Best Places to Visit in Pembrokeshire
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Pembrokeshire are Blue Lagoon, Lilys Ponds, Dwfr Ddisgynfa Cwm-du, Llawhaden Castle, Bullslaughter Bay, Haverfordwest Priory and Deer Park.
Pembrokeshire wraps a dramatic coast around castles, cliffs and quiet water. The best-known swim is the Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy, a flooded slate quarry of vivid blue-green water beside the sea, used for coasteering and cliff diving.
Nearby the National Trust's Stackpole estate holds the Bosherston lily ponds, spread with white water lilies in early summer, and the cliff-backed Deer Park at Dale looks down on the seals hauled out below. Castles run from the bishops' fortified residence at Llawhaden to the riverside ruins of Haverfordwest Priory with its rare medieval garden.
On the wilder edges, the limestone cove of Bullslaughter Bay hides in a firing range near the Green Bridge of Wales, and the woodland cascades of Dwfr Ddisgynfa drop through the wooded Gwaun valley. Some are grand coastal set pieces, others quiet inland corners.
Here are seven places to visit across Pembrokeshire.
Blue Lagoon
Photo: Colin Smith via Geograph.org.uk
The Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy is a flooded former slate quarry on the Pembrokeshire coast, its water a striking blue-green held in a pit of dark rock right beside the sea. Slate was cut here into the early twentieth century, and after the quarry closed the wall separating it from the sea was blasted through, letting the tide flood the pit and make the lagoon.
Now it is a well-known spot for coasteering, wild swimming and jumping from the surrounding rock ledges into the deep water, ringed by the ruins of the old quarry buildings. It has hosted world-class cliff-diving contests.
The colour of the water, from minerals in the slate, is the whole draw.
Lilys Ponds
Photo: Dylan Moore via Geograph.org.uk
Lily Ponds is the local name for the Bosherston Lakes, a system of man-made freshwater lakes on the National Trust's Stackpole estate in Pembrokeshire. The lakes were formed by damming valleys in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and now spread across about a hundred acres in three long arms.
They are known for the white water lilies that flower over the surface in early summer. A well-marked path of about a mile runs along the shore from the car park in Bosherston village, crossing the water on narrow causeways.
Otters, herons and dragonflies live around the water, along with an important colony of horseshoe bats.
Dwfr Ddisgynfa Cwm-du
Photo: Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff via Geograph.org.uk
Dwfr Ddisgynfa Cwm-du is a scenic series of woodland cascades along the tumbling Afon Cwmau in the Gwaun Valley of Pembrokeshire. Its Welsh name roughly translates as the water descending-place in the black valley.
It is found on the thickly wooded valley slopes within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, formed as the Afon Cwmau drains from the Preseli Hills before meeting the Afon Gwaun. It is a quiet, out-of-the-way spot among the trees.
Llawhaden Castle
Photo: Jeremy Bolwell via Geograph.org.uk
Llawhaden Castle is the ruined castle of the bishops of St Davids, standing above the village of Llawhaden in Pembrokeshire, some miles east of Haverfordwest. More a grand fortified residence than a fighting castle, it keeps a twin-towered gatehouse standing near its full height, along with the remains of private apartments, a courtyard and guest and garrison quarters, all set in grassed grounds.
It began as an earth-and-timber castle under a bishop in the early twelfth century and was rebuilt in stone in the fourteenth. The site is looked after by Cadw, with free entry and a short walk from a small parking area.
Bullslaughter Bay
Photo: David Medcalf via Geograph.org.uk
Bullslaughter Bay is a small, remote bay on the limestone coast of south Pembrokeshire, tucked among high sea cliffs near the Green Bridge of Wales. It is a rough little beach of sand, shingle and rock at the foot of the cliffs, backed by walls of pale Carboniferous limestone that draw rock climbers to their sea cliffs.
Reaching it means a walk of some way along the coast path from the nearest car park, with no facilities at the bay. This stretch of coast lies within a military firing range, so the paths are closed when live firing is taking place and open at other times.
When open, it is a wild, empty place of cliff, rock and sea.
Haverfordwest Priory
Photo: Mat Fascione via Geograph.org.uk
Haverfordwest Priory The rare thing here is a medieval monastic garden, dug out and replanted in its old grid of raised beds on the strip of ground between the ruins and the river. Around it lie the low walls of a medieval abbey, marking out the church, chapter house and cloister across level, grassed land on the bank of the Western Cleddau.
The whole site sits just below the old town of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, an easy walk down to the water. Cadw looks after the ruins, which are free to wander in daylight hours.
Deer Park
Photo: David Smith via Geograph.org.uk
Deer Park is a broad grassland headland perched atop coastal cliffs near Dale in Pembrokeshire, which, despite the name, has never actually been home to deer. It is a small area but a lovely walk, and a fine vantage point for watching the seals hauled out on the shores below, with pups seen in season if you bring binoculars.
It is National Trust land, so parking is free with a day ticket from another Trust site and inexpensive otherwise. Cattle sometimes graze the grassland, and the coast path runs around the head.
FAQs
What is the Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy in Pembrokeshire?
The Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy is a flooded former slate quarry on the Pembrokeshire coast, its water a striking blue-green from minerals in the slate, made when the wall between the pit and the sea was blasted through after the quarry closed. It is now a well-known spot for coasteering, wild swimming and jumping from the rock ledges, and has hosted cliff-diving contests.
Which places in Pembrokeshire are good for seeing wildlife?
The Deer Park headland at Dale is a fine spot to watch seals hauled out below, with pups in season, and the Bosherston lily ponds on the Stackpole estate, spread with white water lilies in early summer, are home to otters, herons, dragonflies and a colony of horseshoe bats.
Are there access restrictions at Bullslaughter Bay in Pembrokeshire?
Bullslaughter Bay, on the south Pembrokeshire coast near the Green Bridge of Wales, lies within a military firing range, so the coast paths to it are closed when live firing is taking place and open at other times. Check the firing times before setting out, as there are no facilities at the remote bay.
Conclusion
Pembrokeshire wraps its coast around castles, cliffs and quiet water. The Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy holds its vivid blue-green water in a flooded quarry beside the sea, and the Stackpole estate keeps the lily-covered Bosherston ponds and the seal-watching Deer Park at Dale.
Castles run from the bishops' fortified Llawhaden to the riverside Haverfordwest Priory with its rare medieval garden. On the wilder edges, the limestone cove of Bullslaughter Bay hides in its firing range near the Green Bridge of Wales, and the woodland cascades of Dwfr Ddisgynfa drop through the Gwaun valley.
From flooded quarry to lily pond, these are the places to seek out across Pembrokeshire.
