FROM the golden sand dunes of Poppit Sands and the unspoiled beauty of Freshwater East, Pembrokeshire is known around the world for its incredible coastline.

And as today’s Wales Coast Award winners for 2026 show, Pembrokeshire has once again earned itself the highest number of best beaches in Wales, with more locations recognised in the awards than any other part of the country.

Announced today by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy, Pembrokeshire’s coastline received an impressive 16 Wales Coast Awards. This includes nine Blue Flag Awards and seven Green Coast Awards, recognising high environmental standards, meeting tough water quality targets and delivering top standards of environmental education.

Pembrokeshire received nine of Wales’ 20 Blue Flag Award beaches, with Tenby’s South Beach, Poppit Sands. Broadhaven North, Newgale, Dale, Whitesands and Coppet Hall all meeting the awards’ high criteria, along with Saundersfoot and Tenby Castle, which both celebrate an impressive 25 years of the Blue Flag Award.

The Blue Flag Award is recognised internationally, recognising the highest standards of environmental quality, safety, and environmental management. Awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), it means the beach or marina is clean, safe, and well-managed, promoting sustainability and attracting visitors. 

Pembrokeshire also has the most Green Coast Award beaches in Wales, with seven of the 13 locations receiving the award located here.

Green Coast Award beaches boast unspoilt beauty, high environmental standards, and excellent water quality with Aberiddy, Freshwater East, Manorbier, Penally, Caerfai, Druidsone, and West Angle Bay all retaining their status of being exceptional places to visit.

The Wales Coast Awards have been managed by Keep Wales Tidy for more than 20 years and signify that a beach or marina meets and maintains the highest environmental standards and achieves tough water quality targets, as well as ensuring high standards of information provision, environmental education, safety, and site management. 

The Awards are voluntary and recognise the huge effort of staff and volunteers across Wales who are committed to protecting and preserving our natural landscape in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances.  

In addition to the Blue Flag and Green Coast Awards, an additional 15 beaches across Wales achieved the Seaside Award. This is a UK-only beach award available in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, its yellow and blue flag signifying a clean, attractive and well-managed coastal stretch. Recipients of the award this year include popular tourist resorts Aberystwyth South and North, New Quay Harbour, Aberavon in Neath Port Talbot, and Whitmore Bay and Jackson’s Bay in Barry Island.

Owen Derbyshire, Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy congratulated Pembrokeshire on its impressive tally of award-winning beaches. 
He said: “Once again, Pembrokeshire has shown us it is home to some of the most beautiful beaches not just in Wales but in the world and we’re delighted to see this recognised in the 2026 Wales Coast Awards, which are a fantastic celebration of Wales’ beautiful and diverse coastline.”

He added: “These awards recognise high and consistent standards and we would like to thank staff, volunteers and everyone else at sites across Wales who work so hard to protect and preserve our natural landscape in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances. All of these places are beautiful, but seeing that flag flying means visitors can be assured that they are clean, safe and well-managed with excellent facilities too.” 

The Pembrokeshire beaches named in the 2026 award list are|: Newgale, Saundersfoot, Dale, Whitesands, Coppet Hall, Tenby South, Tenby Castle, Poppit Sands and Broadhaven North (Blue Flag); Abereiddy, Freshwater East, Manorbier, Penally, Caerfai, Druidstone and West Angle Bay (Green Coast).

The Ceredigion beaches named are: Borth, Llangrannog, Tresaith (Blue Flag); Aberystwyth South, Aberystwyth North, New Quay Harbour, Clarach, New Quay North (Seaside Award); Cilborth, Llanrhystud, Mwnt, Penbryn (Green Coast).

TOURISM BUSINESSES SHOW GROWING CONFIDENCE AHEAD OF 2026 CEREMONY

VISIT PEMBROKESHIRE has reported a sharp rise in applications for its 2026 Croeso Awards, in what organisers say reflects growing confidence across the county’s tourism and hospitality sector.

The annual awards, which celebrate excellence in Pembrokeshire’s visitor economy, will return to the Atrium at Pembrokeshire College on Thursday, October 29.

Organisers say applications have risen by around a third compared with the 2024 awards, following efforts to encourage wider participation from businesses across the county.

