St. Brides, Pembrokeshire

Remote and unspoilt, the Pembrokeshire peninsula surely ranks among Europe's most magnificent and varied coastlines.  A castle on the shores of St. Brides Bay and overlooking the Irish Sea was going to be our home for a week with Caroline, Mike and darling Chloe.

We broke our journey for lunch at the White Hart Inn, Llanddarog, Carmarthen SA32 8NT.  What a find - an oddity for west Wales, a thatched pub whose low-beamed rooms oozed charm.  Real log fires, real homemade pies and real beers (home brewed). (Closed on Wednesdays).

We stopped to collect our Click and Collect Groceries at Tesco Haverfordwest, which worked out really well  (our first internet order) and arrived at St. Brides at 3.30 p.m.  Chloe arrived shortly afterwards and had been a really good girl on the long journey from Christchurch.

The Castle in it's current form was built between 1905 and 1913 for the Kensington family.  It was sold in 1920 and became a TB Hospital, initially for children and then for both children and adults.  The hospital closed in 1978 and was then converted in 1983 into luxury holiday flats.  It was taken over by the Holiday Property Bond in 1991 and now has holiday makers staying all year round.  It is an attractive building set on a high point of land, and the views from the castle back along the coast in an easterly direction are wonderful.  A Magnificent setting!

                                                       Chloe at the entrance

                                                          Look behind you!

                                                            Quiet five minutes in the Library

There is a bowling green and Mike discovered he really likes this game.  So much so he didn't notice this beautiful view through the archway.

We visited The Deer Park at Marloes Peninsula (no deer) with wonderful views of Skomer, with Midland Isle in the foreground.

Between Midland Isle and the Deer Park runs Jack Sound, a formidable shallow tidal channel with a tidal race.  The Deer Park is one of the best places in the area to see Chough, a cliff-dwelling member of the crow family with a bright red curved bill and red legs.  But beware - not all large black birds are Choughs - there are also Ravens and also plenty of Crows and Jackdaws.

The small inaccessible beaches around Deer Park are a good place to see breeding Grey Seals.  From August onwards most small beaches will host one or two small, white, furry baby seals which soon grow into grey balls of blubber!  We were very lucky to see several baby seals.

Looking for seals...

Can you spot Mummy and Baby seal....... (Click on photo to enlarge).

On Wednesday we decided to visit Folly Farm an adventure park and zoo, with lots of indoor and outdoor areas, plus farm and zoo animals, even an old fashioned funfair. We were pleased to find out we could use our Tesco Clubcard points toward the entrance cost.  Once we were in Chloe loved it.

In the barn Chloe could interact with small animals and even milked a cow! Aww.

Lots of places to pet the animals (and hand washing).

A tractor kept Chloe and Mike very happy.

Amimals galore, even giraffes, which Chloe loved.  Kept saying long necks.

The penguinj enclosure was superb as you could view them both on top and under the water.  We also watched them being fed with lots and lots of fish at 2 p.m.

Whilst we were in Pembrokeshire the warm weather came to an abrupt end as northerly winds brought a 10c drop in temperatures.  By Thursday top temperatures struggled to 11 - 12C not so unusual for this time of year, though the wind chill made it feel bitter.  At least Pembrokeshire was bright, with some glorious blue skies - it was raining at home.

Chloe decided to stay cosy and watch The Gruffalo's Child.

and then we went for a swim in the lovely pool.

It was warmer on Friday so we decided to head for Tenby, a lovely walled Victorian town.

South Beach in Tenby is a real beauty spot in the Pembrokeshire Coastline.  Two kilometres of golden sand backed by sand dunes with views towards Caldey Island.  Mike and Phil enjoyed kite flying whilst the girls collected shells.

The lovely harbour at Tenby.

Absolutely scrummy fish and chips from Feccis.  Sitting on a bench with some of the best views in Tenby. This was followed by a pint of Phil's favourite Brains Beer in a nearby pub.

Back at St. Brides.  I used to love visiting the beach as a child with my family and exploring all of the rockpools in low tide.  It seemed only fitting then that we would share this experience with Chloe and I bought her a bright pink net.  It was wonderful......to see the intensity on her face as she foraged with Daddy through pools of water.  

Our Beach Baby loved the rock pools at the delightfully sheltered cove. just down from St. Brides Castle and, with the help of Daddy, caught a crab, a large shrimp and a small shrimp.

In addition to the cove St. Brides also has an attractive little church built from 1291 onwards.  In a delightful setting, it has a fine timbered roof and many stained glass windows.  The ladies were just taking down the Harvest Festival decorations which looked wonderful.  There is also a mediaeval cemetery.

