Our early retirement adventures continue during our first impromptu road trip since giving up work. In part 2 of our summer of fun, we head further north from the Gower peninsular to discover the wonders of the south Pembrokeshire coast in our VW campervan, Nelson.
We found the most peaceful little park up for the night at Kidwelly which is technically in Carmarthenshire, but is on the way to Pembrokeshire and was an ideal and free stop off.
It was based at a country park centred around the restored quay side that was used for hundreds of years to transport goods and coal to and from the fortified town of Kidwelly. As we come to expect from country parks, it was busy early evening with dog walkers, but soon quietened down. We had the opportunity to chat with some locals that were absolute VW nuts, met a lovely travelling couple from Germany who were stopping off on a trip to Ireland and had the place to ourselves to watch the sunset over the open estuary later in the evening.
We knew the following day that the forecast was good for later on, so we planned for some much needed admin after a few days on the road- food shopping and a technology power charge at Weatherspoons- the cheapest place for coffee that has power sockets and a loo!
Once all that was done, we went on the culture trail- heading to Laugharne- home of the famed Welsh writer Dylan Thomas. There is no wonder he produced such amazing works from this location- it was simply stunning. His simple writing shed overlooked the tidal estuary out towards Carmarthen Bay, a vista that is constantly changing and shifting hour by hour- surprisingly a very inspirational visit for two non literary fans. As my dad used to proudly pronounce- every man (or woman) needs a shed- he wasn't wrong. I wrote in detail about this here if you are interested.
Jackie was on navigation again, so what initially was a 2km signposted walk turned into a 5km walk around the peninsular! By this time we were both starving, so opted to follow the coast road until we hit the next beach for a picnic. We were glad we took this detour as we ended up in Amroth, a small traditional seaside town with a wide stretch of golden beach and duck pond flat sea ideal for an impromptu cool down. Needless to say we spent the rest of the day on the beach grazing, reading and swimming.
We bypassed Tenby having visited it previously, and headed further west, sound in the knowledge that we had a place to stay for the night. Jackie found a top campsite on the Search For Sites app- Buckspool Farm- £5pppn with toilets, fresh water and a cold water outdoor shower for the brave. More importantly however, it is located a short walk from Broad Haven beach (judged as one of Britains best beaches) and the Stackpole Head area of the coast that has so many tiny coves and secret places to discover.
As advertised, there was no pre-booking- just turn up, pitch up where you want and Simon the farmer will call round later on his quad (with 3 gorgeous working dogs in tow) to collect the cash. It was so refreshingly simple- it reminded us about what camping used to be like back in the day, and how it should be more often around the country right now- rather than £50+ sites with all the bells, whistles and rules we don’t really need.
We spent the following day exploring this beautiful stretch of coastline. Heading both east and west we discovered some gorgeous hidden coves and beaches- all of which were just tantalisingly out of reach due to the tidal conditions. The rest of the day was at the beach, reading and watching the world go by from our little pop up shelter that had it’s first airing of the summer. Another BBQ for tea finished yet another relaxed day, lulled to sleep by the gentle explosions and gunfire from the MOD firing range next door. I don’t think there is anything more relaxing, or indeed romantic than the sound of heavy machine gun fire in the distance.
We initially planned to move further north the following day, but awoke to bright sunshine so it was too good an opportunity to miss not to spend the full day at the beach. We headed west, through the MOD range (which was a little unnerving!) to Freshwater West beach, another one of Wales best surfing beaches. It was a great location, with parking right next to the beach for Nelson. Sitting overlooking the beach before the crowds arrived and having our breakfast was a real luxury.
We spent all day on the beach, popping back to Nelson for chilled refreshments when things got too hot. We also had the chance to watch a local artist at work, producing an amazing piece of beach art that was a sight to behold. It took him all day to produce, knowing fine well that when the tide came in it would be lost forever. His patient work illustrated to us the absolute need for us to slow down and treasure the simple experiences in life- like chilling on the beach and being happy to just watch the world go by.
After such a relaxed day, we couldn’t have chosen a more contrasting activity to do next- watching the British Army battle tanks do their thing on the MOD range! Seeing them in operation (from a distance) was shocking. The shear destructive power was unbelievable. The noise and shockwaves from their guns that you could feel from over a mile away was like nothing we have ever felt before. Experiencing the science of seeing the blast, and then a short while later hearing the noise catch up was very disconcerting.
We decided to return to the farm to stay another night as it was just so close and convenient. To avoid a early drinking session, we had a little explore of the National Trust Lilly Ponds situated in the dunes next to the farm before turning in for the day. After another alfresco shower behind the van to remove the dust and sand of the day, we settled down to a lovely evening of cooking paella and watching the sun set (and listening to the relaxing gunfire in the distance!).
As we headed north the following day, making our way towards the most westerly point of Pembrokeshire, we stopped off at the tiny hamlet of St Ishmael’s to try and find Lindsway Bay. Easier said than done, as we seemingly tried every road out of the hamlet to find the bay. In the end, out of frustration at our lack of navigational skills, we dumped the van in the centre of the village and proceeded on foot, armed with the trusty OS Maps App. Suddenly life seemed much simpler when we didn’t have the pressure of trying to squeeze the van down tiny roads, and we soon found ourselves on the coastal path, heading in the right direction. Our instructions for the bay weren’t wrong, with a steep climb down to the low tide only bay. It was beautifully isolated, and such a peaceful place to visit. For a couple of hours we felt that we had the world pretty much to ourselves.
Park for the nights were pretty limited on this part of the peninsula, but we struck gold with a booking at West Hook Farm camping that had availability for one night only. West Hook is a lovely and simple cliff top campsite enjoying vast sea views over the Milford Haven bay. I had been feeling a bit ill for the last 24 hours, and came down with flu like symptoms and a raging temperature, so took to my bed for the afternoon like a typical bloke with man-flu. Jackie took the time for some typical Jackie exploration and seemingly covered the entire peninsular in the space of an afternoon- that girl can sure cover some distance when not slowed down by me! We had a lazy evening watching the sun set over the bay and taking advantage of the local ice cream van which visited the site- it’s hard not to resist a Mr Whippy at the best of times!
We woke to overcast skies, missle and a poor forecast for the day was our motivation to make a run for home. It looked like we were about as far from home as we could physically get in Wales, so we had a full day of driving ahead of us, snaking our way through rural Wales with seemingly not a dual carriage way or motorway in sight. Not a bad end to our first adventure away, but time at home gives us time to clean down the van, get restocked and not forgetting the small matter of packing up the house ready for the big move in less than 10 days time!
Check out part 3 of our summer adventures here.
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