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.
so cute
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