Winter Escapes on the Wild Pembrokeshire Coast
Winter in Pembrokeshire isn’t about retreating indoors — it’s about leaning into the elements, then returning to warmth, good food and shared stories. At Preseli Venture, winter strips the landscape back to its raw beauty, revealing a quieter, more invigorating version of the coast that feels deeply restorative.
Morning: cold air, hot steam
A winter’s day often begins with ritual. Crisp air, pale light filtering down the Abermawr Valley, and the unmistakable pull of heat and cold. The Scandinavian-style beach sauna offers a perfect contrast to the season — step from wood-fired warmth into the bracing sea for a cold dip that leaves you buzzing, clear-headed and gloriously alive. It’s the kind of reset that makes winter feel like a tonic rather than a test.
Daylight: wide skies and empty places
With the summer crowds gone, the coast becomes expansive again. Deserted beaches stretch beneath dramatic skies, perfect for long, unhurried walks straight from your door — dogs welcome all winter long, with no beach bans to worry about. Woodland paths glow with frost, and on rare, magical days, the Preseli Hills, dusted with snow, rise quietly in the distance. With heavier snow, the Preseli hills become a magnet for snow sports enthusiasts and sledging families alike.
© Crown Copyright, 2025, Visit Wales Assets: Snowy landscapes in the Preseli Mountains of Pembrokeshire.
For walkers, storm-watching becomes its own kind of theatre: white horses on the horizon, wind in your face, and that unmistakable feeling of being wonderfully small in a big landscape. For surfers, winter brings clean Atlantic swells and quieter line-ups — cold waters, warm hearts, and some of the best wave quality of the year. Our professional surf guides will get you kitted up in toasty winter wetsuits, boots, gloves and hoods and take you to the best local spot to make the most of the day’s conditions.
Afternoon: nourishment
Local cafés welcome rosy-cheeked walkers and salty-haired surfers with steaming mugs and warming bowls of cawl, while nearby pubs such as The Farmers Arms in Mathry offer roaring fires, hearty Sunday roasts and that easy winter conviviality that draws everyone out of hibernation.
© Crown Copyright, 2025, Visit Wales Assets: Cawl.
Dusk: gathering together
As the light fades early, winter does what it does best — it draws people together. The Eco Barn, with its generous long table and double oven, comes into its own for big family Christmases and midwinter get-togethers. Elsewhere across our cottages, wood-burning stoves crackle into life, boots dry by the door, and evenings slow down.
Board games are unearthed. Books finally get read. Conversations stretch long into the night. Outside, the stars return in full force.
Night: music, firelight, rest
Winter in North Pembrokeshire has a quietly thriving cultural pulse. Intimate local music nights, small gatherings and seasonal events bring warmth and life to dark evenings, offering just enough buzz without ever feeling busy.
© Crown Copyright, 2021, Visit Pembrokeshire Assets: Skrinkle Haven Night Sky
What makes winter special in Pembrokeshire?
There’s something profoundly renewing about meeting the season on its own terms. The wind sharpens the senses. The cold clears the head. The warmth feels earned. Winter here isn’t an off-season — it’s a different way of being: slower, richer, more elemental.
If you’re craving space, vitality and connection — to landscape, to loved ones, and to yourself — winter might just be the most beautiful time to come.
