Broad Haven is a village and beach on St Brides Bay, on the west coast of Pembrokeshire about ten kilometres from Haverfordwest, and it is one of the most accessible good beaches in the county.
A wide crescent of firm sand, backed by a low sea wall and a village of houses, shops and pubs, facing due west into the bay with Skomer and the Marloes peninsula to the south and Newgale to the north.
This causes genuine confusion and it is worth clearing up.
Broad Haven (this one) is the village on St Brides Bay, ten kilometres west of Haverfordwest, with shops, pubs, a car park and a bus service.
Broad Haven South is a different beach entirely — a smaller cove on the south coast near Bosherston, on the National Trust’s Stackpole Estate, known for Church Rock standing offshore and the lily ponds behind it.
They are about fifty kilometres apart and satnavs regularly confuse them. Check which one you want before you set off, and use the full postcode.
Firm, clean sand over a wide area, with a substantial expanse at low tide and rock pools at the northern end below the cliffs.
Blue Flag and Seaside Award status, with water quality consistently rated highly.
Lifeguards in season.
Facing west, which means it takes Atlantic swell — there is usually surf, and it is a good learners’ and intermediate beach. Surf hire and lessons operate in the village.
It also means it gets the sunsets, which are the beach’s other famous quality. On a clear evening the sun goes down over the bay behind Skomer, and it is worth timing a visit for.
Dolphins are seen from the beach reasonably often, and there are seals along the coast.
Parking is easy — a large car park immediately behind the beach, plus on-street parking. In a county where parking is the main constraint on a beach day, this matters.
Toilets and facilities are close by.
The village has shops, a pub, cafés, a chip shop and an inn, which means you can spend a whole day here without planning.
Dogs are welcome — there are dog-friendly sections and it is a popular beach with dog owners, several of whom describe using it every day of a holiday.
Level access to the beach from the promenade, which makes it one of the more accessible beaches in Pembrokeshire.
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs along the cliffs in both directions.
South over the headland to Little Haven, a small and very pretty cove village — about a kilometre and a half of clifftop, or along the sand at low tide, and one of the best short walks in the county. Little Haven has two good pubs.
North the path leads towards Druidston Haven — a wilder beach with a National Trust cliff above — and on to Newgale, a two-mile expanse of sand and shingle that is the biggest beach on this coast.
Free beach; parking charged.
Facilities: toilets, shops, pubs, cafés, surf hire in the village.
Lifeguards: in season.
Access: level access from the promenade — unusually good.
Buses: the Puffin Shuttle coastal service calls here in season, which makes one-way coastal walks easy.
The village on St Brides Bay, ten kilometres west of Haverfordwest — not Broad Haven South near Bosherston, which is fifty kilometres away on the south coast.
Yes — it is a popular dog-walking beach with dog-friendly areas.
Yes, a large car park immediately behind the beach plus on-street parking, which makes it one of the easiest beaches in Pembrokeshire to reach.
Yes — it faces west into St Brides Bay and takes Atlantic swell, with hire and lessons in the village.
South along the clifftop to Little Haven, about a kilometre and a half, with two good pubs at the other end.