Pembrokeshire, Wales
A trip with my parents.
The last time I visited South Wales with my parents was back in the late 1970s, when I was just a child. On that occasion, we stayed in a caravan, and it rained solidly for an entire week.
Not this time…..We lucked-out big time. We booked this trip when the entire region was in the midst of a heatwave.
Our base for the week was a two-bedroom apartment in a beautifully restored manor house, perched on the hillside with sweeping views over St. Brides Bay.
There wasn’t much of an itinerary going in, mainly due to the famously unpredictable weather along the Pembrokeshire coast. But with high pressure settled firmly over the UK, we were treated to day after day of uninterrupted sunshine and blue skies.
Exploring the coast
Each morning began with a relaxed breakfast and a quick glance at the weather apps, just to confirm which side of the peninsula looked sunniest, before heading out by car to explore a stretch of the coastal path.
Below is a selection of the beaches we visited over the week. There are so many more gorgeous places further along and in-between, we could have easily stayed much longer!
Aberfforest Beach
Now this beach was a gem of a find. Difficult to get to, down a single track road with precious little parking at the end, but well worth the effort.
Behind the beach is a footpath along a stream, leading to stepping stones and a beautiful waterfall.
Newport – Parrog
Ceibwr Bay
Poppit Sands
Now this place has a picture post card beach with gorgeous white sands.
Nolton Haven
.and I went in for a dip here. It was bracing this time of year.
Solva
Puffins and seabirds galore
We took a boat trip across to Skomer and Skokholm Islands, famous for bird wildlife and healthy fish population.
This was the one thing we booked in advance, so we kept our fingers crossed for good weather – Lady Luck was on our side.
After a late breakfast and lazy morning, we headed off on a short 20 minute journey to Martin’s Haven. We parked the car in Lockley Lodge visitor centre, the ‘National Trust’ car park.
Now we knew there would be plenty of birds to see on this excursion, but we weren’t prepared for the volume we were about to encounter.
As we crossed Jacks Sound, the bird calls tangibly increased, and the skies filled with birds hunting relentlessly for food, both for themselves and their offspring. This island is home to thousands of Puffin, Fulmar, Guillemot and Razorbill, along with countless other species. Most come here to roost and return to exactly the same spot year on year. It’s why this place is so important.
The strong and treacherous currents in between the mainland and islands have proved to be an impregnable barrier to predatory mammals, and as a result these islands are packed full of sea birds.
…and lucky for us, we came at the right time of year to witness the back end of the Puffin breeding season.
It was the first time many of us had seen Puffins close up.
No shortage of seals here too…
St.Davids Cathedral – Britains smallest city.
St.Davids Cathedral was on our “must-so” list of places to visit, and although we thought it was going to be a treat, it exceeded all of our expectations.
The Cathedral is huge with tonnes of history. It sits beside the ruins of the Bishops Palace, which must have been magnificent in its day.
For the very first time, the first bible written in Welsh in 1588 was on display in the cathedral’s library when we visited. Indeed it’s the first time it has been out of Westminster Abbey.
We stayed longer than we had planned…. awesome place. Great memories, despite the car park app overcharging me by x10…
St. Brides Bay
The Manor House we were staying in overlooks St.Brides Bay, and sits right on the coastal path. So most days we explored what was on offer just around the corner from our base.
Some days Emma and I explored places on our own, other days with my parents.
And on one occasion we popped down to the clifftop to watch sunset with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate Emma’s birthday which happened a few weeks ago.
The coast here is stunning and the water crystal clear.
It’s an ideal base to explore the entire region, and we lucked out with the weather.
Hints and Tips
Accommodation: We stayed at at Holiday Property Bond venue again, which has all the home comforts you could wish for. The venue cost us approx £600 for the week for the four of us, (which works out at just over £21 per person per night) and included access to the swimming pool, sauna, steam room, games room and a plethora of other facilities including a nice little restaurant.
