These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Note that our writer visited pre-pandemic.
Untamed, underrated, and ripe for adventure
If you think Wales is all drizzle and sheep-grazed hills, you need to go further west. In Cardigan Bay’s southwestern crook, Pembrokeshire is an instant heart-stealer. Here, purple-grained cliffs fall abruptly to golden bays, caves, and rock stacks lashed by the Irish Sea. There are mood-lifting views as you ramble through kissing gates, over stiles and across gorse-clad headlands on the 186-mile coastal path; and enthralling wildlife on islands where puffins, dolphins, porpoises and grey seals are often spotted.
North of cathedral-topped St Davids, where Wales’s patron saint was born 1,500 years ago, single-track lanes twist to off-the-radar coves and whitewashed taverns with vast sea views and just-caught fish on the menu. Adventure, you say? You’ll find it kayaking or coasteeering around the rugged coastline, surfing on the broad sands of Freshwater or Newgale, or striding into the heather-brushed moors of the Preseli Hills in search of ancient hill forts and standing stones.
48 hours in . . . Pembrokeshire
Day one
MORNING
Launch your coastal road trip in the cheerful seaside town of Tenby, where Georgian townhouses in chalk-box pastels rim the harbour. Grab an ice cream cone down by the seafront, then head down to cliff-backed Castle Beach – a fine scoop of golden sand that does a vanishing act at high tide. At low tide, you can walk across to St Catherine’s Island, with its cake-topper of a Victorian fortress.
Boats depart from the harbour to the more peaceful Caldey Island, home to around a dozen Cistercian monks who live in the monastery. Though the island itself is off-limits until 2021 due to Covid-19, boat trips get you close to its hidden bays and wildlife (including sizeable populations of grey seals and cormorants). Return to Tenby for lunch at the nicely chilled SandBar (Upper Frog Street; 01834 844068), an ultra-cool combination of locally brewed craft beer and region-driven street food courtesy of Cŵlbox. Tropical-tasting IPAs pair well with light bites like cod tostada with crumbled feta, aioli and lime, and mains like Tenby lobster with dirty fries.
Credit:
Billy Stock
AFTERNOON
Driving 30 minutes to the west, you’ll reach Stackpole, where you can park and take a half-mile walk over cliffs and dunes to pinch-yourself pretty Barafundle Bay on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. This golden curve of sand, which shelves into clear turquoise water, regularly ranks highly in polls of Britain’s best beaches. If you’re visiting in summer, drive a few minutes westwards to see dragonflies skimming across the Bosherton Lily Ponds.
A 15-minute pootle northwards brings you to Carew Castle: originally a Norman motte and bailey, later an Elizabethan mansion, and now highly romantic ruins (pre-booking is essential). Take the mile-long walk to the beautifully preserved tidal mill, then veer west along the coastal road that fringes crescent-shaped St Brides Bay. In the evening, you can spy sunset from the quaint fishing village of Solva, perhaps over a pint on the terrace of the quayside Harbour Inn (Main Street; 01437 720013).
Credit:
JAMES OSMOND
LATE
Your base for the night is the coastal honeypot of St Davids, the UK’s dinkiest city, which is home to just 1,800 lucky souls. Book ahead for dinner at Blas (Ffordd Caerfai; 01437 725 555), a dark, sexy restaurant at the minimalist Twr Y Felin Hotel. You can eye up a collection of street art over seasonally inspired dishes sprinkled with foraged ingredients and delivered with panache, along the lines of meltingly tender lamb hen of the woods, black garlic and roasted onion.
Nightlife in St Davids is deliberately low-key, but on warm nights there’s quite a buzz on the patio at the back of The Farmers Arms (16 Goat Street; 01437 721666) – and occasional live music and jam sessions at Oriel Y Parc (High Street; 01437 720 392), the visitor and cultural centre.
Credit:
Huw Jones
Day two
MORNING
Begin your day sweetly over coffee and seaweed brownies at The Really Wild Emporium (24 High Street; 01437 721755), where avid foragers Julia and John have revamped an Art Deco building into St Davids’ coolest café. Then make your way across to mighty medieval St Davids Cathedral, a riot of soaring stone pillars and intricate coffered ceilings. Pilgrims have flocked here for centuries to glimpse the shrine that allegedly contains the bones of Welsh hero and patron St David, who was born here in the 6th century.
After a mooch around art galleries in town – such as Goat Street Gallery (28 Goat Street; 01437 721119), housed in a former chapel – get some fresh sea air on the magnificent hour-long circular walk around St David’s Head. The ragged, gorse-draped cliffs offer stirring views of Ramsey Island, and lead to an Iron Age hill fort and Neolithic burial chamber.
Credit:
ASHLEY COOPER
AFTERNOON
Stop in Abereiddy, a few miles north, to see the startlingly turquoise Blue Lagoon in a flooded former slate quarry, before pushing slightly north for a fresh-as-it-comes seafood lunch at The Shed (01348 831518) in Porthgain. The crab sandwiches are excellent.
