South Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

South Wales is somewhere with plenty of coastline to walk your socks off, small islands to explore and sandy beaches to laze the day away on.

My blog will cover the Pembrokeshire area of south west Wales, until such time I return and venture further afield….

Tenby

Tenby: Dinbych-y-Pysgod – meaning ‘Little Fort of the Fish’.

When we visited south Wales we based ourselves in Tenby as we’d heard this was a great location from which to explore the offerings of Pembrokeshire. We weren’t disappointed! Tenby is right up there when it comes to the perfect UK seaside escape, for a number of reasons:

✔️ Golden beaches with powdered sand – and not just one, but four!

✔️ You can’t help but love the cute, cobbled, colourful town centre which brims with a mix of boutique shops, souvenir shops, ice cream parlours and seafood restaurants.

✔️ The delightful waft of fish and chips in the air, constantly – the kind that screams “you’re at the seaside!”

In addition to all this goodness, Tenby is most well known for its pretty-as-a-picture pastel coloured Georgian houses that line the promenade, overlooking the harbour. They feature in all of the guide books and have starred in many a television programme too. I think it’s fair to say that they definitely have the ‘wow factor’ when first you see them.

We stayed in an AirBNB in the centre of town, but there are lots of options for accommodation in Tenby, with B&B’s, guesthouses and a number of caravan sites too.

Choosing to stay in the centre afforded us the luxury of savouring the delights of the local eateries each evening, which was a real treat for the senses, if not the waistline. We were spoiled for choice, with everything from the best of British, to Greek, Indian, Jamaican, Italian – and of course, the finest locally sourced seafood – the best of which was Salty’s Beach Bar lobster Thermidor which was clawsome (couldn’t resist that).

Now, back to those four beaches that I mentioned earlier…Firstly, you have the ever popular North Beach which boasts the best views of Tenby’s colourful houses – not a bad focal point to look up to from your beach towel. North Beach was actually rated number 1 ‘most photogenic’ in the UK in 2021 and number 7 in world, as well as be awarded a Blue Flag for water quality, environmental management and safety. Who needs the Caribbean?

North Beach is also the starting point for a walk to Saundersfoot (but more of that later).

Linked to North Beach is Castle Beach and Harbour Beach, both of which are slightly smaller, but equally as pretty – if not more so. Here you will find little hidden coves and caves from which to find shade, as well as a working RNLI lifeboat station which is said to be one of the busiest in the UK. St Catherine’s Island is within arms reach too, as long as the tide is out.

Strange but true: In 2021, Harbour Beach found itself the chosen holiday destination for ‘Wally The Walrus’ who had ventured all the way from the Arctic for a seven week break!

Next along is South Beach, which is full of families, kite-flyers and bodyboarders. It has the longest stretch of sand out of the four, which reaches out to Tenby golf club and the neighbouring Penally Village. During our stay in September, this seemed the most populated of the beaches, perhaps due to the beach bars and their refreshing offerings.

The true beauty of Tenby’s beaches – apart from the obvious – is that they all interlink (at least, when the tide is out), allowing you to mix ‘n’ match with minimal effort. Thanks to the miles of sand, you’ll rarely have to fight for deckchair space or scrap over the best sun trap – that is, unless you visit in the height of summer when the population apparently goes from a palatable 5,000 to a staggering 60,000!

Take a look at my video of Tenby if you want to see more!

Caldey Island

No trip to South Wales, or specifically Pembrokeshire, is complete without a visit to Caldey Island – and it’s just a mere 20 minutes from Tenby harbour by boat.

Once arriving on the island and entering the village, you will see the large Italianate Church towering above. Caldey Island is a working monastery, owned and run by a community of Cistercian monks. The church was built in 1906 and has been home to the monks who moved into the purpose build monastery 23 years later, in 1929. If you’re lucky, you may just see them or at the very least hear them at prayer time.

There are some guided tours to the monastery, but these are a little infrequent. Instead, you can go inside the smaller St David’s Church at any time and look at the stained glass, all impressively designed by a monk who had previously lived on the island. The Old Priory is also open to visitors and is a place meant for quiet contemplation.

Look out for the black swans on the nearby lake when at the Old Priory too.

It’s fair to say that the island monks are a pretty talented bunch and also make their own perfume, shortbread, chocolate and fudge, which are available to buy. Those with a sweet tooth (me) can also visit the ‘Chocolate Factory’ to get a glimpse into the making of Caldey’s sweet delights – and purchase as much of it as you like! I did, of course, as it would be rude not to. Chocolate orange flavour, in case you’re wondering.

Nature lovers can easily spend hours navigating the coastal walk which stretches 600 acres and showcases the fantastic panoramic views back across to Tenby (on a clear day). This also affords the opportunity to spot some rare birds, flora and fauna – as well as seals swimming in the waters below. There are three routes available on the island: The ‘Lighthouse Walk’ (approximately 1.5 miles), the ‘West Cliffs Walk’ (2 miles) and the ‘Woodland Walk’ where you might just spot a red squirrel or two (1 mile). It’s relatively easy enough to do all three in a morning or afternoon.

