Pembrokeshire is wild and beautiful, with a dramatic coastline created by glaciers and spiked with limestone stacks. This rugged nature alternates with peaceful, sandy coves, behind which are charming ports and some wonderfully atmospheric castles. Some of the best places to stay in Pembrokeshire can be found in these pretty ports, and some even in the castles. The options range from luxurious country house hotels to restaurants with rooms and chic little B&Bs.
Pembrokeshire’s coast is so beautiful that it’s had national park status bestowed upon it; the park covers about a third of the county, including the whole 299km stretch of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, and the Preseli Hills, an area of high moorland, largely used for sheep farming, but also the location of some important prehistoric sites.
Pembrokeshire’s beaches are often award winning, and they make a fantastic backdrop for walking, surfing, sailing, sea-kayaking or simply admiring the marine life. Pembrokeshire also has a number of charming little islands off the coast. And a quite an impressive number of shipwrecks - including a famous Viking wreck, which is just off The Smalls.
The interior is wild and beautiful too, with a number of impressive pre-Celtic and Celtic sites as well as the castles. Then there's charming St. Davids - which is the UK’s smallest city, but a fairly special one -closely associated with Wales’ patron saint, and home to his spectacular cathedral.
Pembroke was the founding town, and has a number of historic buildings and Pembroke Castle, where Henry Tudor (who became Henry VII) was born. Tenby is a popular centre too, with its medieval walls and elegant seaside; Fishguard is where you catch the ferry to Ireland from.
What not to Miss
- The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, with its cliffs and beaches and views and islands, and marshes and forests. It includes the beautiful and historic Preseli Hills, the Daugleddau estuary, St. Bride’s Bay and Caldey Island. Expect to be frequently surprised and impressed by what nature is capable of.
- The Preseli Hills get a second mention, because this is where you’ll find the impressive neolithic burial site, Pentre Ifan, which is around 5500 years old, with a vast, five metre long capstone atop three upright stones - which look just like those of Stonehenge.
- Charming St. Davids is the UK’s smallest city, but it has a cathedral - and what a magnificent, 12th century cathedral - so it qualifies. Wales’ patron saint was both born and buried here and it’s been a place of pilgrimage for 1500 years.
- Pretty pastel, seaside Tenby with its Georgian mansions and Norman-built walls.
- Pembroke Castle - home to the Earls of Pembroke for almost 400 years and where Henry Tudor was born. You can walk on the walls all the way from tower to tower, and there are some very colourful exhibits telling the castle’s story.
- St. Bride’s Bay with its wildlife rich islands of Skomer, Grassholm and Skokholm. If you want to see puffins, guillemots and Manx shearwaters, then this is the place to come. Skomer also has a grey seal population.
- Castell Henllys, a reconstructed Celtic village, built on its own skeleton, is a wonderful place to experience history, with costumed folk bringing the whole place to life and performing traditional crafts etc.. It was excavated and reconstructed over the course of 27 years by archaeological students from all over the world, and supervised by the University of York.
Don't forget that if you want to guarantee a room in one of the best places to stay in Pembrokeshire during the peak summer months, you'll need to get organised and book well ahead. This is a very popular region!