Dog Walks in Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is Wales's only coastal national park, and for many UK dog walkers it's the single best coastal county in Britain. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs for 186 miles around its entire perimeter, passing wave-carved sea stacks, secret coves, golden surfing beaches and ancient cliff-top chapels. If you could design a county specifically for dog walking, it would look a lot like Pembrokeshire.

The walking is everywhere spectacular. Unlike much of the South West Coast Path, the Pembrokeshire path is compact enough to base yourself in one village and walk a different stretch every day for a week without repetition.

Top Areas for Dog Walks in Pembrokeshire

St Davids (3 walks) is the natural base — Britain's smallest city, sitting on a peninsula with the iconic St Davids Head walk, the Whitesands Bay circular and the longer coastal route all starting within a short drive. Tenby (1) is the southern alternative, a walled seaside town with access to Caldey Island and the softer south coast beaches.

What to Expect

The Coast Path is genuinely cliff-edge throughout and, in many places, there's no fence between the path and a long drop — keep dogs on a long line or short lead wherever you're unsure of the terrain. Many Pembrokeshire beaches have summer dog bans (typically May to September) but most of the best walking beaches like Whitesands remain accessible outside main hours. Seals haul out in autumn, and dogs must be kept well away. Livestock graze the cliff-top commons.

Planning Your Trip

St Davids has a surprisingly good cluster of dog-welcoming cafes, pubs and accommodation for somewhere so remote, and Tenby has an even bigger scene. The Pembrokeshire Coastal Bus service is one of the best in the UK for car-free walking — it lets you walk point-to-point along the path and catch the bus back to your base. There's a huge stock of dog-friendly Pembrokeshire cottages, campsites and pubs-with-rooms across the county. For a memorable week of dog walks in Pembrokeshire, base yourself in St Davids, tackle a different stretch of coast path each morning, and finish with a pint at the Sloop or a coastal campsite sunset. It's genuinely one of the best dog-walking weeks in Britain.