Exploring Pembrokeshire as a family

A few week’s ago we made the long journey down to the beautiful welsh coastline, we were heading to Bluestone Wales for a few days to enjoy a little free range fun which you can read all about here. It was such a great holiday and as you can see we were blessed with blue skies, warm weather and sunshine in May which was a real treat, especially as it seemed the rest of the UK was rained off. As part of our Welsh adventure we had planned a little beach crawl, Mr H is the master of plans – he loves to have an itinerary mapped out of our adventures which I know to some of you might not seem like fun at all but as a family of Monica’s we all need a little structure. Organised fun really is fun, I’m laughing at myself as I write that but seriously it is.

And in all honestly the beach is our happy place and so what better adventure to have than seeking out the best beaches. And so the three musketeers as our five year old calls us went off in search of secluded beaches, stunning views and lets not forget fish & chips. I thought I would share all the places we explored with you, a little treat for you and a little trip down memory lane for me.

This was our second time visiting Bluestones but as a family it was our fourth time visiting this part of Wales. We feel so at home here, I really do love the Welsh hills. We were determined to find new places to explore, seek out beaches, have new adventures – make memories. We weren’t disappointed. One moment that always takes my breath away is when at some point on the gorgeous winding roads you suddenly turn a corner to see the breadth of the coastline – its like a highway to heaven. The view is breathtaking. I remember the first time we made this journey nearly 10 years ago, a coastal road trip that opened my eyes to the beauty of Wales.

Previously we visited Tenby, Saundersfoot and Barafundle Bay – oh my goodness I have talked about Barafundle Bay ever since, we all fell in love with the secluded beach, only accessible from a National Trust pathway. On this trip we wanted to see a little more of the Pembrokeshire countryside although I was a little worried that we wouldn’t find anywhere as beautiful as Barafundle. On our travels we stumbled across so many little hidden gems, ate some delicious food and met some truly lovely locals who couldn’t help but share their tips for a memorable stay.

Tenby you have my heart. And so let me introduce you to the beautiful walled coastal town – where we flew our Octopus kite, walked the cobbled streets eating fish & chips (dive bombed by seagulls, wow they are HUGE), found picture perfect portholes with benches perfectly placed for reading a book and taking in the views. I lost myself sitting here for an hour or so whilst the boys fetched fish & chips, so peaceful, just full of all the loveliness that is Tenby. If you visit Tenby I would definitely take this walk – the windows look out over the harbour, quite simply my favourite moment of our little family holiday.

I give you Tenby…

Whilst in search of painted houses, we also stumbled across a gorgeous terrace bar – Salt Cellar that served up the yummiest of cream teas which we scoffed as we looked over the gorgeous Tenby South Beach. The Salt Cellar is near to the painted houses, it was an open terrace bar in such a gorgeous setting. A must for your list of places to visit. I would also recommend visiting Pembrokeshire Pasty & Pie if you fancy something a little different, the tastiest pies in the land!

On day three of our adventure we explored Saundersfoot and Freshwater East both are gorgeous little villages with quiet beaches, local shops filled with souvenirs, foodie treats and more and best of all they are both situated in gorgeous locations. The beach at Saundersfoot boasts beautiful white sand, smaller than Tenby but enough space to explore. We visited Sue’s Pantry and sampled her cupcakes, blooming delicious they were and on our last day we went back for more for the journey home.

One of the locals recommended that we visited Freshwater East, despite not having much around us it was lovely to explore the beach, the rocks and the sand dunes. George enjoyed collecting stones of all colours, shapes and sizes which now sit in his ever growing rock collection. We didn’t stay for long but I am so glad that we did pop by, it was in such a peaceful location and I can imagine it being really popular with the locals after school as its literally just set back from the main road.

And lastly, let me introduce you to Broad Haven South – our favourite family day. We almost didn’t make it as we entered Broad Haven North into Sheila (our Sat Nav), well lets just say the two beaches couldn’t be more different. After driving another 45 minutes we pulled into the car park and oh my goodness we knew we were in for a treat. You access the beach via a National Trust site, don’t forget your pennies as you do need to pay for parking. After a gorgeous walk down to the beach we were greeted with the most stunning of views. For the most part we had the beach to ourselves, there was so much to explore. George’s favourite was the sand dunes whereas Mr H enjoyed looking in the caves, walking out to sea and generally enjoying the tranquillity. The beach truly is a hidden gem.

This beach offers you the most gorgeous views, the backdrop of swooshing grass amongst the sand dunes, the feeling of fluffy white sand in your toes, log ruins, a picture perfect window frame looking out to sea and lets not forget the resident food van otherwise known as The Slow Pig. Oh my goodness did we enjoy a treat for lunch, I have never tasted a welsh rarebit quite like it and the nachos were also like nothing I have tasted before. We set up a little picnic at the top of the hill took in the views and enjoyed the tastiest food of our whole trip!

The welsh beaches and coastline are some of my favourites, the beach is our little family happy place – exploring local beaches when we are on holiday is top of our list. Other than visiting Maya Bay or Phi Phi in Thailand I honestly don’t believe there is a more beautiful place to be.

Do you have a favourite UK beach spot?