On a cold wintery day early in 2016, the Johnson’s did the unthinkable and actually booked a proper holiday! Like our family, it wasn’t fancy and involved driving to remote places and looking at lots of maps but damn were we excited.

And so it was on a weekend in August we set off from Liverpool for our AirBnB in West Wales. If you’ve never been to Pembrokeshire, just go. Now. It is totally and utterly dreamy.

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Where we went – Bridell, North Pembrokeshire (Get the OS map – OL 35- here)
Where we stayed – Afallon Cottage (Check out their AirBnB listing here)
What we did – Walking, SUP’ing, Kayaking, Swimming, Coasteering, Playing with our cute adopted dogs, Eating lots, Boat Trips

Determined to make the family embark on one of mine & J’s kind of holidays (no lying on beaches to be found), we planned a week of ultimate Pembrokeshire adventure.

The cottage itself was hidden up a long lane, amongst a small cluster of other cottages and a rather luxurious chicken coop. WE GOT TO HAVE TWO DOGS FOR THE WEEK! Yes, Afallon cottage, owned by the lovely Iwan was next to his own cottage and his two adorable dogs Ted & Gel were our neighbours. Basically we adopted them for the week and they now love us and we love them. And if we could have stolen them, we probably would have…

Our Highlights

Walking beach-to-beach round Dinas Head – Summiting a less-famous Pen Y Fan and discovering the gorgeous Cwm Yr Eglis (Valley of the Churches) on a Sunday which meant we were able to witness a sunny outdoor service amongst the ruins of a beach-side church which then just turned in to a big concert with a 20-piece brass band putting out all the hits.

SUP-ing in New Quay Bay – We hired them from the beach and spent a good hour paddling around the huuge bay. The waves made standing up a bit of a challenge at first, but now totally in love with the whole thing. Winter SUP adventure anyone? 😛

Dolphin-Spotting Cliff Walks – Not only is the Coastal Path one of the best things about this place, the constant stunning views of the sea means some seriously magical dolphin spotting is possible on calm days. Our little family standing alone atop a peaceful cliff, looking out as 4 dolphins played far out in the sea was just incredible.

Coasteering at the Blue Lagoon – The famous Blue Lagoon did not disappoint! Although if you want a parking spot round the corner in the beach side carpark I would suggest getting there nice and early! You couldn’t really call it a village, but there are a few houses and a beach and some surprisingly nice public toilets. The lagoon itself is a short walk around the cliffs and if you manage to catch it on a warm day like we did, the sparkling turquoise water will look all the more inviting. Don’t get me wrong, we all wore wetsuits or rash vests, but the water is always chilly even in August! We swam across the lagoon, clambered up onto the rocks, and went for the medium-sized jump – the highest is a knee-wobbling affair you definitely would NOT want to bellyflop off. Making jump after jump with GoPros filming some cool underwater faces made this another awesome day!

 

We  ❤ you Pembrokeshire. Till next time…