Best Places to Visit in Carmarthenshire
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Carmarthenshire are Whiteford Sands, Newcastle Emlyn Castle, Kidwelly Quay, Spaniards Rocks and Pembrey Beach.
Carmarthenshire faces Carmarthen Bay with some of the longest beaches in Wales and reaches back into quiet river country. Its great sweep of sand is Pembrey, or Cefn Sidan, running nearly eight miles behind dunes and forest through Pembrey Country Park, while remote Whiteford Sands runs two miles to a lonely cast-iron lighthouse at the edge of the Loughor estuary, reached only on foot.
At the northern edge of the county, Newcastle Emlyn Castle keeps its twin-towered gatehouse on a tight loop of the River Teifi, one of the few stone castles raised by a native Welsh lord. On the estuaries, the silted old port of Kidwelly Quay lies quiet below its great castle, and Spaniard Rocks marks the surf-swept northern end of Rhossili Bay on the Gower edge.
Some are long open sands, others quiet ruins and river corners. Here are five places to visit across Carmarthenshire.
Whiteford Sands
Photo: Eirian Evans via Geograph.org.uk
Whiteford Sands At the northern tip of this remote beach stands the Whiteford lighthouse, a disused cast-iron tower dating from 1865 and the only wave-washed cast-iron lighthouse left in Britain, reachable on foot when the tide is out. Getting to it is a walk in itself: there is no car access, so you come on foot from Cwm Ivy near Llanmadoc, out along two miles of sand on the north coast of the Gower Peninsula at the edge of the Loughor estuary.
Dunes and the pine plantation of Whiteford Burrows back the shore, part of a national nature reserve on National Trust land managed by Natural Resources Wales, and naturists use it too.
Newcastle Emlyn Castle
Photo: Alan Richards via Geograph.org.uk
Newcastle Emlyn Castle is a ruined stone castle on a steep promontory inside a tight loop of the River Teifi, at the town of Newcastle Emlyn in Carmarthenshire. It is reached only from the town side, the river guarding it on the others.
What survives is chiefly the twin-towered gatehouse, with a vaulted cellar beneath and fragments of wall around a grassy interior. It was one of the few stone castles built by a native Welsh lord, raised around 1240, and later given larger windows by Sir Rhys ap Thomas about 1500.
The ruin is freely open.
Kidwelly Quay
Photo: Jaggery via Geograph.org.uk
Kidwelly Quay sits on the tidal Gwendraeth Fach river at Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire, below the town's great castle, once a busy little port. The channel has long since silted up, and the old quay is now a quiet backwater given over to birds, part of a stretch of riverside walks.
It is tied to an early canal built to carry coal down to the water. It is an obscure, overlooked corner rather than a visitor draw.
Spaniards Rocks
Photo: Alan Hughes via Geograph.org.uk
Spaniard Rocks is a limestone outcrop at the northern, Llangennith end of Rhossili Bay on Gower, right beside the tidal island of Burry Holms. The three-mile sweep of Rhossili Bay, backed by Rhossili Down, has its most reliable surf at this end.
Walkers reach the rocks and Burry Holms across the sand at low tide, usually from the Hillend car park through the dunes, though the island and rocks are cut off when the tide is in. Worm's Head is the matching headland at the bay's southern end.
Pembrey Beach
Photo: Richard Law via Geograph.org.uk
Pembrey Beach, better known as Cefn Sidan, is a long, flat beach of fine sand on Carmarthen Bay, reached through Pembrey Country Park. It runs for nearly eight miles, backed by dunes, saltmarsh and the conifers of Pembrey Forest, one of the longest beaches in Wales, with sandbars reaching out into the bay.
The country park behind it, with its forest trails, dry ski slope and other activities, is the way in, and lifeguards patrol the beach in summer. This coast has wrecked many ships over the years, some of whose remains still show in the sands at low tide.
FAQs
Which is the longest beach in Carmarthenshire?
Pembrey Beach, better known as Cefn Sidan, runs for nearly eight miles of fine sand on Carmarthen Bay, backed by dunes, saltmarsh and Pembrey Forest, among the longest beaches in Wales. It is reached through Pembrey Country Park, with lifeguards patrolling in summer and ship remains sometimes showing in the sands.
How do you reach Whiteford Sands?
There is no car access to Whiteford Sands. Visitors walk in from Cwm Ivy near Llanmadoc, through the dunes and pine plantation of Whiteford Burrows. At the northern tip stands the disused Whiteford lighthouse of 1865, reachable on foot at low tide and the only wave-washed cast-iron lighthouse left in Britain.
What is unusual about Newcastle Emlyn Castle?
It was one of the few stone castles built by a native Welsh lord, raised around 1240 on a steep promontory inside a tight loop of the River Teifi, with the water guarding it on all but the town side. Its twin-towered gatehouse survives, later given larger windows by Sir Rhys ap Thomas about 1500.
Conclusion
Carmarthenshire is a county of long sands and quiet river country. Pembrey, or Cefn Sidan, runs nearly eight miles behind dunes and forest through its country park, and remote Whiteford Sands stretches two miles to its lonely cast-iron lighthouse, reached only on foot.
Inland, Newcastle Emlyn Castle keeps its gatehouse on a loop of the Teifi, one of the few stone castles built by a native Welsh lord. On the estuaries, the silted port of Kidwelly Quay lies quiet below its castle, and Spaniard Rocks marks the surf end of Rhossili Bay on the Gower edge.
From eight-mile sands to riverbound ruin, these are the places to seek out across Carmarthenshire.
