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Arriva Trains Wales |
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Region |
This is an extract from the page on Arriva Trains Wales. To
access the main site select either the North Wales, The Marches,
and Chepstow-Swansea section, the Heart of Wales, Swansea and
West Wales section, or the full version which combines the
two. Search WalesRails .......... Message Board |
Preserved: WalesRails: Back to Welcome page |
Whitland
is, today, a market town which thrives on agriculture and the dairy industry, but its
place in history is assured thanks to the 10th century ruler of the district, Hywel Dda
(in English, Howell the Good). During his reign Hywel succeeded in uniting the warring
kingdoms of Wales, and, in the year 930 at an assembly of clergy and laymen held at
Whitland, he codified the laws on which present-day democratic government is based. The
town's memorial to Hywel takes the form of six small gardens which symbolise the six
principles embodied in those laws.
The parish Church of St Mary dates from the early 18th century, but the site goes back to
medieval times.
Whitland marks the eastern boundary of the Landsker: an imaginary border which
historically separates the English-speaking south from the Welsh speaking north of
Pembrokeshire.
Leaving Whitland, the line divides, and trains for Pembroke Dock take the
left-hand fork. From the train, the rural nature of the Landsker borderland (which
separates the English-speaking South from the Welsh speaking North of Pembrokeshire) is
self-evident.
Narberth
is the first stop. The Arberth of the Mabinogion - a collection of medieval Welsh folk
tales and legends - where Pwyll, the prince of Dyfed met the hounds of the Underworld:
which all adds spice to a walk in the hills around the town!
In the old guild hall there is a museum, part of which is devoted to the Mabinogion, and
part to the Landsker. Three miles away is Oakwood Leisure Park, which includes Megafobia -
Europe's largest wooden roller-coaster - and the death-defying Vertigo, a 120ft-high swing
which reaches speeds of up to 60mph and is claimed to give the nearest sensation to flying
it is possible to attain.
Nearby, CC2000 (formerly Canaston Bowl) is an entertainment centre which offers
bowling and hi-tech Crystal Maze-style adventures in a
futuristic setting.
Kilgetty
was once at the heart of Pembrokeshire's coal mining district, but has long reverted to a
more rural style.
From here, the railway moves closer to the coast, and the remaining stations on the branch
are within walking distance of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, a 186-mile trail between
Amroth and Cardigan with some of the country's most spectacular cliff-top scenery.
Saundersfoot
station is set some way inland from the beach and harbour, surrounded by high cliffs which
give a strenuous but stunning walk along a section of the path to...
...Tenby
the principal seaside resort of Pembrokeshire, which can trace its history back to the
Viking invasion, though its popularity with holiday-makers dates only to the arrival of
the railway in 1860. St Mary's Church and the Merchant's House on Quay hill are both
medieval, while the ruin of the Norman castle overlooks the harbour, which, like that at
Saundersfoot, featured in the county's coal export trade.
Tenby boasts two beaches. Goscar Rock rises from the sands of North beach which has the
picturesque harbour at its eastern tip, while South Beach is dominated by St Catherine's
Rock, accessible at low tide, which is topped by a deserted fort (no longer open to the
public).
Penally
is reached after the railway has snaked across the golf course. The village has a 13th
century Church dedicated to Saint Teilo (whose bones it is reputedly said to house) in the
churchyard of which is a carved Celtic cross.
Manorbier
has a castle which dates from the reign of Henry I, and was the birthplace of the medieval
historian Geraldis Cambrensis, famed for his account of a journey through Wales in 1188 by
Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, recruiting for the Third Crusade. The
village also has a church of the same period as the castle.
Lamphey
has the ruins of the Bishop of St David's Palace (pictured left), built in the early decades of the
14th century.
Pembroke
is dominated by the partially restored castle which is given further dramatic eminence by
its position atop a limestone crag. It was started around 1090, by one of the Marcher
Lords of Shrewsbury, and in places its walls are 20ft thick. At high tide, it is
surrounded by the sea on three sides, and on the landward side it is protected by a ditch,
but during the English Civil War its invincibility was breached when a traitor revealed
the castle's water supply to Cromwell's troops, who laid the castle to ruin.
From Pembroke, the line tunnels under Bush Hill, before emerging to arrive at
Pembroke Dock
station, close to the ferry terminal for Rosslare in the Republic of Ireland.
This is an extract from the page on the Arriva Trains Wales.
To access the main site select either the North Wales, The Marches,
and Chepstow-Swansea section, the Heart of Wales, Swansea and
West Wales section, or the full version which combines the
two.
Select one of these links to return to the Gazetteer of Stations or Route Sections page.
Copyright © 1998/9/2000/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 by Deryck Lewis. All
rights reserved.
Page created January 28 1998; Redesigned March 29 1999; Updated February 6 2008
If you have any suggestions, comments, or glitches to report, please contact the author at
WalesRails
