A lovely eight-mile day hike taking in Dunraven Bay, Saint Brides Major and Ogmore-by-Sea in South Wales. Highly recommended.
At the start of February, I headed over to Wales to visit a friend and go for a hike. It’s taken a little while (I was writing my Mendip Way adventure journal series), but this one really is worth sharing. A day hike worthy of your time when you next find yourself near Bridgend in South Wales.
The weather was unexpectedly favourable, probably one of the best days of the whole month. It was the kind of day that makes you pause and appreciate the sheer luck of timing – with sunlight shining over the landscape, carrying a crisp brightness that makes you wonder if spring has arrived early. I mean, now it’s a while later, I can confirm spring hadn’t sprung (of course it hadn’t!), but it was rather nice to pretend for a day!
My friend – Emma – had combined two walks from a book she has to create an excellent half-day wander. We started at Dunraven Bay, walked inland to Saint Brides Major, around to Ogmore-by-Sea, and then along the Wales Coast Path back to the start. We added on a wander around Dunraven Castle, and visited Ogmore Castle, too (a day out in Wales has to have castles!). Oh, and the route took us right past a fantastic café, so I even got a slice of Bara Brith to make it a proper day out in Wales.
Download file for GPSDunraven Bay (Southerndown Beach)
We started at the carpark right at Dunraven Bay. This is an attended car park costing £5 for the day with toilets and a little ice cream/drink kiosk on site – it’s cheaper in the field at the top of the hill, but we chose the convenient option.
Known locally as Southerndown Beach, this spot along the Heritage Coast is known for its dramatic cliffs, rock pools, and excellent fossil-hunting opportunities. People have lived in this area since the Iron Age, with the Romans later building a fort here before it became the site of Dunraven Castle, which we would explore at the end of our loop.
Historically, the bay has seen its fair share of shipwrecks, with local legends suggesting that Walter Vaughan of Dunraven Castle was involved in wrecking passing ships to steal their cargo. Sounds like a nice bloke! The bay was once known as ‘Sea Mouth’ because it ‘ate up all who sailed by’, and in the 19th century, pieces of shipwrecks and even human remains would wash ashore. Lovely.
After checking out the sea view, our route began with us turning our back to the sea and walking inland. We picked up the Valeways Millennium Heritage Trail, a waymarked 100km trail through the Vale of Glamorgan (here on OS Maps), for just over a mile. This slightly uphill wander through fields and meadows got us to Saint Brides Major, a small and pretty village with a couple of pubs, a shop and a church.
Through Ogmore Down
We skirted around the edge of Saint Brides and took a country lane up hill to Heol y Mynydd, before picking up one of the bridleways that cross Ogmore Down. We headed down into the valley on the southern edge of the down, an area marked as Pant Marie Flanders on the map. The sandy path had steep banks either side, and my lasting memory of this short stretch was just how gorgeous it was – sheltered, warm, and very pretty.
You know I like to learn a bit about the stories behind place names, and I have found that Pant Marie Flanders is named after a Flemish weaver who came to Wales to deal in the wool produced here. There is a stone-covered spring-fed well on the path known as Marie Flanders’ Well. This was an important water source for livestock, as well as for those living at Heol y Mynydd above the valley.
But you know there are better stories than that associated with this well… One legend says the spring which feeds it was home to a family of ogres who would climb out of the wells and abduct maidens who lingered there too long.
At the time, it was traditional to send the eldest daughter of the household to the well to collect water for cooking the evening meal. This meant all the local girls would be sent to the same place at the same time, and so it became a place where teenage girls would catch up on the local gossip. As such, parents would tell their daughters the story to try and stop them staying there for too long! I guess it’s just like we were told not to sit too close to the television or our eyes would go square…!
The Wales Coast Path
Our route landed us at Ogmore River a little south of Ogmore and its famous castle ruins and stepping stones (we stopped here on the way back to Cardiff to have a proper look – hence the photo). The scenery changed from quiet and sheltered countryside to wild coastal ruggedness as we picked up the Wales Coast Path and headed back towards the sea.
