Castlemartin covers about 5,900 acres (2,390 ha) of freehold land on the South Pembrokeshire coast within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The War Office requisitioned the area in 1938 from the Cawdor Estate, and many ruins of the former settlements that belonged to the 53 farming communities, which had to be relocated, can still be seen. The land was returned to farming after the Second World War, but in 1951 the Korean War saw its reactivation for range use, which has remained in being ever since. Farming has also continued alongside the range’s primary use with cattle, and in the winter, flocks of sheep.
A beautiful area designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Castlemartin contains a wide variety of flora, as well as some of the finest limestone coastal scenery in the National Park. It has significant archaeological and geological interest, including fossil records of international significance. Castlemartin has been preserved as a spectacular coastal landscape, and Defence Estates manages its special heritage to preserve it for future generations.