Swanlake Bay

Swanlake is the beach most people never get to. It sits on the cliff section between Freshwater East and Manorbier, and there is no road, no car park and no path down except from the Coast Path itself or across the fields from West Moor farm above. That's it. Twenty-five to thirty minutes' walk from Freshwater East, or a similar effort from the Manorbier side, and you'll frequently have the whole bay to yourself.

The sand is good — a decent stretch at low water, with rocks and low cliffs at both ends and a stream crossing the beach. At high tide there's very little beach left, so this is a falling-tide destination and nothing else; walking down for a picnic at high water is a wasted trip. Swimming is unguarded and there is no phone signal to rely on, so treat it as a remote beach and behave accordingly.

There is absolutely nothing here — no bins, no toilets, no water. Carry everything in and out. What you get for that is the sort of empty coastal beach that's genuinely hard to find in south Pembrokeshire in August, plus one of the better sections of the Coast Path on either side. Dogs are welcome and it's a good year-round dog beach for anyone staying at Freshwater East or Manorbier who wants a walk with a purpose at the end of it.