A Guide to St Govan's Chapel | Pembrokeshire National Park
St Govan’s Chapel is tiny stone building carved into the limestone cliffs of the Pembrokeshire Coastline.
Shrouded in myth and legend, this magical little building needs to be seen to be believed and is a must visit if you are planning a trip to Pembrokeshire National Park.
As spectacular and popular as the building is, access to Chapel is sometimes off limits due to its unique location within a military firing range. For that reason its best to check if the car park is open before making a wasted trip.
Within this blog post i provide all the key information on St Govan’s chapel, including where to park and the best time to visit
What is the history behind St Govan’s Chapel?
Dating back to 13th Century the chapel was built to honour the hermit St Govan who lived here alone here during the 6th century
The history of St. Govan is shrouded in mystery. Govan was believed to be an Irish Abbott who was en-route to Wales when he was attacked by some pesky Irish pirates off the coast. Forced to flee into the cliffside, the rocks allegedly morphed into a secret cave for him to hide in. After successfully evading his captors Govan chose to set up a monastic hermitage in the cove, living off the surrounding land, and remained there for the rest of his life.
I prefer to believe that he was forced to self isolate here after the 6th century Welsh Coronavirus outbreak started and one of Mark Drakefords distant relatives enforced a rather strict stay at home policy.
Where is St Govan’s Chapel?
St Govan’s Chapel is located just outside the village of Bosherston on the South Coast of Pembrokeshire national park.
There is a large car park with room for 50+ cars which is free all day everyday.
The only caveat is that the car park is is located within the Castlemartin military firing range which is owned by the MOD. The road leading to the car park and the chapel itself are is sometimes closed to the public if there are live training exercises taking place.
If you wanted to check if the road is open to the public before visiting, you can either call the Pembroke Visitor Centre (+44 01437 776499), Castlemartin Range (+44 01646 662367) or check online – Castlemartin Firing Range
Unlike the Green Bridge of Wales access to the chapel tends to be open more often than not. This is because it is located on the edge of the firing range as opposed to the middle.
How to access St Govan’s chapel?
Located less than 100m from the car park, the chapel is reached by descending 52 stone steps which have been polished smooth by the feet of generations of visitors.
The steps are quite steep but do have a handrail to help those who my find the descent or ascent difficult.
After passing through the wonderfully atmospheric chapel, which is built of limestone and consists of two chambers, you are able to head down and marvel at the structure from the rocks below.
You can also view the chapel from the cliffs above, however one side is often off limits when there is live military firing going on.
You will know when this is happening as there will be a red flag flying at the gate next to the steps. There will also be a warden stationed at the gate who will be able to answer any questions you may have about when the coastal path will re-open.
How long to spend at St Govan’s Chapel?
Because of its size and proximity to the car park, you wont need much longer than half an hour to visit and see the chapel. However its location within the National Park puts it within a stones throw of several other incredible locations .
What else is there to around St Govan’s Chapel
Once you have visited the chapel I would recommend making the short walk or drive to visit several other spectacular sights on Pembrokeshire’s Southern Coastline.
Those include Huntsman’s Leap, The Green Bridge of Wales and Stack rocks, alongside Bosherston Lilly ponds, Broadhaven South, and Barafundle bay. Each of the locations I have gone into more detail below.
The red flag flying above the chapel, meaning the coastal path to Hunstman’s leap and the Green Bridge is closed.
Huntsman’s leap
Located around 500m west from St Govan’s Chapel, Huntsman's Leap is a narrow and sheer-sided coastal chasm which has been cut into the cliffs of the Pembrokeshire Coastline.
The name derives from local folklore, when apparently a hunter on horseback jumped from one side of the chasm to the other. On looking back and seeing the gap that he had jumped, he died of shock.
Now just because access to St Govan’s chapel is open its doesn’t mean that access to Huntsman’s leap will be.
This is because the coastal feature is located further into the military firing range.
There is a metal gate and booth located at the top of the steps, if the red flag is flying then access to the location is Unfortunately closed. There will also be a guard stationed at the booth who will be able to provide more information about when the path will re-open.
If the flag isn’t flying then huntsman’s leap can be reached in less than 10 minutes by walking 500m westwards along the coastal path.
Huntsmans leap
The Green Bridge of Wales & Stack Rocks
Both of these features are also located on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, 5km west from St Govan’s Chapel.
The Green Bridge of Wales is spectacular 24m high limestone arch which protrudes from the cliff face.
Located a short distance down the coast are Stack rocks, which are two colossal 30m limestone stacks which rise vertically from the sea bed.
These impressive coastal features, which also serve as an important nesting location for many species of seabirds found on the Pembrokeshire Coast, are two of the highlights of the National Park and are also a must visit.
Unfortunately these are also located in the Military firing zone so access is restricted to when live training exercises aren't taking place. due to its central location within the firing zone the Gren bridge is often closed even when St Govan’s is open.
If both coastal features are open to the public, you can make the 5km walk westwards along the cliff path from St Govan’s to the Green Bridge, with the The flat walk should taking around hour. However it is far easier to make the 15 minute drive.
For a complete guide to the Green Bridge of Wales check out my detailed blog post below.
Green Bridge of Wales
Stack rocks
Bosherston Lily Ponds, Broadhaven South, and Barafundle Bay
You can actually walk for one mile from St Govan’s chapel westwards around the coastal the coastal path to reach Broadhaven south.
This is a wide sandy bay which is absolutely gorgeous, its dog friendly and is perfect for families.
If you want to visit the beach for a couple of hours then Broadhaven south would be my recommendation. If you didn’t want to make the one mile walk, you can make a the short 4km drive to the car park which overlooks the beach. However this location does get busy and does cost to park.
Alternatively you can drive back to the village of Bosherston and park in the national Trust Car par before walking tot he beach through the magical Bosherston Lily Ponds.
These are a series of stunning man made lakes separated by a series of stone bridges. The family friendly walk is my favourite in Pembrokeshire and can be combined with a visit to the award winning Barafundle Bay for an incredible half a day out.
You can check out the details of that walk, including where to park in my guide below.
Broadhaven south, Pembrokeshire National Park
Barafundle Bay , Pembrokeshire National Park
So there we have it, my guide to St Govan’s Chapel in Pembrokeshire National Park.
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For more travel, hiking, & photography inspiration around Wales check out my in-depth guides to each of my favourite Welsh regions below.