Sitting, on a beautiful sunny evening as we enjoyed a picnic with our friends, we chatted to a friendly local gentleman who was enjoying an sunny evening stroll.
“It’s a beautiful evening for a stroll. Enjoy the scenery – Church Doors Cove is wonderful, but the steps are not for the faint hearted – I am not sure I would venture down to the cove with kids in tow.”
Church Doors Cove
We recently stumbled across this place on our way to Manorbier, and fell in love with the most spectacular views over looking Church Doors Cove. I just knew that we had to explore this beautiful cove. The scenery was spectacular on a sunny evening, with the sea twinkling in the sunlight. It was around 7pm, give or take half and hour, the tide was out, and the sun was going down. It was what you would call ‘golden hour’, that magical time when the light is softer and screams out to photograph an adventure…
Church Doors Cove, on the South Pembrokeshire Coast near Manorbier, is so named because of the two high arched caves in the sandstone cliffs which much resemble the doorways of a church. It is a small sand and rocky cove and access to the beach is at low tide via the coastal path. It is one of two beaches separated by a thin ridge of limestone, almost like a wall between two beaches. You can get round at very low tide, and you can also go through a narrow cave which ends up in a rock pool.
Church doors cove car parking
Car parking is available on Lydstep Head, and there are no beach facilities.
Church doors cove in Pembrokeshire
So off we set, with baby S happily babbling in the baby carrier, and the girls excited for a late night advenuture. We headed along the coastal path, and tackled the 140 steps down to church doors cove. With the gentleman’s words ringing in my mind, ‘I am not sure I would venture down to the cove with kids in tow’, I did for a second wonder if we were completely bonkers. The steps are not the easiest task with a baby boy in a carrier and four eager girls to get down in one piece – but they smashed it, and we made it safely. It is one of the best places to see a sunset in Pembrokeshire!
With no-one else to share this wonderful beach with, we enjoyed an hour or so…just us, our friends, the laughter and chatter from the little ones, and that sound of the waves.
Read here for 5 hidden gems in Pembrokeshire
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Have you found any hidden gems on your travels?
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MrsS
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It looks beautiful here. I love finding hidden gems.
Such gorgeous photos! What a beautiful place!
#countrykids
Discoveries like this are wonderful and what a gorgeous time of day to visit. We have what I call ‘The Secret Beach’ near us and this really reminds of it. The access is over the coast path with a scramble down the rocks and lovely caves and outcrops. I sent a family off in search of it today. Having all the beach facilities is great with toddlers, when they are a little older exploring off the beaten track is wonderful.
Those church doors and steep cliffs look so dramatic, I think this beach trip will stay with you all for a long time.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
What a great discovery you’ve got here. Thank you for sharing. #CountryKids
We visited Pembrokeshire recently and I think we may have visited this spot. Though I can’t remember the names of the places we went, it looks familiar. Pembrokeshire is such a beautiful place. #CountryKids
I loved seeing your photos on IG and it really does look like the most beautiful place to watch the sun go down on #CountryKids
Looks lovely and worth the effort I’m sure. I hope there were no melt downs on the way back up! That area is really high on my list of places to explore #CountryKids
What a magical little spot! I am a little scared of heights and falling, so I’ll have to become a little braver if I ever have kids and want to take them on hikes and adventures.
On our way back from our hike this weekend, we stopped to see some preserved cliff dwellings. It wasn’t exactly hidden, but we didn’t know it would be there.