Pembroke

Pembroke's main street from the castle.

Pembroke (Welsh: Penfro) is an historic town in south-west Wales features a number of historic buildings, town walls, complexes and Pembroke Castle which was the birthplace of Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII of England.

Understand

Pembroke is the traditional county town of Pembrokeshire. However, the administrative centre and de facto county town is Haverfordwest. The town and the county derive their name from that of the cantref, or medieval land division, of Penfro: in Welsh, Pen = "head" or "end", and bro = "region", "country", "land", and so the town's name means essentially "Land's End". Interestingly, the name for Land's End in the Cornish language (which is related to Welsh) is Penn an Wlas or Pedn an Wlas.

Get in

By car

A477 is just over 50 miles from Swansea.

By rail

Map of the West Wales lines

Transport for Wales (TfW) (Trafnidiaeth Cymru) and Great Western Railway (GWR) operate trains to Lamphey, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock.

Pembroke and Pembroke Dock are the termini of the Whitland-Pembroke branch of the West Wales lines (Llinellau Gorllewin Cymru). The other termini of the West Wales lines are Swansea, Milford Haven and Fishguard. You may need to change at Whitland.

• 1 Pembroke train station (Penfro). (updated Dec 2023)
• 2 Pembroke Dock train station (Doc Penfro). (updated Dec 2023)
• 3 Lamphey train station (Llandyfái). A request stop. (updated Dec 2023)

By bus

Public transport to Pembroke includes local and national bus lines.

• National Express
• Arriva Bus Wales

By boat

• 4 Pembroke Dock. Irish Ferries from Rosslare in Ireland arrive in Pembroke Dock, a separate town about 3 km (1.9 mi) to the north of Pembroke. (updated Dec 2023)

Get around

A comprehensive network of local bus services run throughout Pembrokeshire as well as to adjoining counties.

See

Pembroke Castle's outer ward

• 1 Pembroke Castle. This castle is a must-see for visitors to the area. Situated on the hill overlooking the High St., Pembroke Castle has some breathtaking views of the town. The castle itself is interesting, as the towers and walls are intact. It's the birthplace of King Henry VII and is depicted in his tower.  
• 2 Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, Dockyard Chapel, ☏ +44 1646 684220. Flying boat centre 
• 3 Carew Castle, Carew, ☏ +44 1646 651782. 

Do

There is a very interesting town walk, get a free booklet at the Tourist Office on the Commons. Some of the buildings opposite the castle are medieval, one was the town jail. The walk takes at least an hour and takes you around the points of interest including the Mill Pond and the fantastic original town walls.

As part of the walk, you will see a terrace of 3 Georgian townhouses on Main Street:

• 1 Penfro (No. 111). Penfro was built as the townhouse for a rich local landowner, John Campbell. This is the man who created the wonderful Bosherston Lily Lakes on the Stackpole Estate. This house is one of the most beautiful and authentic houses in Wales, even most of the front windows are original. In the cornerstone at the front is one of the first stamp machines, which was discovered when refurbishment took place about 20 years ago. (updated Dec 2023)
• 2 The Anchorage (No. 113)
• Tudor House (No. 115)

The Conservation Area covers most of the original town and has many very interesting houses and buildings:

• 3 Hamilton House, Main Street. It appears to be one house but is in fact two houses. Lady Hamilton lived in one and Nelson in the other and her husband lived across the street. (updated Dec 2023)

Eat

• 1 The Watermans Arms, 2 The Green, ☏ +44 1646 682718. 
• Wavecrest Cafe and Cafe Môr (an old fishing boat) are seafood cafes at Angle at the tip of the peninsula.

Sleep

• 1 The Lamphey Court Hotel & Spa, Lamphey (within walking distance of the train station), ☏ +44 1646 672273, info@lampheycourt.co.uk. Hotel with 37 letting rooms. A £2-m spa and leisure facility.  

Bed and Breakfast

B&Bs: Pembroke has a variety of accommodation, of which B&Bs are plentiful. However just like elsewhere advance reservations are recommended during the summer months.

• 2 Penfro, 111 Main Street, ☏ +44 1646 682753, info@penfro.co.uk. Offers three beautiful rooms for bed and breakfast. This Georgian Townhouse is Grade II* Listed (one of only 6 Grade II* buildings in the area) and with original wooden panelling, silk-lined walls, a magnificent Listed staircase is fantastically authentic. Pevsner, the most respected architectural digest calls Penfro 'the crowning glory of Pembroke's domestic architecture'. Large gardens. Delicious, fresh local food. 

Go next

The ferry to Rosslare in Ireland takes just under 4 hours from Pembroke Dock. St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, and home to the most important cathedral in Wales, is well worth a visit.

Routes through Pembroke

Rosslare ←

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