 The middle tunnel on this stretch of the Miner's Walk between Wiseman's Bridge and Saundersfoot is the shortest of the three. The blue sign advises cyclists to dismount and after passing through the tunnel, easy access can be gained to the beach at Coppet Hall. |
 Coppet Hall Beach is small and sandy with pebbles at high tide but is not as busy as the adjacent Saundersfoot Beach. In fact when we passed it was almost deserted but is well known by the windsurfing and kite surfing fraternities as being a good place from which to launch and when the wind is in the right direction, it provides some excellent conditions for their sports. |
 The path we are following runs in a gentle curve behind the car park that serves the beach between the tunnels at either end and is another reminder of the route the railway lines would have followed. |
 At the entrance to the car park from the lane that runs between Saundersfoot and Wiseman's Beach is one on many signposts designating the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. |
 From a distance, foliage from adjacent trees and the burgeoning undergrowth, particularly in high summer, disguise the entrance to the final tunnel and were it not for the path leading straight to it, it could easily go unnoticed. |
 Looking back from within the tunnel the flash from the camera illuminated the brickwork and showed the construction of the tunnel to good effect. I imagine that when the steam engines hauled their loads of coal and iron ore through here, the smoke would have swirled round and blackened all of the interior. |
 As we approach Saundersfoot, holiday flats have now replaced many of the properties and businesses that were once here. Two boat builders' yards once operated along the street and the rails of the original tram-line were relaid in the 1870s to allow the steam engines to travel along the line. An almost unique feature in the United Kingdom today is that the holiday homes now front directly onto the beach without there being a road in between. |
 The street, formerly called Railway Street, is now The Strand. The railway and the last pit in the area closed in 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War. The line was taken up and sold for scrap but in 1975, the area around The Strand and the harbour was designated a Conservation Area by the National Park Authority and the village is now part of the Historic Town Scheme, which helps to preserve historically significant buildings. With the harbour now almost in sight, our walk along The Miner's Way is, like our 2005 holiday, almost at an end. Will we be back in 2005? That remains to be seen but if we do return, I'm sure there is plenty more to be discovered in Pembrokeshire.
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