Let’s go Rock Pooling!

Explore the amazing wildlife of the Pembrokeshire Coast

Many of Pembrokeshire's great sandy beaches and shingle coves are ideal for an afternoon of rock pooling with the children. Not only is it a great way for children to discover the wonders of underwater sea creatures, but its a top free activity for all the family. 

When you're rock pooling, you never know what you're going to find but guaranteed you're going to have a fantastic time. Expect brightly coloured sea anemones and glassy clear waters in these natural pools, often found at the back of the beaches near the cliffside or towards the ends of the beach where the headlands jut out. 

What You Might Find

Depending on where you go, you could find any number of creatures. These are just a few of the more exciting things you might find along with seaweed and a number of different fish.

Crabs: They come in all different shapes and sizes but watch out for their pincers, they may pinch.

Jellyfish: An intriguing blob-like creature, which again range in size and appearance - make sure to be careful of these too as you don't want to get stung. 

Starfish: One of the easiest creatures to identify because of their star-shaped bodies. 

Periwinkles: The sea’s version of a snail with a beautiful curved shell.

Whilst the aim of the game is searching for weird and wonderful sea creatures, it's important not to disturb them from their natural habitat too much. 

Fun and free - a perfect way to spend the day

Top Tips when Rock Pooling

Make sure to check the local tide times. Some of the beaches in Pembrokeshire are completely enveloped with water at high tide so you'll want to make sure to avoid these beaches until the tide has gone out again. After all, there’s nothing more disappointing than arriving at a beach and realising you forgot to check the tide times and now there's no beach and therefore, no rock pools to explore. 

Don’t forget to carefully turn over seaweed and pebbles in the rock pools, you may find all sorts of creatures underneath which were initially hidden from view.

Take along a camera and photograph your findings. Not only does it give you something for show and tell, but it also means you can refer back to them if you can't work out what something is. If you pick up any creatures you find, make sure to be really careful when handling them and put them back exactly where you found them. 

Where to rock pool in Pembrokeshire?

You can go rock pooling at many of the beaches across Pembrokeshire, but these are some of our favourite ones. 

• Wiseman’s Bridge Beach – Here you’re likely to find prawns, shrimps, crabs and anemones.
• Abereiddy Beach – Head to the south end of the beach for rock pools full of seaweed, crabs and anemones.
• Little Haven Beach – You'll only a few pools here but it's a top spot for spotting starfish.