Penarth

Penarth sits on a headland overlooking Cardiff Bay. It was a popular Victorian seaside resort and was known as the ‘Garden by the Sea’. It boasted a dock and a railway that linked with Cardiff and Barry. Half of the railway was closed, but was repurposed as a pleasant suburban path. It is easily linked with the Wales Coast Path, which follows a cliff and a promenade before climbing high onto The Kymin.

Route detail

Distance: 5.1 miles or 8.3 kilometres
Start location: Penarth Railway Station
Start Grid Ref: ST 18436 71413
Start What 3 Words: spark.tree.gravel

Transport to the start

Parking
Parking at Penarth Railway Station and other locations around town.

Bus
Daily bus services link Penarth with Cardiff and Barry.

Train
Daily train services link Penarth with Cardiff Central Railway Station and several stations in the South Wales Valleys.

Map and GPX link

The circular route is marked in dark pink in the map image below. The purple flags show the start and finish point. View the route and download GPX link 'Penarth'

Detailed Route Description

1. Start at Penarth Railway Station or its car park and walk up a tarmac path where a notice points the way to the town centre, Penarth Pier and Esplanade. Turn right along Stanwell Road, which has bus services and offers an alternative starting point. Cross a bridge over the railway and turn right at traffic lights to pass The Railway Hotel. Follow the road past the Westbourne School Boarding House then turn right along a tarmac path called Berkeley Drive. Turn right at a path junction, then turn left soon afterwards to follow the course of an old railway line that once linked Penarth to Barry, but was closed in 1960s.

2. The old line has been surfaced with tarmac to serve as a footpath and cycleway, often with enough trees and bushes alongside to give the appearance of a linear park through the suburbs of Penarth. Follow the path through an arched bridge beneath Archer Road. The path runs parallel to Sully Terrace then becomes more wooded on both sides, shielding nearby houses from view. Pass through another arched bridge beneath Raisdale Road, followed some time later by yet another arched bridge beneath Forrest Road.

3. Continue straight ahead through a housing estate, following Rowan Close, turning right at a junction to follow Birch Lane to a turning circle. The old line runs straight ahead as a broad tarmac path flanked by trees and bushes. Go through one last arched bridge, which carries Brockhill Rise over the line, then there is a noticeable uphill gradient to the end of a modern housing estate. When the tarmac path reaches Cosmeston Drive, turn left. (Turning right offers an opportunity to visit the Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Medieval Village, though this takes time to explore and is best saved for another day.)

4. Walk along Cosmeston Drive, gently uphill and downhill, then turn right along Bittern Way. Follow a tarmac path between houses 14 and 18, and walk straight through a road junction to reach a grassy area above a cliff. Turn left to follow the Wales Coast Path through a broad, grassy strip, where houses are set well away from the cliff edge. Views take in the Bristol Channel, the Welsh island of Flat Holm and the neighbouring English island of Steep Holm. Somerset and the Mendip Hills are seen in the distance, while looking straight ahead along the coast leads the eye to Penarth Pier.

5. Like the railway path, the coast path runs through a sort of linear park, which becomes an actual park with two cafes by the time Cliff Parade is reached. The path runs downhill then follows the pavement alongside Cliff Hill to reach the Penarth Lifeboat Station. Continue straight along The Esplanade to reach Penarth Pier. Boats bringing travellers from Cardiff to Penarth used to land their passengers on mobile landing stages until the pier was opened in 1895, providing a permanent landing stage.

6. Follow the road past the pier and climb the first part of Beach Road as it heads inland. Stay on the right-hand pavement and just before it runs out, turn right up a flight of 15 concrete steps, followed by a steep tarmac path with a handrail in the middle. Keep right at the top to continue walking up Kymin Terrace. Turn right at the top along Bradford Place, then turn right again along Clive Crescent. Climb steeply through the tiny Penarth Head Park to reach a viewpoint incorporating a large sculpture in the shape of the Wales Coast Path logo – the Dragonshell. A number of notices highlight features of historical interest around Penarth.

7. Follow Penarth Head Lane to a road junction and turn right as signposted for the Wales Coast Path and Cardiff Bay Barrage. (St Augustine’s Church stands nearby on high ground, on a 13th century church site, and is a landmark when seen from Cardiff Bay.) Stay on the right-hand pavement down St Augustine’s Crescent and St Augustine’s Road. Pass the Headlands School, formerly a hotel, where heritage information has been set into the windows. Turn right downhill at a junction beside Northcliffe Cottage. At the next junction, use the pavement on the left-hand side of the road to descend to a roundabout. The Custom House lies to the right and the Wales Coast Path heads for the Cardiff Bay Barrage, but our route turns left along the Penarth Portway.

8. Follow the stone-built edge and railings past the Penarth Marina. Penarth Dock opened in 1865, closed in 1963, and reopened as Penarth Marina in 1987. Continue along the road, passing The Galley cafe, a boatyard and The Deck, which is a restaurant built over the water. Reach a roundabout and use the pavement on the left-hand side of the road to follow the road signposted for Cardiff. Turn left as signposted for ‘Town Centre NCN 88’, following a remarkably bendy tarmac footpath and cycleway uphill. Reach a crescent of houses called St Joseph’s Mews and walk straight ahead, climbing 60 concrete steps arranged in flights of a dozen steps at a time.

9. Keep left of St Joseph’s Church and turn right at a triangular road junction. Be sure to have a look at the tiny green space of the Arcot Triangle, which has some interesting features and information worth studying. Follow Arcot Street gently uphill and downhill into the centre of Penarth, passing terraces of limestone-built houses. Walk straight ahead along Hickman Road, eventually reaching traffic lights. Turn right along Stanwell Road then turn left as signposted down a tarmac path for Penarth Station.