Free Things to Do in Pembrokeshire That Are Actually Worth Doing

Pembrokeshire is an unusually good county to be skint in. The things people cross the country for — the beaches, the Coast Path, the clifftop scenery — are free, and so are several of the best individual sights. The catch is almost always the car park, so this list says where that catch is.

The coast itself

Every one of the 64 beaches we cover is free to walk onto, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path — all 179 miles of it, stage by stage — costs nothing but effort. If you only do one short stretch, the classics are Stackpole Quay to Barafundle and the lily ponds, Abereiddi to Porthgain past the Blue Lagoon, and the Marloes peninsula circuit. All of our walks are free; most start from a car park that isn't.

Bosherston Lily Ponds

The lily ponds are National Trust, entry is free, and late June to August — when the lilies flower — is the time (we track the flowering season). Otters exist and are seen just often enough to keep everyone looking. The catch: the NT car parks at Bosherston and Stackpole charge non-members.

St Govan's Chapel and the Green Bridge

St Govan's Chapel, a hermit's cell folded into a cliff crevice, is free and feels older than it has any right to. The Green Bridge of Wales, the county's great natural arch, has a free viewing platform. Both sit on the Castlemartin firing range, so access closes when the range is live — check firing times before driving out, or build them into the Stack Rocks to St Govan's walk, which explains how.

Stones older than the pyramids

Pentre Ifan, the great dolmen with its capstone balanced on three points, is free, open access, and the best single piece of prehistory in Wales. Carreg Samson above Abercastle is nearly as good with a fraction of the visitors. Our ancient sites listings collect the rest — almost all of them free, because nobody has yet worked out how to put a till on a burial chamber.

St Davids Cathedral

Entry to the cathedral — the finest building in Wales, in Britain's smallest city — is free, with donations invited. The Bishop's Palace ruin next door is Cadw and charges; the cathedral itself, evensong included, does not. Combine it with Caerfai Bay or the St Davids Head walk and that's a full free day.

Wildlife, from land, for nothing

Grey seal pupping turns the coves white with pups every autumn, watched for free from the clifftops — where to see seals maps the spots. Strumble Head is one of the best land-based sea-watching stations in Britain: porpoises most days, and in autumn shearwaters streaming past the lighthouse. In early summer, the Marloes peninsula gives you distant puffins without a boat ticket.

Towns that are their own attraction

Tenby's medieval walls, harbour and lanes cost nothing to wander — the harbour beach included. Solva and Porthgain are working harbours that double as free afternoons. Carew Castle charges for entry, but the circular walk around the millpond — with the best view of the castle and the tidal mill — is free: here's the route.

When it rains

Free options thin out in the wet — that's honest — but the rainy day guide sorts what's left, and Pembrokeshire with kids covers the paid stand-bys for when the weather wins. If the budget has a little room after all this, the money is best spent on one boat trip — that's the one thing the free list can't replace.