Going north-east along the coast
When visiting the coast look out for disused stone lime kilns.  These were used to burn limestone and the resulting lime was used on the fields and to protect houses from the elements and the sea air.  Just about every coastal settlement and landing place has one or more.  These were very important in the past because this part of Wales has no limestone and it had to be brought by sea from areas such as south Pembrokeshire, Anglesey and the Carmarthenshire coast.  Good examples of lime kilns can be found at Gwbert (directly above the sea beyond the Cliffe Hotel), above Mwnt beach, at Llagrannog and Cwmtudu.
        The Ceredigion coast was also for many years the centre of an active ship-building industry.  Not only Cardigan but also many of the small coastal settlements built ships of up to 200 tons which traded along the coast, with Ireland and often across the Atlantic.  At Llangrannog a list in the Pentre Arms pub shows ships which were built in the village or which called in.  Examples of places which built ships, often without the protection of a real dock or harbour, are Tresaith, Aberporth, New Quay and Cei Bach.
        This coast was also followed by pilgrims travelling between the two holy sites of Bardsey Island at the top of the Lleyn peninsula and St Davids in the far south-west. The church at Mwnt is a pilgrims’ chapel dating back from about 1400 and beautifully situated above the sea.  Just inland from Penbryn beach is another small church, St Michael’s, set in a round graveyard - so that the Devil could have nowhere to hide.
        Story has it that the steep conical hill above Penparc on the main road north-east from Cardigan, was created to bury the dead following the battle between the Welsh and the Anglo-Normans at Crug Mawr in 1136, though this has been proved not to be the case.  What is known is that the hill, which stands in a commanding position where all travellers along the main coast road can see it, was used for many years as a gibbet for public displays of executed felons.
        Dylan Thomas spent time at New Quay at the end of the 1940’s and often took a drink (or two) in the Black Lion Hotel.  Thomas’ memorabilia is preserved in the bar and many people place New Quay as one of the major sources of inspiration for Under Milk Wood.

Going Inland
The old line of the railway can still be followed to the east of Cardigan by passing through the industrial estate across the road leading to the old bridge and following the side of the river bank to the by-pass bridge.  The building of the railway embankment across Pentwd created a mostly fresh water marsh to the right as you walk along, with the marsh on the left remaining tidal.  Entering the nature reserve of the Welsh Wildlife Centre you can follow marked trails to the old slate quarries in the wooded Teifi gorge, once a major source of employment and past wealth. Strong walkers can continue to Cilgerran and its castle.  In the reserve look out for marsh birds, wildfowl, buzzards and especially otters: several live along this stretch of the Teifi.
     Cilgerran Castle, with its two round towers rising high above the Teifi gorge, is an Anglo-Norman fortress dating from shortly after 1100.  Like Cardigan its ownership was constantly in dispute until it was refortified in the early 13th century.
        Further up the Teifi below the famous waterfall at Cenarth is the National Coracle Centre, where these traditional boats are still made and used on the river.  The centre includes a restored 17th century flour mill.  The old bridge below the falls has large circular holes in the structure to allow flood water to pass through without causing damage.

Going west along the coast
St Dogmael’s Abbey was a Benedictine foundation of the second decade of the 12th century.  The original site of Cardigan castle was just across the river and a little to the north.  St Dogmael was a Celtic saint of around the 6th century and probably the same man a Tudoch, who gave the village its Welsh name, Llandudoch.  A Celtic monastery had previously existed in the same area. The abbey was ransacked by Danish mercenaries in 1138 and later records indicate that it may not always have been the centre of wholesome contemplation its founders had intended!  Henry VIII dissolved the monastery in 1536 and sold it on as a private house, following which it fell into neglect: many of the town-houses of St Dogmael’s were built with abbey stones: there was no particular concern for heritage in those days!
        Shortly after Eglwyswrw on the main coast road is the restored Iron Age fort Castell Henllys, which includes defences, round-houses and other buildings.  The restoration work aims to recreate the settlement as it would have appeared about 2,500 years ago and in the summer interactive events take place.
         The old church of St Brynach at Nevern (Nanhyfer in Welsh) has a Norman tower and a 15th century body, but is most famous for its tall sculpted Celtic cross, 13 feet (4 meters) high and probably dating from the 10th or 11th centuries.  Inside the church are more carved relics set into the window frames and in the churchyard is the famous ‘bleeding yew’, which constantly runs with a blood-like sap.  Above the village a cross carved into the rock was a shrine for pilgrims en route for St Davids and there are also remains of a Norman castle.
         Newport (Trefdraeth in Welsh) is, like so many, Norman in origin as a town, but occupies a strategic point on the estuary of the Afon Nyfer; its history goes much further back.  Carreg Coetan is a burial chamber with a capstone a few minutes’ walk from the town centre, and the privately occupied castle stands a little up the hill.  Like Cardigan, Newport was also a port for many centuries, though much smaller, and like Cardigan the silting up of its estuary played a part in its decline.
        The Preseli Hills, which rise behind Newport, are literally  covered with ancient   settlement, stones, burial chambers and other sites. Most famous of all is the five and a half thousand year-old burial chamber of Pentre Ifan, perhaps the most beautiful in the British Isles.  Close by near Brynberian is Bedd yr afanc, a long burial chamber no longer supporting a capstone.  An old local folk tale makes it the resting place of a fearsome river monster which once lived in the river nearby.  Up on Carningli, the pointed hill above Newport, are the remains of a circular hill fort, and of course the Preselis are best known as the source of the bluestones used at Stonehenge.  These were quarried around the rocky tors of Carnmenyn above the village of Crymych.  Both Carningli and Carnmenyn are rough hills and only accessible by hill-walking, so take the necessary precautions.

Walking Informatiom.