Goodwick Sands

Goodwick Sands curves along the head of Fishguard Bay between the town and the great Victorian breakwater of the ferry port. It's a working-town beach rather than a holiday one: shingle at the top, a long flat apron of sand at low tide, and the Stena ferries and occasional cruise ships coming and going in front of you. The bay is well sheltered by Pen Anglas and the breakwater, so the water here is usually calmer than anywhere on the open coast.

That shelter makes it a decent, low-drama swimming and paddleboarding spot, and local swimmers use it year-round. It's unguarded, and you want to stay well clear of the harbour approaches and the ferry channel. The Parrog behind the beach has parking, and the marine centre and café by the sea front are the usual meeting point. Bottlenose dolphins and porpoises are seen in the bay regularly, and the breakwater and Fishguard Fort above are good vantage points with binoculars.

There's history stacked up here. The last invasion of Britain landed at Carregwastad Point just round the headland in 1797, and the surrender was signed in Fishguard; the Goodwick harbour and railway were built to make this the Irish packet port, which is why the infrastructure is so much grander than the town. The Marine Walk path links Goodwick round to Lower Town Fishguard — a flat, easy stretch with the whole bay in view.