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Pembrokeshire’s wild north by train, bus and bike | Wales holidays

Pembrokeshire’s wild north by train, bus and bike | Wales holidays

In Welsh mythology, Llŷr is the god of the sea. In his latest incarnation – a shimmering five-metre seahorse, keeping watch from Fishguard’s Marine Walk – he’s king of the Pembrokeshire coast.

“I’m calling him Llŷr before anyone else names him,” local artist Gideon Petersen said as we gazed at his magnificent stainless steel creation, perhaps fearing a Seahorsey McSeahorseface situation. “I see him as a water dragon, protecting seafarers. He’ll be visible from the ferry, and will reflect whatever the sky is doing – he’ll catch all kinds of light.”

Pembrokeshire map

Even on a drab day Llŷr dazzled, a fitting centrepiece for Celf ar Droed (Art Afoot). Launched in December, this new network of trails will, it’s hoped, raise the profile of Fishguard and neighbouring Goodwick, and encourage both locals and visitors to explore between the two.

There are three Art Afoot routes, ranging from 1.25 to 1.75 miles long, which can be walked separately or linked to make a loop that’s just under four miles. As well as the seahorse, other artworks dot the trails. A dragonfly, also Petersen’s, rises from the reed beds of Goodwick Moor nature reserve. A sculpture of Jemima Nicholas, pitchfork-wielding heroine of the last invasion of mainland Britain (when a French force landed near Fishguard in 1797), stands on West Street. Augmented-reality plankton hovers above the waterfront, viewable by QR code and smartphone.

Gideon Petersen’s seahorse sculpture, Llŷr, in Fishguard. Photograph: Sarah Baxter

I was walking with Gideon and David Pepper – composer, pianist, pilgrimage officer with the British Pilgrimage Trust and a man with fingers in many local cultural pies. The trails are about regeneration and showing off the towns, David said, because there is more than art afoot: “Things were happening in Fishguard anyway but lockdown speeded them up; people came back. It’s exciting times.”

For instance, the Cove Corner cafe has been taken on by a new young team who plan to turn it into a social hub. Trove, a creative cafe and workshop, just opened on West Street. The historic Farmers Arms pub, empty for years, is being renovated. These join existing successes such as the superb Seaways Bookshop and Nourish sourdough bakery.

Part of the Last Invasion of Britain tapestry in Fishguard. Photograph: Sarah Baxter

Fishguard deserves to be having a moment. A working port, it’s often overlooked for cutesier St Davids and Tenby. But its functional…

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