried at Abereiddi and transported along the tram road to Porthgain for export. Mining finally stopped here in the 1930s.
Picture: Relaxing outside The Sloop at Porthgain
The Sloop Inn in Porthgain pre dates the quarrying as it dates from 1743. It’s one of the most popular pubs in Pembrokeshire and with good cause. Inside the pub is quaint and historic, while the seating area around the front door is an idyllic sun trap. The Sloop serve food at lunchtime and evenings. A speciality is fresh crab, which is landed daily at Porthgain harbour, only two hundred yards away. There are no ‘food miles’ involved here!
Even closer to the harbour is The Shed. The Shed was once the machine shop for the engines that operated the brick works in Porthgain. The Shed has won numerous awards in recent years including the AA Wales Seafood Restaurant of the year in 2006, AA Rosettes in 2005, 2006 & 2007 and it was also a Wales True Taste regional gold winner. The Shed is open at lunchtimes and evenings and has a bar downstairs, a small, but intimate first floor bistro plus outside seating. You just pop in for a glass of wine or a pint of beer, without having to have a meal if you want to.
Next to The Shed is The Harbour Lights gallery, an Aladdins’ cave of work by leading West Wales artists inspired by an area that has long been beloved of artists, drawn by its light and unspoiled coastline. Artists such as John Knapp-Fisher, Andrea Kelland, Ceri Auckland Davies, Gillian McDonald, Bernard Green, John Piper, Jean Thomas and David Beattie.
Another gallery, The Porthgain Gallery, can be found in one of the row of cottages on the edge of the village. The row of cottages are called Y Strydd or The Street. These cottages were once quarry workers cottages and are good examples of ‘Crog lofts’. The loft was a partial upper floor where the residents slept & not dissimilar to modern mezzanine loft apartments but with far more character!
Porthgain was designated as a conservati