Points of interest

HOOK is a medium-sized village and community on the Western Cleddau in Pembrokeshire with a population of about 600 today. It was much larger in the 19th Century, when it was a major shipping point for the local anthracite that was brought to the quay from inland collieries by the Hook Tramway.

Pembrokeshire may not be as synonymous with coal mining as the South Wales Valleys, yet in its heyday was a huge producer of anthracite.

Little in terms of a lasting legacy has been created in Hook near Haverfordwest, which was once the hub of the county’s thriving industry. Dozens of small pits mined around the village for hundreds of years. They were dotted around the green pastures that are there today, extracting anthracite or “black diamonds” for its value, lustre and high density – and prized for its smokeless quality. Since the pit closed in 1959 almost nothing remains to indicate where it was.

Llangwm is an attractive old fishing village built around an inlet further upstream from Burton. Llangwm is Welsh for a community round a church (llan) in a valley (cwm or gwm) Unusually for Wales, the normal pronunciation of the double ‘L’ isn’t used here. Llangwm is pronounced ‘Langum’.

Llangwm was established by the Normans after they invaded south Pembrokeshire. They brought in dispossessed Flemish refugees and placed them in between themselves and the Welsh to the north!

Prior to this, local folklore suggests previous settlers were Viking raiders who overwintered on the Milford Haven waterway.

Hook village is 1.5 miles north of Llangwm.