Pembrokeshire - Britain's Coastal National Park

• Pembrokeshire has a mixed Welsh and English heritage that has helped define it as a very different corner of the British Isles.
• No part of Pembrokeshire is further than 15 miles from the sea.
• St David's is the smallest city in Britain and the spiritual capital of Wales.
• The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, a National Trail, is 186 miles long. It starts at Amroth and ends at Poppit or Poppit to Amroth depending on where you start!!
• The Bluestones at Stonehenge are thought to have come from the Preseli Hills.
• Pembrokeshire environment is so unique and unspoilt that it was one of the first areas in Britain to be given National Park status in 1952. Since then tourism and other developments have been designed to sit harmoniously within that environment, both on land and at sea. The National Park covers a third of Pembrokeshire including most of the coastal strip.
• Pembrokeshire has the best beaches in Britain. No other region has so many Blue Flag beaches, Green Coast Awards or Seaside Award beaches and they range from lively resort beaches to vast unspoilt stretches of sand in spectacular rural locations.
• Generations of artists and craftspeople have found inspiration within Pembrokeshire, and you can see this in the many galleries, potteries and other craft centres throughout the region.
• Look out for the Pembrokeshire Produce sign in hotels, cafes and restaurants. It indicates that they use quality locally produced ingredients.

A remarkable landscape, a land of legends

• Castell Henllys, a reconstruction Iron Age hill fort near Newport, run by the National Park, provides an insight into the Celtic way of life.
• In the Preseli Hills in North Pembrokeshire lies the entrance to the
  Celtic underworld, Annwn, or so legend has it.
• The areas rich Celtic legacy later mingled with a strong early Christian influence - saints such as St Non, St David and St Justinian were drawn to the area and St David's Cathedral is their most enduring legacy.
• The Landsker line from Amroth to Newgale was an invisible boundary joining a line of small castles, separating Norman and Welsh lands. The Landsker still marks a cultural divide between Welsh and English speaking people today.
• Pembroke, Carew and Manorbier are all very different styles of Norman castle. Each has an absorbing tale to tell.
• Llawhaden, Haverfordwest and Cilgerran castles are worth a visit too.
• Tenby has its medieval town walls, Tudor Merchants House and a wealth of historic buildings.
• The failed last invasion of mainland Britain, by a force of French conscripts, took place near Fishguard in 1797 and is commemorated in Fishguard by a skilfully-crafted tapestry.

50 beaches to choose from with golden sands and sparkling clear waters

Pembrokeshire has the best beaches in the UK with more seaside awards than any other county.

Holiday Which? Chose Tenby's South beach as one of its top beaches in 2001. The year before, they picked Tenby's North beach, Manorbier, Barafundle, Marloes, Newgale, Whitesands and Newport! Pick a west facing beach to sit and watch a good sunset, it will be a lasting memory.

There's plenty to do whatever the weather

Farm themed attractions include Folly Farm near Tenby and the Dyfed Shires and Leisure Park near Newport.

Two totally different 'dinosaur' attractions are Ocean Lab on the seafront at Fishguard, an animated, simulated submarine journey through time, and the Dinosaur Experience near Tenby.
For wildlife attractions, try the Welsh Wildlife Centre near Cardigan, Manor House Wildlife and Leisure Park near Tenby and Heron's Brook Leisure Park and Wildlife Centre at Narberth.

 Activity options include Quad Bikes at Ritec Valley near Tenby, Jetboat rides from St Justinian's near St David's or Canadian canoe trips down the Teifi river from Cilgerran. Heatherton near Tenby has a wide range of activities from paintball to go carts. Their newest additions are adventure golf with a Pirates of the Caribbean theme and a maze. A boat trip is always popular whether it's a sea safari or a mackerel fishing trip. Go from Saundersfoot, Tenby, Dale or St David's.

Relax in the peace and tranquillity of Pembrokeshire

Be sure to visit at least one of Pembrokeshire islands. Caldey, just across the water from Rebleen, with its monastic charms, great beach, seabirds and seals. Skomer with puffins, Manx Shearwaters and profusion of spring flowers and Ramsey for seals, seabirds and, if you're lucky porpoises. Stay overnight on Skomer to witness one of the wonders of nature as thousands (150,000pairs) of Manx Shearwaters return to their burrows under the cover of darkness. Come in May or early June for puffins and carpets of coastal flowers. Visit in September or October to see seal pups on isolated beaches. Plan a winter trip for cosy pubs, stormy seas and bracing beach walks. Christmas shopping for locally produced quality crafts can be a bonus too.

Pembrokeshire's fine selection of gardens includes Colby Woodland Gardens near Amroth, Begelly Park near Kilgetty, Bro Meigan in the Preseli Hills whilst 13th century Picton Castle has a 40 acre garden within the castle grounds.