A Few Days Exploring Pembrokeshire
A Few Days Exploring Pembrokeshire
Sorry this has been a little late coming!
Back in July "15th to 19th" we took a couple of days out to head over to Pembrokeshire to have a little look around and see what the area was like after only ever spending a night in the area previously.
We set up camp in the rain "yellow weather warning was in effect" at Lleithyr Farm Holiday Park "SA62 6PR" which we picked due its quiet location and family friendly feel as we were travelling with our little boy Forrest who is nearly three and we also had our two dogs along for the trip to "another reason picking this site as it was dog friendly" The site itself was well layed out with good clean facilities and a really well stocked shop on site with fresh baked goods available. Next door to the shop was a kids play park and some rabbits in a large pen for the kids to enjoy, The rabbits may seem random but they are just one of the many animals the kids can enjoy, as the site has a walk through farm trail with various farm animals including donkeys, Shetland ponies, pigs and goats!
Camp set up in the rain which continued heavily until 5a.m "picture taken in a moment of calm" we used the ROBENS klondike prs for this trip as it allows plenty of room for family camping "currently cant supply robens kit as distribution is changing hands correct on 17/08/24" but we hope to be able to offer this brand and style of tent again in the very near future.
So what did we get up to ?
Day one:
Drive over to the camp site around 200miles which took closer to 5 hours after a breakfast stop. The rain had started around lunchtime and was in full swing by the time we arrived just after 4 and with the forecast looking terrible for hours ahead we cracked on and set up the tent starting with the footprint / groundsheet which is a very often overlooked piece of affordable kit! By time we had got fully set up and got the guy lines nice and tight we were pretty damp and hungry so we got some food on the go and chilled for the rest of the evening.
* it was a good job we cracked on and got set up properly as the wind absolutely bashed the tent after midnight so remember to get those guy lines staked out as its so easy to think i'll do it later on when its a little dryer!
Day Two:
Breakfast and an earlyish drive down to Martin's Haven "Martin's Havens NT Car Park SA62 3BJ" which is around 30miles from the camp site.
This is where our pre booked boat trip to skomer island was heading out from. As far as we are aware there are multiple companys in the surrounding areas you can book with but we picked pembrokeshire island boat trips which was running out of Martin's Haven.
You can book a day trip on the island but as we had the dogs with us we could only book a cruise "no landing" and the prices seemed reasonable. The island sits less than a mile off the coast and takes about 15minutes to reach and is home to an array of birds including puffins, razorbills, gannets, max shearwaters aswell as many more.
Masses of puffins bobbing around the coastal waters of Skomer.
The boat ride itself ran on time and the crew did an excellent job of spotting multiple species and calling them out, One section was particularly choppy but lucky for us it was a pretty calm day.
Back on shore we took a walk up to wooltack point and beyond where the views all around are stunning.
The view from the carpark looking towards Skomer.
*Carpark is a pay and display, take change just in case as signal isn't great. Toilets are available "don't expect 5 star" and there's also a small shop where you can collect your tickets as well as refreshments and souvenir's.
Day Three:
Lazy morning and packing the backpack for a walk. The plan was to head up to the highest peak in the area have some lunch find a cove for a swim and join the coastal path and make our way back to camp.
We walked directly from the camp site and headed towards whitesands bay "closest beach to the site" but before reaching the beach we took a right turn onto the footpath and headed up towards Carn Llidi which is a prominent feature on the otherwise low surroundings, it sits at 181M and and has beautiful 360views.
Picture bottom left ^^ is looking back towards whitesands bay from the peak of Carn Llidi.
^^Rugged coast line looking up the coast towards Abereiddy.
After the peak visit and lunchstop we worked our way towards Porthmelgan Beach which is a more secluded quiet area that's also dog friendly. As we headed down through the wild flowers, heathers and ferns listening to the birds and grasshoppers we spotted the welsh mountain ponies ahead. Luckily for us they stood at the top of the path down to the beach so we got to take a real good look at them.
Once down on the beach we set up a small sun shelter for Forrest and the dogs and chilled out in the sun and took a swim. It was rather surreal to look back towards the beach whilst swimming and see the ponies across the cliff tops.
From the beach we re joined the path, waved goodbye to the ponies and carried on our walk, looking back at the clear waters we had just been swimming in and the peak that a few hours before we stood on top of.
We then skirted around the other side of Carn Llidi and worked our way along the coastal path a bit more and then took a right back to the camp site, you can see our route here >>
Tracked using the OS app which we highly recommend.
After a decent walk it was time for some chilled beer and nachos.
Featured products:
Petromax Kx25 25L Cool box in Olive
Petromax Camping Oven "we used this on top of our primus stove"
Day Four:
Day four was our last full day in the area so we thought we best make our way over to St Davids "Britains Smallest City".
Whilst here we checked out the St Davids Cathedral and the Bishops Palace which are rather impressive buildings dating back to 1181 "as it stands today" but was founded back in AD 589 .
Whilst here we walked through the small market that was on and the war memorial, then headed for some lunch at one of the many cafe's.
We then headed from here to check out Solva a pretty little coastal village, Its not a huge area but like much of the welsh coast line its very pretty.
You can just make out the old Limekilns to the left in the bottom photo which now have grade ii heritage status. These were used up until around 1900.
After Solva we took a drive up to take a look at the Blue Lagoon at Abereiddi and then worked our way back to the campsite where we took an evening walk down to Whitesands Bay.
Day Five:
Last day and heading home! We managed to just put the last piece of kit in the car before the rain started again "we had been lucky for the rest of the week"
A few miles down the road and the clouds had already cleared for what was going to be a really hot day.
First stop on the route back was at Tenby where i must say i was pretty jealous of the ice cream trucks!
After stretching our legs down the beach it was back to the car to get some more miles under our belt, Which leads us to our last stop of our trip.
Port Talbot beachfront for ice cream, as it was now edging closer to 30 degrees it was a very much needed stop.
Whilst here we checked out the lifeboat station and the staff couldn't have been more friendly, giving us a tour of the station aswell as some insight into the kit they use and jobs they get called on.
So a massive THANK YOU to the RNLI at Port Talbot for your time and to all of the crews that help keep us safe.
Shortly after this we headed back on the road for our final leg of the journey and got home around 7pm to sweltering temperatures "was tempted to put the tent back up for a cooler nights sleep in the garden"
Notes That Could Be Of Use:
Last section to the top of Carn Llidi is a bit of a scramble!
Access to Porthmelgan Beach is tricky / relatively steep with uneven surfaces.
Keep change for carparks and public toilets.
A lot of beaches are not dog friendly especially in peak season, so check before traveling with pets.
Smaller roads if travelling in larger overland rigs or motorhomes aswell as much lower speed limits to keep an eye on
Book ahead to save disappointment
Thanks for reading and we hope to see or hear from you soon, If you have any questions about the above or kit we've used please feel free to drop us a message.
Charlie , Luci & Forrest