Barafundle Bay: Getting There, and What to Do Afterwards

Barafundle turns up on "best beach in Britain" lists most years, and the reason it stays good is the reason it's on them: you cannot drive to it.

The walk

Park at Stackpole Quay (National Trust, pay-and-display, fills by mid-morning in August). From the car park it's about half a mile along the cliff, up a flight of steps, over the headland and down through an arch in a stone wall onto the sand. Fifteen minutes at a stroll, and it is genuinely one of the great beach arrivals in Britain — you come through the wall and the whole bay opens below you.

The steps are the limiting factor. This is not an accessible beach, and it is hard work with a pushchair and a day's kit. Pack light.

What's there

Nothing. No shop, no café, no toilets, no lifeguard, no bins. Bring water, bring food, take everything home. The nearest facilities are back at Stackpole Quay.

The bay itself is a curve of pale sand backed by pines and dunes, with limestone headlands either end. At low water it roughly doubles. There's no lifeguard cover, and the currents at the edges of the bay deserve respect — swim in the middle, and watch children constantly.

Combine it with the lily ponds

The best day here isn't just the beach. From Stackpole Quay you can walk south along the Coast Path over Barafundle and on to Broad Haven South, then loop inland along the Bosherston lily ponds — three flooded limestone valleys, dug as an ornamental lake by the Cawdor family in the 18th and 19th centuries, now a National Nature Reserve. They flower from late May through June, and there are otters in there if you're patient and quiet at dawn.

That circuit is about five miles and takes a comfortable half-day.

The pub at the end

The Stackpole Inn in Stackpole village is the obvious finish — a dining pub rather than a quick-pint pub, so book at weekends and in season. St Govan's Inn at Bosherston is the other option, closer to the lily pond car park.

While you're down there, St Govan's Chapel is worth the detour: a 13th-century chapel wedged into a cleft in the cliffs, reached down a flight of stone steps, with a legend that says you can't count them twice and get the same answer. It sits inside the Castlemartin firing range, which closes the road and the path during live firing — the schedule is published in advance, and the red flags mean exactly what they say.

Dogs

Barafundle has no facilities and no resort status, and is generally the sort of beach dog owners head for in summer while the town beaches are restricted. Restrictions do change, so check the signage at Stackpole Quay before you set off.

Find places to stay near Barafundle, or read the Barafundle Bay beach guide.