Geography
Pembrokeshire is a maritime county, bordered by the sea on three sides, by Ceredigion to the north east and by Carmarthenshire to the east. The local economy relies heavily on tourism but agriculture is still important. Since the 1950s, Petrochemical and liquid natural gas industries have developed along the Milford Haven Waterway.
According to statistics from the 2001 UK Census, the population was 114,131.
The administrative headquarters, historic county town and largest town is Haverfordwest. Other settlements include Pembroke itself, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Fishguard, Tenby, Saundersfoot, Narberth, Neyland and Newport. St David's, in the North west of the county, is the United Kingdom's smallest city with a population of around just 2,000.
The highest point of the county is at Foel Cwmcerwyn (1759 ft/536 m) in the Preseli Hills.
The county's coastline comprises internationally important seabird breeding sites and numerous bays and sandy beaches. Pembrokeshire contains a predominantly coastal park, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which includes a 186-mile walking trail, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. A large estuary and natural harbour at Milford Haven cuts deeply into the coast, formed by the confluence of the Western Cleddau (which goes through Haverfordwest), the Eastern Cleddau and rivers Cresswell and Carew. The estuary is bridged by the large Cleddau Bridge (toll bridge) which bears the A477 between Neyland and Pembroke Dock; upstream bridges are found crossing the Cleddau at Haverfordwest and Canaston.
Large bays are Newport Bay, Fishguard Bay, St Bride's Bay and a portion of Carmarthen Bay. There are several small islands off the Pembrokeshire coast, the largest of which are Ramsey Island, Grassholm Island, Skomer Island and Caldey Island.
In the north of the county are the Preseli Hills (Mynydd Preseli), a wide stretch of high moorland with many prehistoric monuments and the source of the bluestones used in the construction of the inner circle of Stonehenge in England.
Elsewhere the county is relatively flat, most of the land being used for lowland farming of dairy cows, arable crops, oil seed rape, and the well-known Pembrokeshire Potato.
Johnston is the biggest Welsh village in Pembrokeshire, situated between Milford Haven and Haverfordwest, with a population of well over 2000.
See the list of places in Pembrokeshire for villages, towns and the city of St. David's in Pembrokeshire.
Read more about this topic: Pembrokeshire
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