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West Angle bay. A lovely toddler-friendly beach

West Angle bay takes a while to get to, located as it is beyond Angle out on the western tip of the southern peninsular. But with its sheltered location and multiple coves, it’s a fantastic beach for toddlers and smaller kids. It's also great for more adventurous teenagers. In fact, it’s the beach Hannah’s grandparents took her to the most often up until the age of about five. It was a regular feature of her bike expeditions with friends when she was older.

What it's like

The beach has a main sandy curve, facing in to the Haven. This means that the beach is very sheltered, with much smaller waves than most of the other beaches around. You’ll find a series of small coves off to one side of the beach.

  • The first is a very popular sandy beach, accessed by two narrow entrances from the main beach. One of the entrances faces out to the sea. This makes a lovely paddling area when the tide is halfway in or above. There’s also a footpath to the next cove, which is more rocky and quiet than the first.
  • The second cove also has an inlet from the sea. Being further out, the tide reaches quite high. The inlet has a little embarkation point for the nearby Thorn Island.

The cafe, Wavecrest, is sister to the one at Lawrenny. It offers a similar menu, so it’s a great choice if you enjoyed the food but fancy a different view.

What to do when you're there

  • Look out for the medieval field patterns towards the north as you pass through Angle
  • Great for those with piratical tendencies. The rough & ready wooden platform & ladder at the embarkation point for Thorn Island makes for a great location to play out your best Black Bart games
  • Set up camp in the first side cove on the right if you've got toddlers. It's very sheltered and only has a few 'escape routes' to keep an eye on
  • Take a short walk along the lane behind the north side of the beach. The high hedges fragrant with honeysuckle are a million miles away from busier parts of the coast path, and from modern life
  • Complete your trip to one of our most isolated villages with a pint at the Point House in Angle. But be warned, the road out to the pub is often underwater at the highest tides. Ask nicely & the locals may let you in on the emergency escape route across fields – if your car is rugged enough

Other things you should know about it

It’s a long way out to Angle, you may feel like the drive is taking forever, but the final destination is well worth it.

For those with an interest in history & fortifications, the coast path either side of Angle features

  • the remains of an Elizabethan fort
  • World War II defenses at East Blockhouse,
  • views of two Napoleonic island forts and
  • the chance to get up close to yet another Napoleonic fort, which is now a museum.

If you do make the trip out to the Point House, take a detour to see the Tower House which is a design relatively common to the Welsh Marches & other borderlands. The Angle example is the only one known outside of these areas. There’s also a beautiful stone dovecote nearby, with amazing domed roof.

How to get there

Head west from Pembroke, following the B4319 or B4320. These join up, so continue along the B4320 until the right hand turn to Angle.
Continue through Angle & out to West Angle Bay. There’s a generous car park (paid) alongside the beach shop/café.

NB the B4320 seems to continue on towards East Blockhouse at the Angle turning, but quickly peters out.

Other beaches

West Angle Bay, a short drive from Warren Farm, Wales
Angle

West Angle bay. A lovely toddler-friendly beach

West Angle bay takes a while to get to, located as it is beyond Angle out on the western tip of the southern peninsular. But with its sheltered location and multiple coves, it’s a fantastic beach for toddlers and smaller kids. It’s also great for more adventurous teenagers. In fact, it’s the beach Hannah’s grandparents took her to the most often up until the age of about five. It was a regular feature of her bike expeditions with friends when she was older.

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