Follow this with a pint of local ale (try the malty, subtly hopped Felinfoel Double Dragon craft ale) at nautically themed tavern The Sloop (01348 831449), right opposite. From here it’s approximately a half-hour drive north to Strumble Head, a lonely, wind-battered headland, with expansive sea views and gulls swooping over the lighthouse.
Drive on through Fishguard to ravishing Dinas Island, where a National Trust three-mile circular walk leads over sheer wildflower-studded cliffs that plummet to smuggler’s coves straight out of a Famous Five novel. In spring, you might see puffins returning to these shores at Needle Rock.
LATE
Stay the night in the laid-back coastal town of Newport, its high street lined with cottages, galleries and cafés. Top billing here goes to Llys Meddyg (East Street; 01239 820 008), a Georgian coaching inn turned rustic-chic restaurant with rooms. Sip a cocktail (the Garden Mint Mojito is fabulously fresh) in the garden if the weather permits – or by the inglenook fireplace in the wood-panelled bar if it doesn’t. Foraged ingredients give dishes a unique twist: think home-smoked salmon with pickled cucumber and seabeets, and wood-fired rib-eye steak with Hispi cabbage, turnip, vanilla and pennywort.
For a nightcap, hop in a taxi for the 10-minute drive back to Fishguard, where pubs like The Royal Oak (Market Square; 01348 218632) regularly host Celtic folk bands.
Where to stay . . .
Luxury Living
Rising high on a rocky outcrop above sloping lawns, just inland from the wave-battered sands of Newgale, Roch Castle manages the delicate act of putting a minimalist imprint on a 900-year-old Norman castle near the sea. Bearing the hallmark of Wales-born architect Keith Griffiths, its interiors are luxurious yet understated, with masculine colours and specially commissioned contemporary art. Most of the rooms have nods to the castle’s history and panoramic views far out to sea across St Brides Bay.
Double rooms from £153. Roch, near Haverfordwest; 01437 725588
Boutique Bolthole
Owners Ed and Louise Skyes have done a terrific job of putting their own novel stamp on the Grade II-listed Georgian coaching inn that houses Llys Meddyg, without losing a jot of historic character. Expect painted wainscoting, sheepskin rugs, reclaimed wood furnishings, and works by local artists. Blankets from nearby woollen mill Melin Tregwynt add pops of colour in each of the eight rooms.
Doubles from £120. East Street, Newport; 01239 820008
Budget Beauty
Slebech Park, a Georgian manor on the shores of an estuary, is renowned for its enchanting views, stylishly understated rooms, and restaurant brimming with home-grown produce. Exposed stone, wood, high ceilings and warm hues give it Italianate flair, as do the olive trees on the sun terrace. Delve into the grounds and you’ll find compelling church ruins, hidden tunnels and walled gardens.
Double rooms from £95. Haverfordwest; 01437 752000
What to bring home . . .
Stop off at The Bug Farm (Lower Harglodd Farm; 07966 956357) on the fringes of St Davids for imaginative riffs on nature-themed local art, crafts and one-of-a-kind bug treats like chocolate-chip cricket cookies and orange-and-laverbread buffalo insect biscuits (way yummier than they sound). Stay for lunch at the excellent, insect-themed Grub Kitchen.
Glam up your home with a rug, throw or super-soft lambswool blanket from one of the last remaining working mills in Wales, the Solva Woollen Mill (Middle Mill, Solva; 01437 721112), which still uses Dobcross looms designed in the 1800s.
When to go . . .
Pembrokeshire is wilder and wetter during the winter months, with gusty westerlies making it feel even chillier at times. If you get lucky, spring can be a terrific time to visit, with mild weather and everywhere erupting prettily with blossom and wildflowers.
Summer is best for camping trips and water-based activities like swimming, surfing and coasteering, but this being Wales, you should still expect the odd shower. Avoid school holidays to snag better deals and sidestep the crowds. Autumn can be lovely, with the odd golden day for quiet rambles in the Preseli Hills and along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
Know before you go . . .
Essential information
Tourist board information: visitpembrokeshire.com
Emergency fire and ambulance: 999 or 112
Emergency police: 999 or 112
The basics
Journey time: Approximately five hours by train from London Paddington
Currency: Pound sterling (GBP; £)
International dialling code: +44
Local laws and etiquette
There is a decent public transport network, with coastal buses connecting major towns and holiday destinations. There are a few different companies serving different sections of the coast, among them the Poppit Rocket and Puffin Shuttle. These run seven days a week from May to September, and twice weekly at other times. Check bus timetables here.
Pembrokeshire’s minor roads are beautiful, but they can be slow (thanks to tractors, stray sheep, pootling holidaymakers… you name it) – especially during peak season. Patience might also be needed when finding a parking space.
Author bio
Based in the hills of Mid Wales, Kerry seizes every opportunity she can to head west to Pembrokeshire – where she’s in her element hiking on the coastal path, leaping off cliffs coasteering, or cooing over the puffins on Skomer.
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