On Sunday Caroline and Mike very kindly treated us to Sunday lunch at The Swan, Little Haven with glorious views across St. Bride's Bay.  We trekked up the cobbled path to reach the lovely old Swan

and the food was delicious. (www.theswanlittlehaven.co.uk).

An excellent holiday.  Thank you Chloe for your company.

Joan's 85th birthday lunch

Today was a very special day for Joan .....................she was celebrating her 85th birthday.

Joan and Richard invited "the swimmers" to a delicious lunch at The Highwayman in Eversley.

John and Julia arrived from Somerset to help celebrate.

and Julia did a beautiful flower arrangement for the table.

                                                                Sylvia and Ron:-

                                                                  Geoff and Jackie:-

                                                        and last but not lest:-  us

                                                           Cheers Joan and Congratulations.

                 Fiona Cairns' (Royal Cakemaker) Beautiful Butterflies Birthday Cake.

Research has shown that Birthdays are good for you, the more you have the longer you live.
Happy 85th Birthday Joan and many happy returns.

                                          The cake was delicious.

As people around the world continue to search for the fountain of youth.  Joan has found it at Wellington where she swims or does Aqua Aerobics nearly every day for at least one hour.  Well done Joan.

Houses of Parliament tour, Borough Market and The Globe visit.

Alun and Gemma very kindly gave us theatre vouchers for a Christmas present and we decided to use these to visit the Globe Theatre.  Whilst in London we decided to start the day off with a guided tour inside one of the world's most iconic buildings.

                                                 
Big Ben as we emerged from the Tube at Westminster, and Oliver Cromwell.

Our tour of the Houses of Parliament was due to start at 11.00 a.m.

Just before the tour begins in the 900 year old Westminster Hall.

Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed passed this point.

The tour was guided by a very knowledgable guide who shared with us the history and grandeur of both the buildings and the history that has been made within these walls.  As I said no photographs allowed inside and if you sit down, especially in the House of Lords, you will be shot!!!

But wow, the architecture and interiors of the Palace of Westminster are quite incredible, the details, the painstaking craftmanship (apparently the designer went mad).

As the house was not sitting we were able to stand amongst the benches and touch the leather.  The seats are the same as in your Bentley at home!  Red in the House of Lords and green in the House of Commons.
It was an amazing feeling to be right at the heart of government.

I now understand how Parliament works, including some very weird and ancient customs.

The tour started by following the route taken by The Queen at the State Opening of Parliament; from The Queen's Robing Room, through the Royal Gallery and Prince's Chamber, into the majestic Lords Chamber. Then on through Central Lobby, Members' Lobby and one of the voting lobbies before entering the Commons Chamber then passing through St. Stephen's Hall and ending back in the old Westminster Hall, where Guy Fawkes and King Charles 1 were tried and where Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama have addressed Parliament in recent years.

An excellent tour.  I will now have to contact my MP to take me on a more indepth tour, including climbing Big Ben and, maybe, have a drink on the terrace overlooking the Thames.  Also want to Green Card him!

Now it was back to the Underground and on to London Bridge to visit Borough Market for lunch.  We didn't have long so we grabbed a quick bite to eat from one of the food stalls.  The market is next to Southwark Cathedral and offers some of the best food in London and at reasonable prices. It is only a 5 minute walk from the Globe Theatre.

A delicious lunch and on to the Globe Theatre.

I have wanted to do this for a long time, so thank you Alun, Gemma and Emmie for our present, and nothing could have made it more perfect than seeing my favourite Shakespearian play.  A Midsummer Night's Dream.

We had wonderful seats G3 and 4 in the Upper Gallery with a fantastic view of the stage.

No photographs allowed whilst the Actors are on stage.

The play itself was amazing.  The acting was superb.  We were grateful to have seats because it was raining at the beginning of the show and the roof covered us.  I was also glad we rented cushions because the seats are hard wood.

To participate in a Shakespeare production at the Globe is to truly participate - the intimacy of the theatre means the actors feed heavily off the crowd (especially the pit).

This is the way theatre was in Elizabethan times and you can really feel the magic that the theatre was then.
Tragedy or comedy - just get some tickets and go.  Even if you are not a fan of the Bard, the experience is a must.

Seats can be hard but hire a cushion.  Sounds a bit rough?  Can be.....but this is a replica of what it was like and if you go with it, it is an experience you won't forget.

After sitting for three hours we needed to stretch our legs and backs so after the play we walked down the Jubilee Walkway towards the London Eye and Westminster Bridge.

We stopped at the Tate for a quick visit, it closed at 6 p.m. ( next door to the Globe and a good idea to use the toilets here instead of queuing for hours!)

Wonderful view of St. Pauls from the balcony at the Tate.

                                          Could almost be a painting.

The Founders Arms is a nice place to stop along the Jubilee Walkway for a drink with superb views.

And then we reached Westminster Bridge where our wonderful day began.