Photo: John Triggs (CC BY-SA 4.0)An industrial harbour turned pub-and-seafood village, with brick hoppers standing over the quay and cliff walks in both directions.
Porthgain is unlike anywhere else on this coast. A tiny inlet in the cliffs was turned into a shipping harbour for slate, granite roadstone and bricks, and when the works closed in the 1930s the machinery went but the architecture stayed: a row of enormous brick storage hoppers looms over the quay, ruined brickworks and stone-crushing buildings stand on the headland, and the harbour walls are still lined with the marks of the trade. It should look grim and instead it is magnificent — red brick and grey rock above green water, with fishing boats and a slipway at the bottom.
The village today is a pub, a couple of eating places, a gallery or two and a small car park, and in summer it is very busy indeed for its size — this is a lunch-and-a-walk destination for half of north Pembrokeshire. The walking justifies it. West along the Coast Path, twenty minutes brings you to Traeth Llyfn, a fine sandy beach reached by a steel staircase, and forty to Abereiddi's Blue Lagoon. East, the path runs to Abercastle past the ruined mill at Aberfelin below Trefin.
There is no beach at Porthgain itself, no shop and very limited parking, so plan around that. As a base it is superb for the north-west coast: St Davids is fifteen minutes, Whitesands twenty, Fishguard twenty-five. Out of season, when the harbour is empty and the hoppers are silhouetted against a winter sea, it is one of the most atmospheric places in Wales.
Cottages in and immediately above the harbour are the ones to hold out for — you can walk to the pub and the Coast Path and let the car sit. There are few of them. The villages a mile or two inland, Llanrhian, Croesgoch and Trefin, carry most of the supply and give easier parking, with Porthgain a five-minute drive or a good walk away.
Signposted from the A487 St Davids–Fishguard road at Croesgoch and Llanrhian, then narrow lanes. The village car park is small; arrive early in summer. No rail nearby; Fishguard Harbour station is about thirty minutes.
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Porthgain · Sleeps 4 · 2 beds
The small village of Square and Compass just a few miles from St David s. boasts a pub restaurant and well-stocked garage shop. Join one of the many winding footpaths of the beautiful Pembrokeshire Coastal Path taking in the bays of Abercastle and Porthgain or explore the Blue La
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Porthgain · Sleeps 2 · 1 bed
A delightful cottage in a row of similar properties just a short walk from the beautiful harbour at Porthgain. This pretty hamlet is a real jewel of the Pembrokeshire coast with a fabulous pub restaurant and even an art gallery. It is a great spot for kayaking for those with thei
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Porthgain · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
Bursting with charm and character this delightful detached property was built to house a family and its farm animals long before the chapel that now sits alongside it. In a lovely peaceful location with views across to the Pembrokeshire coast and lovely footpaths to explore this
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Porthgain · Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
This self contained cottage which is attached to the owners house is located in the small hamlet of Llangloffan near Castlemorris a small village in rural North Pembrokeshire known for its idyllic quiet yet perfectly poised to take in the beautiful jagged coastline found above th
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Dogs all yearA big sandy cove between Abereiddi and Porthgain, reached by a steel staircase bolted to the cliff — and cut off at high tide.
Dogs all yearThe rocky cove below Trefin, with the ruined mill on the shore — a five-minute walk from the village and no sand to speak of.
Dogs all yearBlack sand, a flooded slate quarry of improbable blue-green, and coasteering's most famous jump-off.
Dogs all yearA sheltered working-harbour cove between Trefin and Mathry — kayaks, crab lines and a 5,000-year-old tomb up the hill.
Dogs all yearA storm-built pebble bank with woodland and marsh behind, and firm sand appearing only at low tide — quiet, moody and rarely busy.
Dogs all yearAbermawr's little sister — a shingle-banked cove one headland north, shared mostly with oystercatchers.
Compare all 6 beaches near Porthgain — distance, dogs, lifeguards, parking →
Pubs, restaurants, cafés, attractions and activities in and around Porthgain.
Everything to do in and around Porthgain, in one place →
Fish-and-chip bistro in a Porthgain harbour shed — best enjoyed after the Abereiddi clifftop walk.
Photo: Alan Thomas (CC BY-SA 2.0)1743 quarrymen's pub in Porthgain's harbour hollow — the finish line of the north coast's best short walk.
Pembrokeshire Coast Path
Family-run gallery in Porthgain harbour, forty-odd years old, selling original Welsh art — Kyffin Williams and John Knapp-Fisher to the current crop — and doing bespoke framing on site.
From an industrial harbour past the Blue Lagoon and round the wild north side of the St Davids peninsula to the county's most popular beach.
8 miles · 4½–5 hours · Moderate
Two easy miles linking two of the best small stops on the north coast — the ruined mill and beach at Aber Draw to the harbour, brickworks and famous fish and chips at Porthgain.
2 miles · 1 hour each way · Easy
Every walk starting near Porthgain — distance, ascent, parking →
Traeth Llyfn is the nearest we list, about 850m away, followed by Aber Draw, Trefin (1.0km (0.6 miles)) and Abereiddi & the Blue Lagoon (2.1km (1.3 miles)). Distances are straight-line from the centre of the village, so allow more by road.
Yes — we have 2 written-up routes starting at or passing through Porthgain: Porthgain to Whitesands Bay and Trefin to Porthgain. Each one has distance, ascent, parking and the bits that catch people out.
We currently list 7 places to stay in and around Porthgain. We show prices and availability from the booking provider rather than holding our own, so what you see is what they have.
Answers are generated from what we actually hold in our database and refreshed as it changes. Opening hours, dog rules and prices move — check with the venue before you travel.
Pembrokeshire's postcard town: pastel Georgian houses above three superb beaches, a working harbour and medieval walls — the classic Welsh seaside holiday.
Big sandy beach, busy little harbour and a proper seaside village centre — Tenby's more relaxed neighbour, three miles up the coast.
Britain's smallest city — a cathedral in a hollow, Whitesands Bay up the road, and the wildest, most beautiful corner of the national park all around.