Climbing in Pembrokeshire

Until recently, apart from watching thrilling ascents by Tim Emmett up terrifying looking routes, I knew very little about climbing in Pembrokeshire.

I was approached a few weeks ago by a charming lady who owns some rental accommodation down there. She told me that she would like to offer her accommodation to the climbing community as previous climber guests had been respectful, tidy and generally very pleasant to deal with (well we’re not a bad lot really).

Anyway, the conversation finished with an offer for readers of Rock Climbing UK to receive a significant discount on her standard rates. In return I offered to provide some information about the properties and about climbing in Pembrokeshire, on the RCUK web site… so here we are….

Pembrokeshire is based on the west coast of South Wales. It’s a maritime county bordered by sea on 3 sides. It is actually the source of the bluestones, used in the construction of Stonehenge.

Despite being relatively flat, Pembrokeshire is home to some fantastic coastal climbing on it’s many cliffs.

The climbing

Contrary to my initial reservations that Pembrokeshire is all super steep test climbs, a little research reveals that there are climbs to suit most abilities. Being sea climbs they’re super atmospheric. Hearing the waves crashing beneath you always adds a certain drama to a climb.

The climbing is extremely varied, from slabs to steep walls and overhangs. Rock can vary from Red sandstone to limestone, gabbro and and volcanic Rhyolite. Cliffs vary from just 10m to a very respectable 90m.

Rock Fax have a guide of their top 50 Pembrokeshire routes.

You’ll see there’s a good selection from vdiff up to E5. If you climb harder than E5, check out the video below. Tim Emmett climbing at Huntsman’s Leap, Pembroke.

Welsh Connections – Pembroke. Award winning short film – Rock Climbing from Bamboo Chicken Productions on Vimeo.

Welsh Connections – Pembroke. Award winning short film – Rock Climbing from Bamboo Chicken Productions on Vimeo.

For those of you that fall into the mere mortal category, there’s another video here about climbing in the Pembrokeshire area.

UK Climbing have a map showing the location of all the crags in the Pembrokeshire area:

The accommodation

The accommodation we have a discount for is at Thorne Chapel, Merrion, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire SA71 5EA (see map below).

A newly converted 19th century chapel, sleeps up to 14 (from £100 per night – If there’s ten of you that’s just £10 each!)

There’s a web site with more about the property here: Pembroke Rocks

Guide books

Pembroke – Rock Fax
Pembroke – climbers club

Arranging your stay

We will publish a page with a proper booking form and payment facility, but for now, if you’re interested just email me: gareth(at)rockclimbinguk.co.uk