After a short lunch and flask-of-tea stop sat on a strategically placed bench at the mouth of the Ogmore River at Ogmore-by-Sea, we began the final leg of our short hike, following the cliff-top path back to Dunraven Bay. And while Ogmore Down was beautiful, with its sandy terrain and moorland vibes, this was the crown jewel of the walk for me.
The Wales Coast Path is a long-distance trail stretching 870 miles (1,400 km) along the entire Welsh coastline. It was officially launched in 2012, making Wales one of the few countries in the world with a continuous coastal footpath. Along its length, the path passes through two National Parks, three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and multiple Heritage Coasts, offering walkers an ever-changing landscape of cliffs, beaches, estuaries, and historic sites.
The cliff-top stretch from Ogmore-by-Sea to Dunravan Bay was breathtaking, with dramatic views over the Bristol Channel and the rugged coastline. There’s something about walking beside the sea that lifts my spirit. We had great weather on this particular day, but even on gloomy days the rhythmic pulse of waves against the rocky shore and the endless horizon stretching away from land brings me so much inner joy. The salty breeze, the shifting light, the sounds of birds – it was all fantastic.
A Taste of Wales
I love hiking the coast, and while tackling the full length of the Wales Coast Path remains a dream for maybe one day, I savour every section I can. I should probably start noting which bits I’ve done and start to fill in the gaps!
No walk is complete without a pause for something delicious. And yes, we’d already stopped for a bench-with-a-view lunch break, but Emma had promised a café – and she always delivers. Our route conveniently led us past The Great White, a lovely little café sat right on the cliff top overlooking the sea at West Farm, Southerndown. I went for a slice of Bara Brith and a cup of tea, which seemed only right. Fruity, gently spiced, and richly comforting – a taste of Wales in its simplest, homeliest form.
From West Farm it was just one mile further along the coast back to the car, but we hadn’t quite finished yet, as we wanted to explore Dunraven Castle before we called it a day.
Dunraven Castle
We started by heading up onto the clifftop to walk through the ramparts of the Iron Age hillfort, before wandering back through the walled gardens where the round tower still stands as a striking remnant of what once was. While Dunraven Castle itself no longer exists, it was once a grand mansion by the sea, standing proudly on this dramatic stretch of the South Wales coast.
The site has a long history, with fortifications dating back to the mid-12th century, when Arnold le Boteler (Butler) is said to have built the first stronghold here. By the 16th century, a manor house owned by the Vaughan family stood on the site. Then in 1642, the estate was sold to the Wyndham family, who in the 1800s turned the manor into a castellated hunting lodge, a design reportedly influenced by Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean. The castle remained in use until after World War II, having served as a military hospital, but by 1963, it was demolished, leaving the few features we see today.
Having spent my childhood being taken to places just like this (we may well have visited here on one of our Wales camping holidays!), I found it easy to picture the estate in its heyday. With its walls overlooking the cliffs, it will have witnessed shifting tides and changing landscapes. The walled gardens still retain an air of elegance, hinting at their former grandeur. It was a fitting place to end our walk.
Route Stats
Including our wander around Dunraven Castle, we walked eight miles in a little over three hours. It was a route that wove together history, sweeping coastal views, and quiet countryside paths. Not strenuous, not complicated, just deeply enjoyable; the kind of walk that feels effortless in the best way.
And without wanting to get too cheesy at the end of this little hiking journal post, this was one of those days out that reminded me why walking means so much. It wasn’t just the scenery, or the unexpectedly great weather, or the satisfaction of exploring somewhere new-to-me. It was the joy of good conversation, shared footsteps, and simple pleasures. Thanks, Emma, for a perfect day out. Where are we hiking next?!
You’ll find the full route from Dunraven Bay, including the bit around Dunraven Castle, in OS Maps – and I would highly recommend you add this one to your to-hike list.
Don’t have a subscription to OS Maps? Use OSCHAMPS to claim three months free premium access to the app (affiliate link, code works best via the mobile app) – it’s a game-changer for planning and sharing your hikes.
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