Best Hidden Gems in Pembrokeshire
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best hidden gems in Pembrokeshire are Fishguard Fort, Huntman’s Leap, Witches Cauldron, St Govan’s Chapel, Cwm yr Eglwys, Haverfordwest Priory, Stack Rock Fort and West Blockhouse Fort.
Pembrokeshire wraps the far south-west corner of Wales in a coastline of cliffs, coves and sea forts, much of it followed by the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Beyond the well-known beaches and the cathedral city of St Davids lie quieter places that reward the walker and the curious.
This is a county of tidal chapels tucked into clifftop clefts, deep chasms slicing down through the rock, and a collapsed sea cave where the tide surges in through hidden tunnels. Ruined abbeys sit beside its rivers, gun forts guard the great waterway of Milford Haven, and a small 18th-century fort still looks out over Fishguard harbour.
Some of these places stand on military range land and can be closed during firing, while others can only be admired from the coast path or from a boat. From St Govan's Chapel above the sea to the Victorian sea fort on Stack Rock, each has its own character and its own way of rewarding the effort to find it.
Here are eight of the best hidden gems to seek out in Pembrokeshire.
Fishguard Fort
Photo: Dylan Moore via Geograph.org.uk
Fishguard Fort is a small 18th-century gun fort on Castle Point above the old harbour at Lower Fishguard. Built around 1781 after a privateer raided the town, it has a walled enclosure, a gun battery facing the sea and an underground powder store, with a few cannon mounted on the battery.
It stands on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path with views over the harbour and is free to visit. The wider area is remembered for the last invasion of mainland Britain, when a French force landed nearby in 1797.
Walk out along the coast path to find it above the water.
Huntman’s Leap
Photo: Colin Park via Geograph.org.uk
Huntman’s Leap is a deep, narrow cleft slicing down through the sea cliffs near Bosherston, on the Castlemartin coast by St Govan's. The walls drop sheer to the sea far below, so close together that legend says a huntsman once leapt the gap on horseback, then died of shock when he looked back.
It is a well-known rock-climbing spot, its opposing walls hung with routes. A short walk from the St Govan's car park along the coast path reaches it, on ground that is part of a military firing range, so check for access before you set off.
Witches Cauldron
Photo: Dave Kelly via Geograph.org.uk
Witches Cauldron, or Pwll y Wrach, is a collapsed sea cave on the Pembrokeshire coast about a mile south of Ceibwr Bay near Moylegrove. The roof of a cave fell in along a fault to leave a crater-like basin of tidal water, still joined to the open sea through rock tunnels and an arch.
Walkers look down into it from the coast path, which passes a sudden drop above the basin, while the water itself is reached only by experienced sea swimmers and kayakers coming in through the tunnels. Seals are often seen here, and the surrounding cliffs show dramatic folding in the rock.
Follow the coast path to peer down into it.
St Govan’s Chapel
Photo: Deborah Tilley via Geograph.org.uk
St Govan’s Chapel is a tiny medieval stone chapel wedged into a cleft in the sea cliffs near Bosherston, reached down a flight of steep stone steps from the clifftop. Little more than a single bare room with an altar and a small cell cut in the rock, it is tied by tradition to St Govan, a sixth-century holy man said to have lived here as a hermit, with a holy well below.
The chapel stands on military range land, so the way to it can be closed during firing, but on open days it is one of the most atmospheric spots on the coast. Time your visit for an open day and climb down to the sea.
Cwm yr Eglwys
Photo: Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff via Geograph.org.uk
Cwm yr Eglwys is a small, sheltered cove and hamlet on the north Pembrokeshire coast, tucked on the east side of the Dinas Head peninsula. Right by the beach stand the ruins of St Brynach's Church, wrecked in a great storm in 1859, of which little more than the west wall and its bellcote remain.
The sandy beach has a slipway for boats and looks out over Newport Bay. A short valley path crosses the neck of the peninsula to the cove at Pwllgwaelod on the far side.
Come to see the storm-battered church wall standing beside the sand.
Haverfordwest Priory
Photo: Mat Fascione via Geograph.org.uk
Haverfordwest Priory is the ruin of a medieval abbey on the bank of the Western Cleddau river, just below the old town of Haverfordwest. Low walls mark out the church, chapter house and cloister on level, grassed ground beside the water.
Its rare survival is a medieval monastic garden, dug out and replanted in its old grid of raised beds between the buildings and the river. Cadw keeps the ruins, free to walk around in daylight.
Stroll down from the town to trace the cloister and its restored garden by the river.
Stack Rock Fort
Photo: Richard Webb via Geograph.org.uk
Stack Rock Fort is a Victorian sea fort built on a small rock island in the middle of the Milford Haven waterway, one of a ring of forts raised to defend the naval dockyard at Pembroke Dock. A stout, roughly circular stone fortress rising straight out of the water, it grew from a small gun tower of the early 1850s into the larger fort seen today, finished around 1870, though it never fired a shot in anger.
It is derelict and overgrown now, and privately owned, so it cannot be landed on, but it stands out clearly from the Pembrokeshire coast path and from boats on the waterway. Look for it out on the water as you walk the coast.
West Blockhouse Fort
Photo: Guy Wareham via Geograph.org.uk
West Blockhouse Fort is a Victorian coastal gun fort on a headland near Dale, guarding the northern side of the entrance to Milford Haven. It was built in 1857 and 1858 as one of a chain of forts covering the waterway, working alongside the forts on Thorn Island and at Dale.
The Landmark Trust restored it and now lets it as self-catering holiday accommodation, so the inside is open only to guests, but the outside can be seen from the coast path around the point. Walk the headland path for a view of this trim Victorian fort.
FAQs
What are the best hidden gems in Pembrokeshire?
They include St Govan's Chapel and Huntsman's Leap on the Castlemartin coast, the collapsed sea cave of the Witches Cauldron, the ruins of Haverfordwest Priory, and the Victorian sea forts at Stack Rock and West Blockhouse. Fishguard Fort and Cwm yr Eglwys round out the list.
Can you visit St Govan's Chapel?
Yes, on open days. The chapel is reached down steep stone steps from the clifftop, but it stands on military range land, so the way to it can be closed during firing. Check for access before you travel and aim for an open day.
Is Stack Rock Fort open to visitors?
No. The fort is derelict, overgrown and privately owned, so it cannot be landed on. You can still see it clearly, as it rises straight out of the Milford Haven waterway and stands out from the Pembrokeshire coast path and from boats.
Conclusion
From a tiny chapel wedged into the cliffs at St Govan's to the Victorian sea forts standing out in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire hides some of the most rewarding places on the Welsh coast. Many can be reached on foot from the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, though some, like Huntsman's Leap and St Govan's Chapel, sit on military range land that can be closed during firing, and others, like Stack Rock Fort, can only be seen from a distance.
Whether you want a ruined abbey with a restored garden, a collapsed sea cave alive with seals, or a fort free to wander above the harbour, there is plenty here for walkers and history lovers alike. Taken together, these are the best hidden gems to seek out in Pembrokeshire.