Before catching the boat back, you have the option of spending some down time on Caldey’s very own beach which is totally unspoilt and looks right back across to Tenby.

Without question, Caldey Island is definitely one for your ‘to do list’ when in Pembrokeshire – especially if you get a sunny day! Here’s a little video too.

Saundersfoot

If you want Tenby in miniature, Saundersfoot is it.

Saundersfoot is only a short drive from Tenby – but where’s the fun in that? Instead, you can choose to take a five mile walk from Tenby North Beach to Saundersfoot via vast woodland with cliff top views.

A little word of warning however – there are many ascents and descents along the route (some fairly gruelling and some very muddy) so it’s best to leave the flip flops at the beach and wear trainers or walking boots if you’re taking this route. Trust me, you’ll most definitely feel that you’ve earned your ice cream (or beer – or both) when you make it to the other end, in tact!

I might add – there’s no shame in taking the bus back to Tenby if you want to take a rain check on the walk back!

Once in Saundersfoot, you’ll find it’s a lovely little seaside/ harbour town begging to be explored. You’ll find an array of gift shops to peruse, a long stretch of beach to lounge on and a multitude of places to drink in and dine at whilst soaking up the sea air. In fact, Saundersfoot fancies itself as a bit of a gourmet resort apparently, showing off their catch of the day. Did someone say a pint of prawns? Oh go on then…

Like Tenby, Saundersfoot has a working fishing harbour where you can go to ‘boat watch’ and dream of a life on the ocean wave – albeit on a more modest scale. The harbour was constructed way back in 1830 as a transport hub for coal, iron ore and fire bricks. Today, it’s given way to tourism – specifically Tenby overspill – and a number of burger shacks and huts selling beachwear and surfboards surround it. It’s as popular a place for watersports as it is fishing.

Tip: Another of my hotspots that’s also a short drive – or train journey – from Tenby is Manorbier. It’s a little tiny, leafy village with a secluded beach and one or two eateries. We had a lovely lunch – the “best cawl ever” according to my other half.

St David’s

St David’s is Britain’s smallest city – earning the title of ‘city’ purely due to the 12th century cathedral that stands in the middle. It is both the birth and burial place of the patron saint of Wales, hence the name.

There’s the famous cathedral, yes, and a handful of shops and cafes – but after that, you’re probably done. Unlike any other city the UK, there’s no high street shopping, no nightlife, no hop on hop off bus tour. Whilst St David’s can rightly be classed a ‘must see’ given the impressive Cathedral, it’s highly unlikely that you will need longer than a few hours there – it really is that small.

Whilst in the vicinity, you may want to visit the nearby St Justinians and Whitesands. The former is the place to go to catch a boat out to Ramsey Island (a wildlife haven) for a bit of seal spotting and the latter – a shoreline favoured by surfers and sun lovers, that’s not overly populated.

Tip: It’s not always necessary to take a paid tour to visit the seals if you want to save your money. We happened to stumble upon a family of them down in a cove as we walked along the coastal path at St Justinians. The seals were only minutes from the lifeboat station.

Stackpole Quay, Barafundle Bay and Bosherton

I’m assuming that for most holidaymakers choosing Pembrokeshire as a destination, a lot of the draw comes from all of the available coastal walks. Not only is a walk in the great outdoors good for the soul, it’s great for walking off holiday calories too!

A good one is the Stackpole Estate which is a fairly huge 2,000 acre estate once owned by the Scottish Cawdor family, now managed by the National Trust. The walk took us around 2.5 hours and is relatively easy (unlike the Tenby to Saundersfoot trek I mentioned previously). Simply park up at one of the three National Trust car parks along the route – I recommend Stackpole Quay – and off you go.

Starting at Stackpole Quay, you pass down into Barafundle Bay, voted one of Britain’s most beautiful beaches. This is a relatively secluded cove-like beach that appeared to attract abseilers, sun worshipers and many excitable dogs. After a good walk around the cliffs (minding out for the sheer drops), you then descend onto the neighbouring Broadhaven Beach – this one much bigger and bolder than Barafundle, but still with appeal nonetheless. And more excitable dogs.

As the walk reaches its end, you pass through the quiet village of Bosherton, where stands the famous Lily Ponds set amongst a wooded limestone valley. Here you’ll be able to see swans and ducks (as well as the lilies) and it’s also a favourite place for otter-spotters. Legend has it that the Lily Ponds is where King Arthur got his Excalibur sword, too!

The entire walk from start to finish combines woodland, beach, lake and cliff tops, with plenty to see – so packing the camera is a must. On a clear day, you can see for miles. And miles. And miles.

When I revisit South Wales, I’ll be sure to update this blog with any new places I visit. Be sure to drop your comments below 👇🏻

You can also read my blog on North Wales if you’re headed that way too.