So the plan to go to Belfast the first week in July has been scuppered, so we are looking to explore somewhere else, and Pembrokeshire seems to be a popular area we've never visited.
3-4 days, we like beaches, walking, decent food and cafes, no bikes sadly.
What and where do the panel know?
Newport is a lovely little town with independent shops, butcher, pubs, cafes etc. etc.
The Preslli ridge is behind it. Thoroughly recommended !!
St Davids is nice too.
Avoid Fishguard as it's a bit run down
Don’t waste your time, it’s rubbish.
Solva, Dale, Marloes, the Freshwaters. Avoid. Especially avoid Aberporth and Tresaith further north, just a mix of sand, rockpools, beach shop, pub with great wood fired pizza and a waterfall tumbling over the cliff onto the beach.
Essex can be nice, so I’ve heard.
I like Cardigan although it's not in Pembrokeshire.
I like the North Pembrokeshire area round St David. It’s really special. The south is good but i prefer the North
White Sands and Newgale for beaches. The whole coast is worth walking. You can use buses to link up sections or walk loops which are mainly coastal because of the shape of the coast.
Newgale is completely covered at high tide and i think some of the other beaches get small. So maybe check tide times if that matters to you
Blue lagoon if you like watching yoofs & coasteerers jumping off high things into the sea. Coastal path gets pretty busy in the summer but looping back inland can bring unexpected beauty, shame you aren't biking the back lanes are great, walls/earth mounds get covered in wild flower blooms soon 👍
It's like the best bits of Cornwall, but without the traffic and crowds. I mainly know the stuff south of Pembroke town itself because I used to rock climb there. Barafundle Bay to Broad Haven beaches and the Stackpole Inn for tea.
Just a lovely part of the world.
Used to holiday in Pembrokeshire when I was at school, stayed at Llansteffan, Manorbier, and a couple of other places. Llansteffan is lovely, the castle is a nice place to walk up to and just sit on the outer wall and look across to Laugharne, you can see Dylan Thomas’ boat house, Freshwater East and Pendine Sands are both worth checking out, especially Pendine and the museum where Babs, the LSR car is kept. After she killed her driver, she was buried under the sand, but dug up a few years ago and completely restored, and is occasionally taken out for runs along the beach.
The last time I was there with my family, I drove my ‘54 Morris Minor along the beach as far as I could get, which is about six miles. It was lovely, barely a soul about and really peaceful.
A really special part of the world.
Newport? There's a Newport in Pembrokeshire? The only Newport I knew of is the Gwent one.
Newport? There's a Newport in Pembrokeshire? The only Newport I knew of is the Gwent one.
Shropshire just lowered it's pint and raised an eyebrow
Shropshire just lowered it's pint and raised an eyebrow
As did several counties in Ireland, along with East Riding, Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire.
I like the North Pembrokeshire area round St David. It’s really special. The south is good but i prefer the North
Me too. Best holiday I ever had as a kid was staying in a tiny place on the actual coastal path directly overlooking Whitesands. Its been pulled down now and replaced with something much fancier but lovely looking (and bookable).
https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/12897881?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76
Having said that, a few years back we stayed in one of the national trust places converted from a farm at Stackpole Quay. Liked it so much we went back. Twice.
There's about 6 or 7 of them but this is one (but spendy for me in the summer - we went Easter an October which was also lovely but quite so bucket and spade-able. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/wales/stackpole-dairy-cottage
If I still lived down south, I'd still be a frequent flyer to Pembrokeshire. Many of the same positives as Cornwall and Devon but not so busy and with a...can't think of a better way to put it...better attitude.
I live here. It’s lovely; not much off-road biking but the back lanes are good for gravel and road but it’s not a loss to not have bikes.
All the main towns are run down and a bit sad except Narberth (miles from the sea) and Tenby (the most kiss-me-quick resort in the county).
I live in Pembroke and you could easily spend a few days exploring the coast path in the south. Some great beaches but some don’t like the backdrop of the oil refinery.
The stretch of coast from St David’s to Strumble is wilder and has some great beaches and bays and lots of little villages with nice pubs.
North of Fishguard is also wild but I don’t go up there as a south Pembs resident!
Feel free to send me a message with any specific locations to stay and I might be able to give you some tips on some quieter spots when you’re here.
We both went there as kids and loved it, so returned about 4 years ago, staying in Solva, which is beautiful place to stay. The walk from their to St Davids down the coastal path is lovely. We've been back repeatedly since as we enjoyed it so much. Its a stunningly beautiful coastline. We'd just pick a section of the coastal path in the morning with a nice pub at the end of it for lunch. You just can't go wrong
After asking for advice on here about what bike to take, I took the road bike and once you're off the main roads you can ride for miles on quiet, traffic-freee country lanes. Its fantastic!
Thanks for the comments and advice
St Davids (or nearby) is also a good centre for heading out on boat trips to/around Ramsey Island to see the wildlife or across to Skomer to see the Puffins (may be time of year dependant) as well as kayaking/coasteering/surfing lessons or hire from Whitesands or Newgale beaches.
Also "The Shed" at Porthgain for fish & chips is especially good and you can combine it with a coastal walk from Abereiddy and the Blue Lagoon (as mentioned above, you can even jump in if you fancy it!). As mentioned by a couple of people it's like the nice bits of Cornwall, with a fraction of the tourist numbers. The only downside to that is they're quite adept at just not bothering to open cafes, tea rooms etc. when the mood takes them so you can get caught out for food sometimes.
When you're sat on the beach, take a bit of time to look at the geological formations in the cliffs, lots of folding, faults and various other features of interest. (I used to run geology field trips to Pembrokeshire).