Any recommendations for Pembrokeshire ?

Any recommendations for Pembrokeshire ?

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RedLCRB0b

Original Poster:

2,205 posts

243 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
We are staying in a cottage on the St.Davids peninsular in August so I'm busy looking for interesting things for us (2 adults, 2 children ages 9 and 13) to do. Does anyone have any recommendations ?

Cheers
Bob

(cross posted from the holidays and travel forum)

Red111

1,392 posts

196 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
RedLCRB0b said:
We are staying in a cottage on the St.Davids peninsular in August so I'm busy looking for interesting things for us (2 adults, 2 children ages 9 and 13) to do. Does anyone have any recommendations ?

Cheers
Bob

(cross posted from the holidays and travel forum)
There are loads as well as great beaches, few examples Oakwood http://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/, Folley Farm (it's still okay for a 13 year old.....just)http://www.folly-farm.co.uk/ and Heatherton http://www.heatherton.co.uk/ to start.

pwd95

8,397 posts

244 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
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Carew Castle is a great place to see......



The history there is immense. Also has a very early tidal damn. very interesting, thumbup

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&...

Pembroke Castle is great too. yes

cen

593 posts

241 months

Friday 30th July 2010
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Oakwood park worth a day out for the young ones;

http://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/home/default.asp

Like previously stated there are many great beaches in Pembrokeshire, Dolphin watch week in Cardigan Bay 7th August onwards

LuS1fer

41,566 posts

251 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
RedLCRB0b said:
We are staying in a cottage on the St.Davids peninsular in August so I'm busy looking for interesting things for us (2 adults, 2 children ages 9 and 13) to do. Does anyone have any recommendations ?

Cheers
Bob

(cross posted from the holidays and travel forum)
Go to Rhoose airport and catch a plane? wink

jmorgan

36,010 posts

290 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
Porthgain might be worth a visit for crab sandwiches (if they still do them, caught locally) and very picturesque. Bit of a coast walk as well.

They used to do various activities at Broadhaven (been a few years since I have been paste there). Big big beach and wind. Chuck in a few kites and there is (was??) kite surfing, kite boarding etc. Google will probably tell you more. Sure there were a few train you and let you loose type courses around??

Edited by jmorgan on Friday 30th July 08:31

RedLCRB0b

Original Poster:

2,205 posts

243 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
Thanks for the ideas, we are looking forward to the visit now. Can anyone recommend any good pubs or restaurant's in the area (St. Davids) also are there any picturesque villages that are worth a visit. We are hoping to use the coastal footpath a lot, but if the weather is no good then it would be nice to have some backup options.

plasticpig

12,932 posts

231 months

Saturday 31st July 2010
quotequote all
Pubs with good food:

The Sloop Inn, Porthgain
The Harbour Inn, Solva
The Harp Inn, Letterston
The Wolf Inn, Wolfscastle

Restraunts:

Druidstone Hotel, Druidstone Haven
The Shed, Porthgain
The Refectory in St Davids Cathedral
The Old Pharmacy, Solva


joncon

1,446 posts

229 months

Saturday 31st July 2010
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castle martin ranges if the children like armoured vehicles, freshwater west where they filmed some of the new robin hood movie.
lots of castles in area.

Antonio 82

381 posts

212 months

Saturday 31st July 2010
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Whenever I want to show off the coast path to friends, I take them to:

1. Abereiddy towards Porthgain. There's the Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy which is popular for diving, and if you walk past that for about 15 minutes you'll have a great view of a secluded beach that is only accessible by foot.

2. Newgale towards Nolton Haven. I grew up next to Newgale and it is IMO the best beach and is worth a visit. If you're lucky you'll find loads of crabs, starfish etc in the rock pools at the south end of the beach, where there's a big car park and a small cafe.

3. Around Caerfai Beach. Just below St Davids is a pretty beach with nice views along the path.

4. The cliffs around St Govans. It’s a long way from St Davids, but well worth a visit (especially when the sea is rough as watching the waves smash the rocks is cool)! There's a hidden chapel at the bottom of the cliffs (just walk down the steps outside the car park), which would be a nice surprise for the kids. And on the way to St Govans is the village of Bosherston which has the famous Lily Ponds, which you can walk through and onto the beach at the end. And while you're in the south of Pembrokeshire, you might as well visit some of the castles other people mentioned. I think the kids will love Pembroke Castle and if they're brave (aren’t claustrophobic or suffer vertigo) take them to the top of the tower for excellent views. Oh and just to let you know that there's a toll on the Cleddau Bridge into Pembroke Dock, I think it's 75p (each way) but can't remember exactly...

5. Around Solva harbour. Park in the harbour car park and walk across the river and up the side of the hill to the top where there are great views of the harbour and small beaches on the other side.

Another attraction I recommend you try is a boat trip around Ramsey Island on a fast boat. I've always used http://thousandislands.co.uk/index.php and their ticket office is near the Cathedral in St Davids.

The picturesque villages I would say are: Solva, Little Haven and Porthgain. As others have said they all have excellent places to eat. The roads to Little Haven are very narrow and the hills are steep so take it easy, but it really is a nice place (I had lunch in The Swan last weekend, very nice).

