Where to Stay in Manorbier: The Castle, the Surf Beach and the Train Halt

Few beaches anywhere have a backdrop like Manorbier's. A genuine Norman castle - still intact, still open to visitors - looks down over a red-tinged sandy bay with a reliable break. Gerald of Wales was born in that castle in 1146 and called this "the pleasantest spot in Wales" in 1188, a line the village has understandably never stopped using.

The village

It is a proper one, which is what separates Manorbier from Lydstep two miles east: a church, the Castle Inn, a tearoom and a shop, all clustered behind the bay. Manorbier Castle is the thing you can see from the sand, and there is a train halt on the Tenby line - so this is one of the few beach villages in the county you can reach and enjoy without a car.

Manorbier Bay itself picks up swell, which makes it a favourite with surfers and bodyboarders; families tend to use the stream and the rockpools at the sides instead. Parking is in the beach car park below the castle. Dogs are welcome all year - this beach carries no seasonal restriction under the county's summer bans, which is worth knowing in August when much of the coast does.

Where the beds are

Three of the stays we have written up are within walking distance of the village. Wynd Hill Hideaway is the one with the numbers behind it - a perfect 5.0 across 55 Hoseasons guest reviews, and the only lodge site we list with a hot tub, fast Wi-Fi and EV charging as standard, sleeping four. Glanymor Hideaway and Glanymor Coastal View are both two-person cottages with parking, a garden or patio and the Coast Path close by; the Hideaway is the cheaper one-bedroom, Coastal View has the second bedroom and suits a longer stay.

For camping and caravans, Buttyland is the park on the edge of the village and Beavers Retreat the glamping site; the youth hostel sits out at Skrinkle above the cliffs, which is the cheapest roof on this stretch and has the two best coves almost to itself.

Walking from the door

East along the Coast Path, the headland carries King's Quoit, a burial chamber propped on the cliff edge above the bay, and the path carries on past Church Doors Cove and Skrinkle Haven towards Lydstep - both dog-friendly all year, both reached by steep steps rather than a stroll. West, it runs to Swanlake Bay, which has no road to it at all and is empty most days as a result, and on to Freshwater East. The Manorbier to Tenby walk and the Freshwater East to Manorbier stretch both start here.

Practical

Tenby is ten minutes by car and about fifteen on the train; Pembroke and the Stackpole estate are twenty the other way. The beach car park below the castle is the only real parking, so in August arrive early or use the station. If you want an indoor pool and the facilities of a park rather than a village, the bay at Lydstep is two miles east.