Sunday 30th July
The weather forecasters would have described the morning as partly cloudy but I would prefer the phrasing partly sunny as we were latching on to any notions of good weather that we could. Messages from home about the warm temperatures and and crowds on Bondi Beach were not helpful for us here as we experience the middle of the English summer where you can’t walk out the door without a puffer jacket and umbrella! It would be a good day for driving the 4 hours or so from Beaumaris down to Pembrokeshire though and Mark got in one last Beaumaris ride before we left, and I got out for some yoga and a walk, so we were very thankful for that.
Sunday lunches seem to be a bit of a thing in this part of the world so, being a Sunday, I had booked a Sunday Pub roast lunch at Aberystwyth which was at roughly the half way mark of our journey. I had read that this west-Wales seaside town was very picturesque and well worth the visit and, at one stage, we had thought we might try to fit this location in as a place to stay but a simple ‘visit’ ended up being the compromise.
It started to rain as we arrived into Aberystwyth so we headed straight to The Glengower Pub for lunch where Mark had the lamb and I had the pork roast. Both meals were generous and tasty but Mark’s was probably the better of the two. The continued rain put an end to any inclination we had to explore the area further so we simply set off to find our next accommodation that was located 2 hours further on in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. With vague instructions and a seemingly incomplete address we eventually managed to find the apartment and make our entry. This was a two bedroom waterfront apartment that was sourced through AirBnB and it was large, clean and well presented with great water views down the Pembrokeshire shipping channel out towards the Celtic Sea. I had thought that this part of our UK trip would be a time where we would continue to explore the nearby area a bit but, also, to take some time out to kick back and enjoy the sun and do some swimming and relaxing. The current rain and temperatures of circa 16oC didn’t bode well for the latter parts of this ambition however and the forecast for the rest of the week wasn’t much better.
I spent the afternoon of our arrival at Milford Haven enjoying the comfort of the apartment but Mark went out to explore the Marina and Pier area. We had been told there were some restaurants and cafes there but nothing was open at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon, in the middle of Summer. This was not the bustling seaside town I had envisioned and was now doubting my choice of staying here for 5 nights. We had a quiet night at the apartment watching Netflix and we mulled over some alternative options for the rest of our intended 5 day stay in Pembrokeshire.
Monday 31st July
It was lovely to wake and see that, although it was partly cloudy, the rain had cleared and I had the most beautiful view out to the water whilst having my cup of tea in bed. We got out early and went for a walk so that I could check out the scene down at the harbour front and Pier. We were surprised at how quiet it was considering this is summer and we had thought this area was a holiday destination. The whole place was deserted and a check on Google showed that, yet again, no cafes were open until 10 am. Milford Haven is completely different to what we had been expecting based on my research and it made us realize, again, how lucky we were to live in Sydney with its thriving early morning café culture.
Our plan for the first part of the day was to drive a bit further west, about 40 minutes, to the coastal area of St David’s. Mark had found a cafe just before Saint Davids, in a small village called Solva, that we were hoping might be open by our arrival time near 9 am. The cafe was Mamgu Welshcakes where, no surprises here, they sold Welsh cakes so I got to try my version of this local specialty food. I would have to say they’re a cross between a fruit pikelet and a flattened scone. I found it to be a bit dry and I noticed on the menu they serve them with ice cream and I think that would have been a very helpful addition. We would have liked to explore this area a bit more but, unfortunately, the rain had returned so that cut our visit short.
St David’s was about 10 minutes further along and, although it’s only a very small village, the main attraction was one very enormous cathedral. The Norman St David’s Cathedral was built upon the site of an earlier 6th Century Monastery and this had been built by St David, the patron saint of Wales. Despite being a small village there were quite a few interesting shops, cafes, restaurants and boutiques that looked to be a notch or two above those from where we were staying, I had been advised against staying at St David’s, due to its small size, but I would now recommend this location over our current one of Milford Haven. We spent about 90 minutes exploring the town and the Cathedral before buying some locally made pasties (Welsh oggies) for lunch which were delicious with Mark commenting that it was the best pasty he has ever had.
It was still only midday by this point so we headed back towards the apartment and then on about 20 minutes further to visit Pembroke Castle. We managed to arrive just in time for one of the free guided tours and were taken around the plot by a Welsh gentleman who had an amazing knowledge of history and who managed to spin some interesting tales around a few of the historically significant characters that had resided in the Castle during its 1000 year history. The Castle is a most imposing structure perched on the cliffs along Milford Haven craggy shore front and is historically significant for many reason but two, in particular, stood out for me:
- It was the birthplace of the first in the Tudor line of Monarchs; Harri Tudur, who became Henry VII was born here in 1457.
- William Marshall, the first Earl of Pembroke, resided in the Castle and he was responsible for issuing revised versions of the Magna Carta that, after much negotiation on William’s behalf, eventually went on to be accepted and signed. This document, in turn, went on to underpin the US Constitution.
It was a very pleasant afternoon and made more so by the fact the rain had eased as we arrived at the Castle and the sun even made an appearance. We headed home after our visit with a stop at Tesco’s for dinner supplies as we planned another night of staying in so as to make the most out of our comfortable apartment. Which leads me on to the next two paragraphs.
We had a bit of an epiphany today after more driving around the Welsh countryside. We think we had approached this region with the wrong mindset. Given that we were traveling for five months, I had looked for areas to try and stay for longer blocks of time; a minimum of three or preferably five days, but I don’t think exploring Wales suits that approach. From what we have seen so far it is the most beautiful landscape but the sites and attractions are dotted across a rather expansive landscape so that visits to the area are probably better suited to spending a night or two in one place and then moving on to the next area. It is my opinion that this approach to exploring Wales would be better suited to hotel rather than apartment stays as you would then have more flexibility and options for a morning coffee rather than waiting until 9 or 10 am when most of the cafes open.
All of this thinking then led on to us making a decision about our stay in Pembrokeshire. Whilst our apartment is absolutely lovely and very comfortable, the area is far too quiet (Mark said ‘depressing’) and nothing like we were expecting so we have decided to cut our time here to just three nights, rather than the original five, and we will move on to Cardiff for two nights before heading to our final UK stop in Bristol.
Tuesday 1st August
It was a joy to wake to glorious sunshine today, not partly sunny, it was fully sunny! Mark got out for a bike ride whilst I did some research on walk options and a bit of yoga. I found a great link for circular walk options in Wales that I will share here. There were loads to choose from so I narrowed down to a few that were close to our location. Our plan for the day was to take one of these walks, now that the rain had stopped, and to visit Carew Castle in the afternoon.
We chose to take the Stackpole walk and this was a great 9 km and 2.5 hr path along spectacular cliffs with caves, arches and inlets, past a couple of beaches, through woodland, past Lily ponds and over the 1797 Eight Arches Bridge. We had sunshine for most of the way which was a most pleasant change and there were families galore flocking to the beaches to make the most of this rare sighting of the sun.
There was a cute little cafe at Stackpole Quay, near the start of our walk, so we had a bite to eat there on our return and before heading on with a 30 minute drive to Carew Castle. This 12th century Castle received more fan fare in my research than Pembroke Castle but we didn’t think it was anywhere near as impressive as Pembroke Castle. There was the option for scanning QR codes at various points within the Castle and listening to an audio guide account of the history of the various features and important figures who had resided there. It only took about an hour to complete the audio tour and then it was back home for a night of dining in for our last night in Pembrokeshire. We head to Cardiff tomorrow but with a stop to explore Tenby on the way.
