Pembroke is a land of contrasts, both culturally and environmentally. Perhaps the most obvious juxtaposition is that between the land and the sea, and where the two meet, the landforms this has sculpted. The beauty of area’s coastline defies superlatives and is the reason de etra for Pembroke’s wide renown. This scenery is as diverse as it is spectacular, displaying precipitous cliffs, delicate sea stacks, mighty zawns, cavernous sink holes, spectacular rock arches, windswept islands and golden beaches, all packed into the modest confines of Wales’ south-western headland. The coast’s cliffs and outcrops expose the area’s underlying geology, which is just as varied as the landforms it yields, abruptly altering between limestone, sandstone, grit and igneous lithologies, all within a stone’s throw of one another (pun most definitely intended). The geology also gives rise to the distinctly different landscapes displayed by the southern and northern parts of the area. The south is characterised by flat, fertile, largely arable land, which is bound by immensely steep carboniferous limestone and old red sandstone cliffs; while the north is a mixture of igneous rocks and grits which create a much wilder, hillier landscape, which overshadows the surrounding lowlands.
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