Porthclais Harbour Beach

Set on the outskirts of the St Davids peninsula in west Pembrokeshire, lies Porthclais Harbour Beach. Just over 1.5 miles from the main city centre, this charming cove is a short drive from this area’s most picturesque destinations including Whitesands Beach, Caerfai Bay and St Justinians.

Once an important trading port for products such as coal, limestone and grain, the harbour beach at Porthclais is now mainly the attraction of recreational boaters, kayakers, rock climbers and walkers. Once used in 1385 during the building of St Davids Cathedral, use for this petite harbour slowly faded as the larger harbour at Solva became more successful. Since the 1940s, Porthclais Harbour and the surrounding land has been managed by the National Trust.

The narrow inlet here is positioned along the southern stretch of this peninsula between Porthllisky Beach (sometimes spelt Porthlysgi) and St Non’s Bay. The harbour wall, believed to have been built as early as the Roman era, remains with a sandy bay situated on the sea side at low tide. Lime kilns can still be seen lining the cove inland however much of the old gas works was demolished in the mid-20th Century.

St Davids Cathedral nearby

Activities

Porthclais Harbour is a long narrow inlet with the harbour wall set some way out where the mouth of the River Alun meets the sea. At high tide, the water comes all the way inland completely enveloping the bay but at low tide, a mostly shingle stretch is uncovered with larger sandy areas visible nearer the harbour wall and then also on the sea side of the wall.

When these sandy zones become available, you may find one or two building sandcastles although it’s not the most recommended location for such an activity. Instead, you are likely to find little ones digging for shells and hidden wonders or delving into the rocky pools of water garnishing the base of the cliffs here for a wealth of tiny sea creatures. Wait for low tide when the rock pools are most easily accessible.

Little hands might also delight in a morning of crabbing off the harbour, bring along a crab line and a little bit of bait (locals tend to opt for bacon) and you are sure to find a collection of crabs. More experienced sea anglers can be found along the harbour wall casting off their fishing rods too, although there are tricky to reach rock marks along the cliff paths. Fishermen have been known to catch sea bass, pollack, dogfish and wrasse to name a few.

Being a harbour, it’s no wonder that Porthclais is a regular haunt for boaters. The local community of small boaters adore launching from this shore and you’ll find a collection of such vessels moored inland of the harbour wall. You may also catch a sighting of a recreational rower or a sailing boat setting off from this bay towards the Irish sea.

Boats at Porthclais Harbour

Diving boats sometimes launch here venturing off towards Ramsey Sound, making sure to steer clear of the shallow reef at The Bitches. The waters between the land and Ramsey Island have proven treacherous for a number of vessels over the year, and so divers enjoy sub aqua adventures exploring the shipwrecks here. Along the seabed in Ramsey Sound you’ll find the sunken Count D’aspremont SS, a cargo steamer which ran aground in 1903 and the Mystic Tie, a shipwrecked Canadian schooner which met its demise in a storm of September 1877. Divers say the visibility in these waters can be surprisingly clear.

Stored on racks on the harbour wall at Porthclais Harbour Beach, you will find dozens of kayaks and canoes. Activity centres in the area regard this as a favourite spot to teach kayaking lessons, as the high cliffs provide an enclosed and sheltered spot ideal for beginners to get to grips with manoeuvring the sit-on-tops and learning how to use their paddles to steer.

Experienced kayaker and canoeists venture out towards the sea to sightsee the dramatic cliffsides and rocky formations which make up this stretch of the Pembrokeshire coastline. You can expect natural rock arches and textured crags plus spectacular views over Ramsey Island and the land.

Porthclais from above

It is these very remarkable cliff faces which lure rock climbers to these shores around Porthclais Harbour, so you may well see experienced helmet-donning mountaineers scrambling up the coastline here. With a mixture of bouldering and trad climbing, you can have a great day ascending these magnificent cliffs. Two of the better-known routes here are the Red Wall and the Dreamboat Annie Wall.

The inlet here at Porthclais is a superb place to pick up the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Heading east will take you past St Non’s Chapel – the birthplace of Saint David, Caerfai Bay and eventually the larger old trading port at Solva Harbour. Following the Path west will take you around the headland to St Justinians and on to Whitesands, the whole west-facing coastline here promises unforgettable views of the RSPB nature reserve, Ramsey Island.

Porthclais Harbour Beach and the surrounding peninsula is adorned with wonderful wildlife. The high cliffs flanking the harbour are brimming with bright yellow gorse whilst the cliff paths are covered in flora, fauna and wildflowers. The Welsh waters here are home to resident porpoise and Atlantic grey seals, with many of the latter making homes for their pups here come September’s breeding season. Birdwatchers will enjoy spotting fulmars, chough and ravens who inhabit the cliffs and if you’re lucky, you might even be able to catch sightings of guillemots, peregrines and manx shearwater who reside at Ramsey offshore.

St Justinians with Ramsey Island visible in the background

Facilities

There is a small selection of facilities available at Porthclais Harbour Beach. Behind the beach, you will find a National Trust car park with limited space, free during the winter but Pay and Display during the summer and manned by a National Trust attendant.

Within the car park, you will find a public toilet block and a petite kiosk offering refreshments within the old pump house of the now-demolished gas works from Porthclais’ previous trading life. Here you can buy a selection of cold drinks and ice creams from the blue shuttered cubicle.

Porthclais Harbour is a designated stop for the Celtic Coaster shuttle bus which operates a route around the peninsula, stopping off at other locations such as St Davids, St Nons, Whitesands and St Justinians, the departure point for boat trips out to Ramsey Island.

For all other amenities, you will need to travel 1.5 miles into the centre of St Davids. This cathedral city is home to an array of facilities including a doctor’s surgery, a chemist and CK’S Supermarket, which houses the local post office. These quaint streets are lined with banks, well-known retail stores, art galleries and more grocery shops. Here you will also find plenty of public car parks and outdoor play areas for children.

Call into any of the pubs or restaurants for a delicious meal and a warm, friendly Welsh welcome. The Bishops is located on Cross Square whilst The Farmer’s Arms is set on Goat Street, both of which are favourites amongst locals and holidaymakers alike. Oriel Y Parc Visitor Centre houses a great café as does the Refectory at St Davids Cathedral.

Porthclais Kiosk

Access

There is a short walk from the car park to the harbour, bear in mind that you do have to cross a public road to do so. From the roadside, you can take the slipway onto the shingle harbour ground and walk along this level ground right out to the harbour wall at high tide. At the harbour wall, you’ll find another slipway you can use to reach the elevated position and stand on the sea defence here.

Just a stone’s throw up from roadside slipway, there’s a level walkway dotted with benches which leads further into the harbour and ends with another slipway leading down onto the shore.

At either side of the harbour near the road, you can access the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Both follow sloping footpaths through the grassy woodland onto the headlands either side of Porthclais Harbour.

Is Porthclais Harbour Beach Dog Friendly?

Porthclais Harbour Beach is dog friendly all year round with no restrictions.

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