A LOCAL historian has completed his epic challenge to rediscover Pembrokeshire’s 149 parish church sites in little more than nine months.

Glen Johnson, from St Dogmaels, is a leading authority on Cardigan Castle. He is also known as ‘the History Man’ and has done extensive research into the social history of north Pembrokeshire.

He set himself the challenge of visiting every parish in Pembrokeshire in the space of a year – no mean feat given that Glen does not drive.

He began on Wednesday, January 4, covering the first thee parishes of his St Dogmaels, home, Monington and Moylegrove.

Since then, with the help of friends, family and the local bus services, he has clocked up more than 200 miles on foot, finally ending his quest at Caldey Island earlier this month. He has posted photos of all parishes visited on his Facebook page; Glen K. Johnson - The History Man.

So which were his favourite visits?

“There were several places that stood out for different reasons. The moss surprising church was St Mary’s in Haverfordwest, which had some of the best medieval carvings I have seen in my life,” said Glen.

“I went to Coedcanlas with no real expectations as the church was a ruin but I managed to go inside. There was a lovely house there which is probably late medieval, then spotted a chimney on another house and was shown around there.

“It was all totally unexpected and what I thought would be a five minute visit turned into a full afternoon. That was so soften the case, with so much more to see than just the churches.

“I deliberately did not read up on places as I did not want any preconceptions. So many places were full of surprises.”

And the worst day?

“That has to be near Wolfscastle, where the lane I was walking along was flooded and there was no way around it. I had to wade through shin-deep water for a couple of hundred yards and then had to spend the rest of the day with cold, sodden feet,” said Glen.

As part of his challenge, Glen has been raising money for Cardigan’s MS Oxygen Therapy Centre. He has already raised around £700 and would love to take the total up to £1,000.

“My young sister-in-law was diagnosed with MS some time ago,” he said. “My mother-in-law has been working as a volunteer at the centre, so it is something close to my heart.”

To sponsor Glen visit his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GlenJohnson

And now, not content with his Pembrokeshire Challenge, Glen has other targets in mind.

“I would love to do something similar in Ceredigion and West Carmarthenshire,” he added