Pembrokeshire Coast

The village of Newgale ovelooking St Bride's Bay at the southern end of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
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Heading further west from the Beacons we arrived at the wild Pembrokeshire Coast. The wet and windy weather only enhanced the feeling of isolation here as we drove through the tiny fishing villages tucked in against the cliffs. The bad weather meant that we weren’t really enthused about walking around the village of St David’s with its impressive cathedral for long. We grabbed some dinner from a local fish and chippie and parked up on the beachfront to watch the sea. Our accommodation was in the very remote farming area of Llanrhian, just north of St David’s. We had a very cute converted barn all to ourselves.

St David's cathedral
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The next day we headed north up the coast and, upon a recommendation from our very friendly hosts from the night before, stopped to have a look at reconstructed iron age hill fort called Castell Henllys. The fort consisted of a cluster of authentic thatched roundhouses built to look like they would have around 600BC. Inside the huts we found iron age cooking equipment, weaving looms and sleeping mats. Inside the dark but cosy central main hut the fire was lit and you could see how the smoke filtered through the top of the thatched roof, keeping bugs out and remaining warm and waterproof at the same time. Nearby was a large herb garden which would have supplied many of the same herbs to the people of the fort 2000 years ago.

The wet and windy weather only enhanced the feeling of isolation