In the corner of Pembrokeshire in Milford Haven sits a Fort about 1 mile off the coast! Stack Rock Fort is a pretty impressive thing to see and it is viewable via the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path that runs along this beautiful coastline and beyond.
I saw Stack Rock Fort on Instagram and was amazed by this abandoned-looking place. Although this doesn’t seem to be a really well known and popular place to visit in Pembrokeshire, I was keen to head to the viewpoint and see what shots I could get of it with my drone and I really enjoyed doing the walk to Stack Fort Rock.
Stack Fort Rock
So in this Wales travel blog I’m going to give you information on how to see Stack Rock Fort, how to visit Stack Rock Fort and where the viewpoint is for Stack Rock Fort so you can see this amazing piece of history too!
Stack Rock Fort History
I’ll quickly touch on the history of Stack Rock Fort as it is very interesting.
Stack Rock Fort is a 19th Century Palmerston Fort built between 1850 and 1852, and upgraded in 1859. It is now a grade 2 listed building and is currently not used for any activities.
It was first proposed by Thomas Cromwell in 1539 to protect the waterway, proposals were also made in 1748 and 1817 however it was not finally approved and started until 1850! The aim of it was to defend Pembroke Dock and The Royal Dockyard.
From it’s completion in 1852 until 1929 it was armed by men who used it as their accommodation too.
What I find fascinating is the prices it has been sold for in the past!
When it was disarmed in 1929, Stack Rock Fort was sold for £160.00! In 2005 it was sold for £150,000 and in 2020 it was sold again with an auction price of £295,000 to a private seller.
What is the future of Stack Rock Fort?
According to Stack Rock Fort CIC they have a dream to develop it into a venue and activity centre for leisure and tourism and are currently funding money for this development. I can’t imagine this happening for quite some time though, so for now, visiting from the footpath viewpoint is the only way you can see it!
How do you get to Stack Rock Fort in Pembrokeshire?
Stack Rock Fort is accessible via boat only, however you cannot access it without the owners permission as it is private property.
Therefore, the way to get to Stack Rock Fort is via the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path where you can see a pretty good view of it and an even better view if you take a drone as I did!
- Here are more of my Pembrokeshire posts to help you see more of this beautiful area:
- How To Visit the Bosherston Lilly Ponds in Pembrokeshire!
- 10 Things To Do In Broad Haven and Nearby in Pembrokeshire!
- 13 Top Things To Do in Saundersfoot Near Tenby!
- How to Get to Barafundle Bay from Stackpole Quay!
- How to visit St Govan’s Chapel! A Hidden Chapel in Pembrokeshire!
Stack Rock Fort Directions
Stack Rock Fort is located in Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire so drive towards Milford Haven.
I wanted to park in the closest town or village I could see on the map so I parked at Gelliswick which was a great place to start the Stack Rock Fort walk as this is where the closest road seems to end.
Note that you can start this walk from other towns or villages along this part of the coast as you need to take the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path to see Stack Rock Fort which runs the whole way around the coast, it just depends how long you want your walk to be.
Stack Rock Fort Parking
I drove through Gelliswick, along Gelliswick Road and parked up along Gelliswick Beach where there are quite a few parking spots.
Gelliswick Beach and Bay is a nice place to visit and to the side is Hubberston Fort which is another place you can visit whilst also seeing Stack Rock Fort!
Walk to Stack Rock Fort & Viewpoint
The walk from Gelliswick Beach to the point where Stack Rock Fort is in front of you in the sea is about 1.2miles and took me about 30 minutes to walk. It is a relatively easy walk with a few inclines and declines but nothing too steep.
From Gelliswick Beach follow the road around to the left. The road is a small country lane with some houses alongside it. I was instantly jealous of the people living in these houses with the amazing view they have over the ocean!
Very soon this road becomes a footpath and part of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path to Stack Rock Fort.
Stack Rock Fort comes into sight pretty quickly and it’s amazing to see it in the distance from the footpath, it also looks pretty close but you still have a 1 mile walk or so to go!
The next thing you will come upon is South Hook Terminal which I believe is for oil. The pier that runs from the terminal into the ocean is pretty impressive to see.
Here the footpath brings you out onto a small beach, you walk along the sand and then up some steps back onto the footpath.
Continue along the footpath straight and eventually you with be at the nearest point to where you can see Stack Rock Fort from.
As you can see from my images, I managed to take good shots using my phone but the drone was definitely the most impressive way to see the Fort and thankfully flying the drone here is allowed and there are no ‘no drone flying’ areas nearby.
Can you Visit Stack Rock Fort?
Currently, you cannot visit Stack Rock Fort. It is only accessible via boat access and it is privately owned. The best way to see Stack Rock Fort is to walk along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path from Gelliswick and view it from the viewpoint.
Enjoy your time seeing Stack Rock Fort!
- For more of my Pembrokeshire blog posts see:
- Beaches in Pembrokeshire You Can See in ONE DAY!
- How to Walk from Saundersfoot to Tenby!
- 13 Top Things To Do in Saundersfoot!
- How to Get to Barafundle Bay. Barafundle Bay Walk from Stackpole Quay!
- 10 Things To Do In Broad Haven and Nearby in Pembrokeshire!
- How To Visit the Bosherston Lilly Ponds in Pembrokeshire!
Miles
Wednesday 29th of May 2024
Thanks for this just what I was looking for! I'm going to have a look at this and hopefully fly the drone out to it in a couple of weeks.