The 6 best places to watch the sunset in Pembrokeshire
Within this blog I have pulled together a list of what I would argue to be six of the best sunset locations within Pembrokeshire National Park.
What I will say is my opinion is entirely subjective and there are a whole host of other wonderful sunset locations scattered across Pembrokeshire’s 186 miles of rugged coastline.
At a glance:
Carn Llidi & St Davids head
Blue lagoon
Strumble Head & Lighthouse
Wooltack point
Freshwater West
Tenby
The best sunset location depends on the time of year
The direction of the sunset will change throughout the course of the year. Around the winter solstice (December 21st) the sun will set in the south west. Then as the days get longer the path of the sun moves northwards, setting in the west at the Spring equinox (March 21st ) until the Summer solstice (June 21st) when it sets in the north West.
Sunset Cycle", Florida State College at Jacksonville is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 / A derivative from the original work
Because of this I would recommend heading to different parts of Pembrokeshire during different times of year.
April to September - North Coast - Ramsey Island to Stumble head
August to March - West Coast - St Govans Head up to Ramsey Island
Mid November to Mid February - South Coast - Tenby to St Govans Head
Carn Llidi and St Davids Head
At 181m, Carn Llidi is a rocky outcrop which marks the highest point of the St Davids headland. The prominent and isolated peak offers terrific panoramic views north towards Strumble Head and south over Whitesands Bay towards Ramsey Island.
Because the peak is located on the north-western tip of Pembrokeshire coastline it’s great spot to watch the sunset throughout the year.
Parking is available at Whitesands Bay for £4, from there you head back up the road before turning left and walking past Swn y Môr cottages to the summit. The one mile walk involves 150m of elevation gain and should take around 25-30 minutes.
Alternatively if you dont want to hike up to the summit, you can just watch the sunset from Coetan Arthur on the tip of St Davids Head, or from Whitesands Bay.
Blue Lagoon
This incredible coastal feature is worth visiting at any point of the day, but has to be one of my favourite places to watch the sunset.
Situated on the North Coast of Pembrokeshire, Blue Lagoon used to be a former slate mine which was purposefully flooded after it become abandoned. In recent years it has become a hotspot for adventure seekers and local tourism, attracting the Red Bull Cliff diving series on three separate occasions.
Because of its north-west facing direction, I would recommend heading here to watch the sunset between April and August.
Parking is available at Abereiddi Beach and costs £4 during the day. From here it’s a five minute walk up to Blue Lagoon.
Strumble Head
Located on the northern coast of Pembrokeshire, Strumble head is a great spot to watch the sunset during the summer months.
On this headland you have two epic locations to choose from - Garn For or Strumble Lighthouse.
Garn For is an old Iron Age hill fort, which marks the highest point of the headland. It offers spectacular panoramic views of the northern Pembrokeshire coastline and looking back over southern Pembrokeshire. Free parking is available in a small gravel car park just beneath the eastern side of the summit, and from there is 5-10 minute walk up a gentle incline to the fort.
Alternatively you can watch the sunset from Strumble Head Lighthouse, where free parking is available on the cliffs in front of the lighthouse.
Wooltack point
Situated at the tip of the Marloes Penisnula, Wooltack point provides beautiful panoramic views westwards over Skomer Island and northwards over St Brides Bay towards the St Davids Peninsula.
Its westerly facing direction makes Wooltack point a great spot to watch the sunset throughout the year.
Parking is available in a large National Trust car park just before Lockley lodge, and from the car park its a 20 minute walk out to the tip of the point.
If you didn’t want to walk all the way out to the headland, you can watch the sunset from the coastguard watch station at the top of Deer Park. Despite its name, the park isn’t actually home to any deer, and instead is grazed by a herd of Welsh mountain ponies.
The views from the highest point of Deer Park
Wooltack point
Freshwater West
Situated on the south west tip of Pembrokeshire, Freshwater West is a great choice for sunset during Spring, Autumn,and Winter.
As it is the most consistent break in Pembrokeshire, the beach is extremely popular with surfers and plays host to the Welsh surfing championships each year. It’s also home to the grave of Dobby, a fictional house Elf from Harry Potter who dies on the beach in the 7th instalment of the Harry Potter films.
Ample free parking can be found behind the sand dunes or in the lay-bys on the B4319 which descend down towards the beach.
Tenby
Now Tenby is a place I would head to watch the sunset during the shorter winter months.
This is for two reasons. Firstly you will get to watch the sun dip below the horizon and secondly Pembrokeshire’s most popular seaside resort will be significantly quieter.
You can ether perch yourself above the harbour to catch images of the sky lighting up above the pastel coloured Victorian houses. Or alternatively you can head up up Castle hill to view the sunset over St Catherines Island and Tenby South Beach.
Theres plenty of pay and display car parks in Tenby alongside several free parking spots scattered along the side streets.
So there we have it, my six favourite places to watch the sunset in Pembrokeshire.
Like I have already mentioned, there are so many other beautiful places to watch the sunset which i I haven’t included on the list. Also the time of year will have a huge factor on which part of Pembrokeshire you should go to watch the sunset so bear that in mind before choosing.
What I use to pick and plan sunset locations
I personally use an app called PhotoPills to choose sunset locations, alongside helping me plan photo compositions for sunset, sunrise, and the milky way.
I have no affiliation with the company and I hate paying for apps when there are free ones available (It costs a one off fee of £9.99) , but PhotoPills is packed full of amazing features and was definitely worth the investment.
The app allows me to see where the sun will set months and even years into the future, and has an augmented reality mode which uses your phones camera to show you exactly which point on the horizon the sun will rise and where it will set.
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