One more tip is to pick up a copy of Coast to Coast magazine (digital copy here: http://www.pcnpa.org.uk/website/default.asp?SID=14... ) and a copy of the Pembrokeshire Visitor magazine (they're both free). You should find them in most little shops / pubs or just pick them up at the tourist info centre in Haverfordwest opposite Wilkinsons, near the bus station.

RedLCRB0b

Original Poster:

2,205 posts

243 months

Saturday 31st July 2010
quotequote all
Wow - some great recommendations there, thanks everyone I'm sure we are going to have a great time smile

Bob

BountyHunter

1,050 posts

200 months

Sunday 1st August 2010
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Pembertons Chocolate Factory is well worth a visit
http://www.welshchocolatefarm.com/

GLLHG

155 posts

172 months

Sunday 1st August 2010
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It's a bit more South Pembs than St David's and there is a walk from the car park but Barafundle Bay is well worth a look if the weather is good
If you're going towards Castlemartin and St Govan's a quick stop off at the Bosherston Lily Ponds is worth it

I know it might be difficult with the kids, but Cresswell Quay is a good place for a drink and a packet o' crisps!
Regards

joncon

1,446 posts

229 months

Sunday 1st August 2010
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those lilly ponds are well worth a day, and the path goes down to a great beach .

Oi_Oi_Savaloy

2,314 posts

266 months

Monday 2nd August 2010
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I'd also recommend Cresswell Quay (near er, Narberth) and also Lawrenny Quay. They aren't on the tourist maps as such but are on the tidal river with plenty of parking and character pubs (especially Cresswell Quay). It's like a time warp. Lovely.

Barafundel beach is also cool (you have to walk to it - about 1km from the car park but so worth it. One of the nicest beaches in West Wales.

RedLCRB0b

Original Poster:

2,205 posts

243 months

Saturday 28th August 2010
quotequote all
Well we are back from a fantastic week in Pembrokeshire. It is a very nice part of the country, very much like parts of Devon/Cornwall but so much quieter ! Thanks to all the suggestions, we had a very busy week and the weather was pretty good for us. We loved Porthgain, a very interesting walk over to the quarry and a nice lunch in the Sloop Inn. We had a great day at Solva, a fantastic lunch at 'The Old Pharmacy' - the food was very very good and much cheaper than expected (8 of us ate their and the bill came to £73 !). Crab fishing off the harbour wall kept the children (and adults) occupied for must of the afternoon.
No one mentioned Whitesands Bay beach, which we thought was a great beach as it had everything you need (sand, see, rock pools, ice creams). We finished the week off with a mackerel fishing trip from St.Justinians which we followed up with BBQing the catch in the evening.
Pembertons Chocolate factory was a bit of a let down, we were expecting more having looked at the web site.

Some of the roads around there are quite nice although I couldn't really play properly as I had the family on board wink

The only downside (apart from having to come home) is that I may be receiving my first speeding points courtesy of a 'safety van' positioned on one of the bridges just before Cardiff - fingers crossed that he was concentrating more on the cars overtaking me in the outside lane !

Thanks again for all the suggestions, we will definitely be heading back to Wales at some point smile

DieselGriff

5,160 posts

265 months

Saturday 28th August 2010
quotequote all
RedLCRB0b said:
The only downside (apart from having to come home) is that I may be receiving my first speeding points courtesy of a 'safety van' positioned on one of the bridges just before Cardiff - fingers crossed that he was concentrating more on the cars overtaking me in the outside lane !
Sorry to hear this - the locals tend to know where the parasites lurk so know what to look for. However if you were being overtaken then they would probably concentrate on those also I've yet to hear of anyone being done for less than 90 by a van.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

211 months

Wednesday 1st September 2010
quotequote all
DieselGriff said:
RedLCRB0b said:
The only downside (apart from having to come home) is that I may be receiving my first speeding points courtesy of a 'safety van' positioned on one of the bridges just before Cardiff - fingers crossed that he was concentrating more on the cars overtaking me in the outside lane !
Sorry to hear this - the locals tend to know where the parasites lurk so know what to look for. However if you were being overtaken then they would probably concentrate on those also I've yet to hear of anyone being done for less than 90 by a van.
My mrs got done at 86 a couple of years back.

Dimski

2,099 posts

205 months

Friday 3rd September 2010
quotequote all
St Govans Chapel is quite a curio, but there's not much else there.

Although, if it's nice the coastal path can be a nice walk.

RedLCRB0b

Original Poster:

2,205 posts

243 months

Sunday 19th September 2010
quotequote all
Nothing through the post, so our good memories of a great place weren't tarnished by a speed tax smile

Just to say it again, we were very impressed with Pembrokeshire and look forward to more holidays there in the future. Strangely it seems to have been on TV a lot recently with Coast, Secret Britain and Countryfile all visiting, whoever is responsible for tourism for this area is doing a very good job of raising its profile - I only hope it doesn't get too popular as part of the charm was the lack of traffic/crowded beaches.