This year’s scheme was opened to all tourism businesses in Pembrokeshire, not just members of Visit Pembrokeshire, with no application fee and free tickets for finalists.

The Croeso Awards are also linked to an eight-month mentoring programme run in partnership with The Celtic Collection and Pembrokeshire College, aimed at giving students practical experience and industry guidance as they prepare for careers in tourism and hospitality.

Emma Thornton, chief executive of Visit Pembrokeshire, said: “The increase in entries this year is hugely encouraging and demonstrates the passion, resilience and innovation that exists across our tourism industry. We wish all applicants the very best of luck.”

She added that while many familiar businesses continue to support the awards, organisers are keen to highlight the wider range of tourism operators helping to create memorable visitor experiences across Pembrokeshire.

With applications now closed, independent judges from outside Pembrokeshire will assess entries across 17 categories before finalists are announced on July 1.

The awards ceremony will take place later this year, recognising businesses that continue to help drive one of Pembrokeshire’s most important industries.

Welsh Water says wider environmental factors, including private systems and run-off, can affect bathing water quality

HENRY TUFNELL MP has demanded urgent answers from Welsh Water following concerns over water quality at Tenby and Lydstep Haven.

The Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP has written to Roch Cheroux, chief executive of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, after reports that a young boy had been hospitalised with sickness and diarrhoea after swimming in the sea at Tenby.

He also referred to a Natural Resources Wales no-swim alert at Lydstep Haven on Wednesday (May 6), with warning signs still reportedly in place on Monday (May 11).

Mr Tufnell described the situation as “extremely concerning” and said pollution incidents could affect public health, local businesses and Pembrokeshire’s tourism economy.

He said: “A situation like this has serious implications for our local economy, which relies heavily on tourism, particularly during the summer months when visitors rightly – and wisely – come to enjoy Pembrokeshire’s beaches.”

He added that such incidents could prevent residents from safely enjoying local bathing waters and deter visitors from coming to the county.

Welsh Water response

Welsh Water said water quality was affected by a range of environmental sources, and said there had been no storm overflow spills in the North Tenby area in the weeks leading up to the sample dates which led to its bathing water classification moving from Excellent to Good.

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “At North Tenby, the classification moved from Excellent to Good following the results of samples taken during July and August.

“These samples are collected by NRW and test for two different types of bacteria. These bacteria can originate from a range of environmental sources, and it is important to note that there were no storm overflow spills in this area in the weeks leading up to the dates those samples were taken.

“Improving water quality is a shared challenge, and progress will only come through coordinated action across sectors. Factors such as rural land use, urban runoff, industry, soil erosion, illegal misconnections and private septic systems all play a part.

“We are committed to playing our role. We are currently investing more than £2.3 million a day to improve our services, including £2.5 billion between 2025 and 2030 to deliver environmental improvements across Wales.”

The Herald understands Welsh Water has previously indicated that the Lydstep issue relates to a private sewer and is not connected to Welsh Water assets or operations.

Wider concern

The intervention comes amid growing concern over the condition of Pembrokeshire’s rivers and bathing waters.

As The Herald has reported, volunteers involved in The Cleddau Project were recently given a stark warning over the decline of the Cleddau rivers at a meeting in HaverHub.

Professor Paul Withers, of Lancaster University, presented two years of citizen science monitoring data gathered across the Cleddau catchment, with those present told that major changes would be needed to restore the rivers to good ecological health.

The issue has become increasingly sensitive in Pembrokeshire, where clean seas and rivers are central not only to public health and wildlife, but also to tourism, hospitality and the wider coastal economy.

Mr Tufnell’s letter now places further pressure on Welsh Water and other agencies to explain what is being done to protect residents, visitors and businesses ahead of the summer season.

CLARIFICATION

Following publication, Natural Resources Wales contacted The Herald to clarify that bathing water classifications are based on four years of sampling data, rather than a single season or isolated results. NRW said Tenby North Beach’s classification change from Excellent to Good was determined using bathing water samples collected during the May to September season and assessed alongside the previous three years of results. NRW also noted that 25 of Pembrokeshire’s 29 designated bathing waters achieved the highest “Excellent” classification for the 2026 bathing season. However, the concerns raised in this opinion piece relate to wider public confidence in water quality, including rivers, streams, pollution incidents and the cumulative pressures facing Pembrokeshire’s environment.