St Govan’s Chapel is one of the most atmospheric spots in Wales, a tiny chapel nestled into the rock, surrounded by towering cliff walls and the wild Atlantic Ocean. It’s incredible to view from above, but even more special that you are still allowed to walk down into the chapel today.
It’s a mystical spot, but the magic doesn’t end with the chapel itself. Seals frolic in the water and there are natural arches and rock pools to explore. It’s hard to believe a place this special is so easy to access.
The one thing to consider before planning your trip is that the road to the chapel takes you through a firing range, and unlike some around the country, this one is very active. All the details on planning your trip around the firing times are below.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting St Govan's Chapel.
The walk to St Govan's Chapel
The stats
Distance: 150m each way
Difficulty: Easy, but involves a staircase
The best view of the chapel
From the parking area (details below), you follow the path straight ahead towards the ocean. It’s a flat path and after a couple of minutes you’ll be standing on the cliff tops above the chapel.
If you head left for a few steps you’ll get the most wonderful view of the chapel nestled into the cliffs. You’ll also get some fantastic views out over the ocean, which was surprisingly calm and tropical looking on our visit!
Once you’ve enjoyed the views from above, it’s time to head down into the chapel.
Heading into St Govan's Chapel
The route into the chapel involves walking down one steep staircase. The steps are well formed and quite even, but they are steep.
There’s a handrail in place to offer some stability as you make your way down. In dry weather the steps weren’t at all slippery. In just a few minutes we were standing at the entry way to the chapel, which is an atmospheric little opening.
Once inside, you’ll see it’s really tiny, but what a view! I could have stared out the window for hours. You can walk up through the little doorway in the chapel, but there’s not much to see.
It’s more about soaking up the atmosphere of the place, which is very, very special. You could then head through the chapel door out towards the beach.
Exploring the beach
Pembrokeshire has a huge number of breathtaking sandy beaches, but this is not one of them. However, if you can look past that, there is much to explore.
Firstly the views of the chapel from here are magnificent and there’s a little pathway you can walk along side it, which also gives you some great ocean views.
We saw three seals playing in the water just off the rocks which was such a delight.
If you don’t mind walking over a number of very uneven rocks there are lots of great sights to see. To do this it needs to be low tide (or an hour or so either side).
The rocks are grippy when dry, but not all are stable, so test them before you put your full weight on. It’s not hard to get down, but you’ll want to go barefoot, or in decent shoes as it would be easy to twist an ankle.
The arches and secret rockpool
To the left you’ll be able to reach a big arch (you can see it from above as well if you don’t want descend the rocks).
To the right of the rocks there’s a large opening which almost looks like a doorway, it takes around five minutes to reach (as you’re scrambling over rocks).
There’s a large ledge here, which makes for a good spot to sit and watch the waves - and hopefully a seal or two!
If you pass through the doorway you’ll arrive at what was the biggest surprise of our visit, a hidden rockpool!
The rockpool is totally sheltered from the waves (at low tide) and is the most glorious shade of blue on a sunny day.
I was so disappointed that I didn’t have my swimsuit with me because it looked like the most idyllic place for a dip.
The water is likely shallow, but the views and setting are enchanting .
The fact that St Govan’s is such a popular spot, yet no one ventured to this area, made it even more incredible. On our visit there was around 30 people at the chapel, yet not one person explored the lower areas of the beach, and I can only say they were missing out!
We’re already looking forward to returning next year for a dip!
St Govan's Chapel opening times - road access and tides
As mentioned above, the road to the chapel goes straight through a firing range and this range is in use frequently. There’s a big gate that will be closed when firing is happening, so you’re never at risk, but you will need to plan your trip carefully.
From my research, a rule of thumb looks to be that the range is rarely in use at weekends. However, there were also midweek opportunities on certain days too - usually this will work better in summer as the evenings are long and the road tended to be open from around 4.45pm. Just remember that if you want to explore beyond the chapel, you need low tide to marry up with the road being open. You can check the tide times here.
The good news is that exact firing times are listed on this website so it’s not a guessing game, you just need to be flexible.
Other sights nearby
There are several other sights in the area that are well worth visiting before or after the chapel. The most notable are Green Bridge and the Elegug Stacks. You can walk to them from the St Govan’s car park, but it’s a long walk. The easiest way to access them is to drive back towards the B4319 and park at Emigate Lane.
From here the walk to either spot (although they are in opposite directions) is less than five minutes.
If you’re in the area early or late in the day another great spot to visit is Bosherston Lily ponds. The reason I say early or late is the main attraction here (besides it’s a pretty spot) is that you might spot some of the resident otters, who are more active early or late in the day. We went late morning and didn’t spot any, but that’s not really a surprise as wildlife watching is always best close to dawn and dusk.
If you’re in need of refreshments the town of Pembroke is just 7 miles away and has a fabulous cafe, Cafe Rose. It has some of the best sourdough we’ve had in the UK and a lovely friendly vibe.
Getting to St Govan's Chapel
St Govan's Chapel is located at St Govan's Head in Pembrokeshire, postcode SA71 5DR. As you get closer to the car park the road becomes narrow, but that’s pretty standard in rural Wales! Parking is free of charge and time is not limited. There’s a large car park, but it does get busy on weekends.
It’s just over a 15 minute drive from Pembroke, 45 minutes from Haverfordwest and 1 hour 15 from St Davids.
There are no facilities (including toilets) at the trailhead or along the route so you’ll need to plan accordingly.
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