Newgale, Pembrokeshire
Newgale (Welsh: Niwgwl) is a village with an almost two-mile (3 km) stretch of beach in the parish of Roch, Pembrokeshire, West Wales.[1][2] The beach is situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and has rugged coastal scenery with the path winding up and down the cliffs.
Newgale is one of over 40 Welsh Blue Flag beaches, which means it has the top certification for quality, cleanliness and facilities.[3]
Village and beach
The beach is backed by a large pebble bank which was created by a major storm on 25 October 1859, and which acts as a sea defence or storm beach;[4][5] however, it is often breached, and rocks are washed onto the main road. In the January 2014 storms the sea washed the pebble wall across the road and a large wave washed the early evening Richards Bros bus into the adjoining field.[6] Newgale is popular with holiday makers, windsurfers, surfers and canoeists throughout the summer months.
There are two caravan parks, a camping site, some shops and a pub, The Duke of Edinburgh Inn. The surf at Newgale is good for beginners, with the waves usually backing off a bit even on large swell. Surfing is best on the rising tide.
The beach is a favourite place for the local people, who promenade on Boxing Day every year.
Many campers on lower ground experience flooding during rain in the summer months.
Newgale, along with Abereiddi, appeared in the music video "Delerium – Silence" (featuring Sarah McLachlan) 2000.[7]
Newgale marks the boundary between English and Welsh-speaking Pembrokeshire, with the next beach north of Newgale being called Pen-y-Cwm. A physical example of the boundary is Brandy Brook which runs through Newgale, splitting the English-speaking South Pembrokeshire and the Welsh-speaking North Pembrokeshire, remarked upon by Richard Fenton in his Historical Tour of 1810.[8]
References
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Newgale. |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Newgale, Pembrokeshire. |
- "Newgale Beach – Visit Pembrokeshire". www.visitpembrokeshire.com.
- "Bathing water profile". environment.data.gov.uk.
- Davies, R., Pembrokeshire beaches fly Blue Flag Western Telegraph, 22 May 2011. Viewed 2011-10-27.
- "Newgale beach – Visit Pembrokeshire". Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- "The great storm of 1859". 12 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- "Ten rescued as wave strands bus in Newgale, Pembrokeshire". BBC News. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- Silence Music Video Youtube. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- Fenton, Richard (1811). A historical tour through Pembrokeshire. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & co. p. 151. Retrieved 8 February 2019.