Things to do in Porthgain
Within about 5 miles of Porthgain we list 10 places to go — 2 attractions, 1 museum or gallery, 1 nature reserve or viewpoint, 4 ancient and historic sites, plus 6 beaches and 3 walks.
The ones we've written up in full are Carreg Samson, Dr Beynon's Bug Farm, St David's Airfield — start there if you only have a day.
For a wet day there is 1 indoor option nearby: Harbour Lights Gallery. Opening hours shrink hard out of season.
Everything below is ordered by distance from Porthgain, with the places we've written about in full listed first. Nothing on this page is paid for.
Attractions and days out near Porthgain
The paid days out — the ones that fill a whole morning and have a car park and a café.
2.1 miles from Porthgain
Dr Beynon's Bug Farm
AttractionA working research farm about invertebrates outside St Davids — tropical bug zoo, trails, museum, and the UK's first insect-eating restaurant attached.
- Website
- thebugfarm.co.uk
5 miles from Porthgain
Museums and galleries near Porthgain
Mostly indoors, which on this coast is a category of its own. Opening hours narrow sharply out of season, so ring before you drive.
Harbour Lights Gallery
GalleryPembrokeshire Coast Path, Porthgain, SA62 5BL
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.
- Phone
- +44 1348831549
- Website
- harbourlightsgallery.com
- Opening hours
- Today 12:00–16:00
100 yards from Porthgain
Nature reserves and viewpoints near Porthgain
Free, open whenever you turn up, and where a lot of the best of Pembrokeshire actually is.
St David's Airfield
Nature reserveThe old wartime airfield on the St Davids peninsula, now National Trust heathland — runways to stroll, skylarks overhead, and big-sky views to Carn Llidi.
4 miles from Porthgain
Ancient and historic sites near Porthgain
Burial chambers, standing stones, holy wells and iron-age forts. Most are on open land with no gate and no charge; a few sit on working farms, so use the marked access.
Trefin Quarry
Historic siteOld coastal quarry workings by Trefin — part of the slate-and-stone story that built Porthgain next door.
1.1 miles from Porthgain
Melin Trefin
Historic siteThe ruined mill at Aber Draw below Trefin, immortalised in Crwys's Welsh poem 'Melin Trefin' — every Welsh schoolchild once knew these wheels.
1.1 miles from Porthgain
Abereiddy Promontory Fort
Ancient siteSmall promontory fort on the headland at Abereiddy, beside the Blue Lagoon — Iron Age defence, slate-age quarrying, one headland.
1.5 miles from Porthgain
Tre-Maen-Hir Standing Stone
Ancient site4 miles from Porthgain
Activities, golf and the water near Porthgain
Coasteering, surf schools, kayaking, boat trips, and the two things everyone forgets to book until it's too late.
Celtic Quest Coasteering
ActivitiesCoasteering-only specialists at Abereiddy — scramble, swim and jump around the Blue Lagoon coast with a company that does nothing else.
- Website
- celticquestcoasteering.com
1.3 miles from Porthgain
Preseli Venture
ActivitiesCoasteering, sea kayaking and surfing from an eco-lodge near Mathry — the all-inclusive adventure-weekend operation on the wild north coast.
- Website
- preseliventure.co.uk
4 miles from Porthgain
Beaches near Porthgain
Dogs all yearTraeth Llyfn
A big sandy cove between Abereiddi and Porthgain, reached by a steel staircase bolted to the cliff — and cut off at high tide.
Dogs all yearAber Draw, Trefin
The 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 yearAbereiddi & the Blue Lagoon
Black sand, a flooded slate quarry of improbable blue-green, and coasteering's most famous jump-off.
Dogs all yearAbercastle
A sheltered working-harbour cove between Trefin and Mathry — kayaks, crab lines and a 5,000-year-old tomb up the hill.
Dogs all yearAbermawr
A storm-built pebble bank with woodland and marsh behind, and firm sand appearing only at low tide — quiet, moody and rarely busy.
Dogs all yearAberbach
Abermawr's little sister — a shingle-banked cove one headland north, shared mostly with oystercatchers.
Compare every beach near Porthgain — dogs, lifeguards, parking →
Walks from Porthgain
Porthgain to Whitesands Bay
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
Trefin to Porthgain
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
Abereiddi to Porthgain and the Blue Lagoon
A short, spectacular cliff walk between two abandoned quarry harbours, past the flooded slate pit everyone photographs.
3 miles · 1½ hours each way · Easy