Freshwater West beach is one of the best beaches in Pembrokeshire. Sometimes wild and windy you can definitely feel the Atlantic influence here. Those waves are a magnet for surfers.
The beach itself is massive! With around a mile of sand backed by fantastic dunes it’s a great place to explore.
Freshwater West was also the beach where the ‘Shell Cottage’ scenes were filmed for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2.
And, although Shell Cottage was removed after the film crew left…
… you can still visit Dobby’s Grave today. Fairly remote, the power of nature is evident on a huge scale at Freshwater West Beach. Maybe that’s why it was chosen for such dramatic scenes.
How to get to Freshwater West Beach
Getting to Freshwater West beach is not easy. It’s a good 15 minutes beyond Pembroke with it’s Castle. And the closer you get the narrower the roads become. So it will take some time. Slow down and enjoy the journey. This is a beautiful part of Pembrokeshire, with Bosherston, Barafundle, St Govan’s, Stack Rocks and the Green Bridge of Wales all nearby. And they are all worth a visit!
Nearest Postcode: SA71 5AH
Map Ref: SR 88184 00040
Where to park at Freshwater West
There is a decent size car park at Freshwater West right opposite the beach. And it’s free!!
There are also public conveniences and changing facilities here which are very handy.
- Map reference SR 886 995
- Nearest Post Code SA71 5AH
More info
Freshwater West is approximately half an hour from the popular seaside resort of Tenby and the nearest town is Pembroke.
Freshwater West is on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path so it’s a great place to combine some walking. If you’d like to do that check out our post on walks in Pembrokeshire and this book. We’ve got the older version and found it brilliant when we walked the whole thing. It’s battered, bruised and well thumbed but we still use it today!
We would always recommend wearing at least mid-ankle boots as a minimum on any Pembrokeshire walk as they can all be muddy, wet and/or rocky. You don’t want wet feet on a long hike and you certainly don’t want to be twisting an ankle. We’re on our second pair of these by Salomon which says a lot about how good we thought the first pair was.
Whatever the length of your walk remember to carry the right gear and perhaps most importantly a map and compass.
Where to stay near Freshwater West
There are not many places to stay in Freshwater West itself. But there are plenty of Campsites, B&Bs, guesthouses, hotels and self catering accommodation options nearby.
Check Booking.com to see what’s available.
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