Barafundle Bay
Photo via Wikimedia Commons — licence & author.
Regularly voted Britain's best beach
This is a quick reference, not a full walked guide. The facts below — location, parking, grid reference and access — are maintained from our dataset, but we haven't published our own first-hand write-up of Barafundle Bay yet. Know it well? Help us get it right.
A flawless arc of golden sand backed by dunes and pines, reachable only on foot over a headland from Stackpole Quay — no road, no car park, no ice-cream van — which is exactly why it's so often voted Britain's best beach. Park at the National Trust's Stackpole Quay and walk about 15 minutes over the cliff steps. Make a classic Pembrokeshire day of it by adding the Bosherston lily ponds and St Govan's chapel. Bring everything with you; there are no facilities.
Getting there
Barafundle Bay is in Stackpole, Pembrokeshire, Pembrokeshire. It's roughly 14 min (3.9 miles) from Pembroke , and within reach of Tenby (29 min) and St Davids (66 min).
The nearest parking: National Trust car park at Stackpole Quay. Grid reference SR 989 954 — works on any OS map and doesn't need a phone signal.
Good to know
Park at Stackpole Quay (NT) and walk ~15 min over the cliff steps. Combine with the Bosherston lily ponds and St Govan's for a classic Pembrokeshire day.
🌟 Best time: Warm, clear water for the swim off Britain's best beach — around June–September.
On the map
View Barafundle Bay on OpenStreetMap ↗, or open it in the Explore Wales trip planner to add it to a day out with drive times and offline maps.
Staying over?
Pembroke makes a relaxed base for exploring the area — worth staying over to catch an early start or a golden-hour finish.
Browse places to stay near Pembroke ↗ opens Booking.com — needs signalNearby places
Make Barafundle Bay part of a day out
Add it to a trip in the free Explore Wales planner — chained drive times, weather, campsite suggestions, and offline maps for when the signal drops.