Waterside Camping in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

United Kingdom
—
Wales
—
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

95% (389 reviews)

Popular camping styles for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

6 top waterside campsites in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

100%

(4)

Under £50

100%

(39)

Cilrath Wood Camping

15 units · Tents10 acres · Narberth, Wales

Off-grid eco camping with campfires in a patch of Pembrokeshire that time forgot

Rhydfach Valley Camping

1 unit · Motorhome, Tent7 acres · Pembrokeshire, Wales

An exclusive-hire campsite with its own wild swimming pond in Pembrokeshire

Cornish Tipi Holidays & Camping

127 units · Glamping, Motorhomes, Tents20 acres · Cornwall, South West England

Wake up to the sound of birdsong, go swimming before breakfast in the clear water of a secluded lake. Cook your bacon and eggs over an open fire while you plan your day, or just laze it away in the peace and quiet of your own personal tipi. You can always go fishing tomorrow, and walk along the cliffs the day after that… The site is a unique woodland valley folded around a clear, spring-fed lake created from the old Tregildrans Quarry. Our tipis and tent pitches are dotted about this secret 20 acres full of ferns, bluebells, oak and meadowsweet. Left in peace for many years there's been no modern chemicals or poisons on the land, meaning we've got bluebells, dormice, Red Admirals and shy woodland Jays for you to spot. It’s a place set apart from the rush and clutter of the modern holiday experience, with an atmosphere that makes you forget the world outside, and just lounge, ramble, or potter about in a boat. We're committed to giving you a genuinely individual service from first contact to your time staying with us. We established CTH in 1996. This was the first and we believe still is the best tipi holiday site in the UK. We know our area inside out and can always help with local knowledge or contacts if you need them. We want to offer our guests a sustainable holiday. A return to real camping means the lowest possible impact on the land and environment - our tipi poles don’t even break the surface of the earth. Your footprint while here could only be bettered by a survival expert. You don't have to fly! a major bonus, and we source all our wood, fish and canvas locally and work with local people wherever possible.

Denmark Farm

7 units · Tents1 acre · Lampeter, Wales

Spy real, live dragonﬂies dancing over lily-rich ponds as you head out in search of sleepy dragons in the wooded wonderland at this quiet eco site

Elmar's Place

2 units · Tents1 acre · Bude, England

Nearly wild camping on the border of Devon and Cornwall

Waterside camping in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park guide

Overview

The UK’s only coastal national park guarantees campers a look at some of Europe’s loveliest shorelines, where the seaboard is special for its variety: bustling resorts, fishing villages, sandy bays, big cliffs, broken rock stacks, and sea caves. This region was the first in Wales to have a coast path, and when people think of Pembrokeshire’s seaside beauty, chances are the image coming to mind is somewhere along the coast here. Inland hills, meanwhile, also tempt adventurers. Campers will relish getting their pegs in, as there is a big choice of campsites: from large, facility-rich pitching in popular resorts like Tenby to teensy farm sites amid rolling countryside.

Where to go

South Pembrokeshire

This is the most popular part of the national park, where perfectly positioned resort towns like Tenby and Saundersfoot pull in crowds keen to see the area’s fabulous beaches. Those seeking tranquillity in South Pembrokeshire can do so at striking locations like the castle-flanked surf spot of Manorbier, the dramatic seabird paradise of Elegug Rock Stacks, and vast Freshwater Bay. The Saundersfoot to Tenby stretch of coast is covered in campsites—Manorbier and Freshwater East have quieter sites.

St Davids & Around

Ancient Britons dubbed St Davids area a “thin” place, where the gap between earth and heaven was small. Bounded shores of bizarre rock formations, coves, and dreamy fishing villages, this remains a spiritual spot, full of prehistoric sites. It’s a great experience to camp out on the crag-dotted grasslands around Britain’s westernmost city, St Davids, and Wales’ westernmost headland, St Davids Head. Here, several scenic coastal campsites are available, and St Davids’ exquisite cathedral is nearby.

Preseli Hills

The Preseli Hills are a little different from the coastal Pembrokeshire most people are acquainted with. This unkempt, barren range has scarcely any settlement, and is most notable for possessing one of Europe’s greatest densities of prehistoric monuments, along with its adventurous hiking. North Pembrokeshire’s Newport, 10 miles southwest of Cardigan, is the northern gateway to these rugged inland moors. Pitching near Mynachlog-ddu puts you near the Golden Road hike, which traverses the Preseli’s ridge via umpteen ancient sites.

Cardigan Bay

Wales’ biggest bay, curving north from North Pembrokeshire’s Strumble Head to Southern Gwynedd via Ceredigion, was where camping in Wales originally took off. Pembrokeshire’s part of the bay is peaceful outside the main towns of Fishguard and Newport (though these spots do offer special sandy beaches too). Go bottlenose dolphin-watching or walk the Wales Coast Path, traversing solitary headlands such as Strumble Head and Cemmaes Head. The Pembrokeshire stretch’s campsites are mostly small affairs with big bundles of character.