Pembroke Dock Wales
United Kingdom
Frequently Asked Questions
In a former Royal Navy dockyard on the south bank of the Cleddau estuary, in the heart of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The town was created for exactly this: founded in 1814 around the only royal dockyard in Wales, it built warships for more than a century.
The Heritage Centre in town, then Pembroke Castle a few kilometres to the south. Taxis, local buses or excursions cover the journey in about ten minutes: it is the great historical outing of the call.
The town's surprises, housed in a former military chapel. You learn that during the Second World War Pembroke Dock was the largest military flying-boat base in the world: up to a hundred Sunderlands rode at moorings on the estuary, hunting submarines in the Atlantic.
Yes, and it is documented. It was in a hangar at Pembroke Dock that the full-size Millennium Falcon for The Empire Strikes Back was built in secret in 1979. The Heritage Centre volunteers tell the story with infectious enthusiasm, backed by photographs and first-hand accounts.
One of the most imposing fortresses in Wales, a few kilometres to the south: a huge round keep and curtain wall set on a rocky spur surrounded by water. Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, was born here in 1457. The ramparts can be walked and the rooms visited.
A natural cave hollowed out beneath the rocky spur of Pembroke Castle, reached from inside the fortress. It is an unusual touch that surprises most visitors and delights children.
Yes. This wide inland arm of the sea shapes the whole region, and crossing it by the road bridge gives sweeping views over the creeks where yachts and traditional craft moor. It is one of the finest stretches of water in Wales.
The grid of streets, the Georgian buildings and the old slipways, still legible in the fabric of the town. The royal dockyard built several royal yachts during the 19th century. The call naturally organises itself around that maritime history.
Yes, and Pembroke Castle is a large part of why: the ramparts, the keep and the cave beneath the spur stay with school-age children. The Heritage Centre appeals to anyone interested in aircraft or Star Wars.
Pound sterling; English and Welsh. Welsh is official in Wales and appears on all signage, but English is spoken everywhere. Cards work without difficulty.
