... about pembrokeshire ...

Walking in Pembrokeshire...

If you're up for a quick walk, how about trying the 186 miles around the Pembrokeshire coast?

It'll take between 10 and 15 days to complete. 25% is within designated conservation sites a whopping 85% is within the National Park.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/nature/thingstodo/walks/

Dolphathon!

The South and West Wales Sea Trust is launching its "dolphathon" today.

Last year, six fin whales were spotted off the Pembrokeshire coast.

Now, more than 100 volunteers will set off from Fishguard and Rosslare in Ireland to take part in a dolphin survey of the Irish Sea.

Read more about the dolphathon here.

Stackpole Estate (Ystad Ystagbwll) & Bosherston Lily Ponds

Stackpole Estate (Ystad Ystagbwyll) sits between the villages of Stackpole and Bosherston, just five miles from Pembroke.

Around 810 hectares in total, approximately 202 are designated as a National Nature Reserve, managed in collaboration with the Countryside Council for Wales.

The Bosherston Lakes were created between 1780 and 1860 as part of a designed landscape surrounding the former mansion of Stackpole Court. You’ll experience the wide range of wildlife such as otters, waterfowl and dragonflies – all whilst being a part of the water lilies and beds of stonewort! There’s also lots more!!

If you like to walk, there’s 30km of linking footpaths through woods, lakes, cliffs and beaches. You can take the shorter one hour walk, a half day walk or even spend a full day exploring. Walks can be started from any of the car parks (at Stackpole Quays and Bosherston Lily Ponds, for example) or from the Stackpole Centre.

Within the estate, there are two fantastic beaches – Broad Haven (South) and Barafundle – which should not be missed!! In fact, Barafundle was voted the best picnic spot in Britain in 2006 by Country Life (also see the BBC article) and can be reached only by following the extraordinary coastal walk. Stackpole Warren (Penrhyn Ystagbwll) is an important historic landscape with remains of Bronze and Iron Age life. There are also many plant communities to admire. The Carboniferous Limestone cliffs you can’t help but see everywhere support colonies of breeding seabirds. To the north and east the geology changes to old red sandstone.

An Introduction to... Tenby

One of Britain's most loved seaside resort, this medieval town has an abundance of attractions to offer.

Within the walled town, which was built during the 13th century, you'll find a variety of cafes, restaurants and shops. Many of the houses were built in Regency and Early Victorian styles.

Another place to visit is any one of the four beaches: North Beach, South Beach, Harbour Beach and Castle Beach.

Tenby Castle stands on a high rocky headland, in a position of great natural strength, connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Only isolated stretches of the castle walls remain, perched above the sea cliffs, and perhaps a complete circuit of walling was considered unnecessary. Little now remains of the defence of greatest importance, the wall across the neck of the headland, but on the north, a short stretch of well-preserved wall has arrowslits, embrasures and wall-walk surviving, and on the south a similar length lies adjacent to the gate and barbican. A more fragmentary, much-repaired piece lies next to the museum, itself built on to a medieval domestic building, probably the hall.

[Source: eurotravelling.net]

A short boat ride from Tenby Harbour is Caldey Island, were the local Cistercian monks welcome day visitors. The island's Welsh name - Ynys Byr - is named after the first Abbot, Pyro. Explore the historic Old Priory and the churches of St David and St Illtud. There's even a free guided tour for those who would like a close look at life on the island, where perfumes, chocolate and shortbread are made (all available to purchase!). You can find out how to get there from this link.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Caldey Island http://www.caldey-island.co.uk/
• Tenby Guide
• Tenby Museum and Art Guide
• Tenby Arts Festival
• RNLI Tenby

An Introduction to… St David's

St Davids – or Tyddewi ('House of David') in Welsh – is the smallest city in the United Kingdom. Situated on the west coast of Pembrokeshire and within the Pembrokeshire Cast National Park, this is one place you quite simply cannot afford to miss!!

The patron saint of Wales, St David – Dewi Sant – lived in the sixth century and was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop.

Said to have been of royal lineage, Dewi was born near Capel Non (Non's Chapel) near the current city of St David.

More comprehensive information can be found here, including information about St David's Day which is the first of March.

St David's Cathedral is a popular visit, attracting thousands of visitors every year – it's also the burial site of the legendary St David. It's built on the site of St David's sixth century monastery and currently serves as a place of worship for the local community. The bells are situated in a separate thirteenth century gateway, known as Porth y Twr.

After ten years of planning, fundraising and builing, Phase One of the restoration of the cloisters has been completed. The Refectory is one of the most ambitious restoration projects in Wales and will benefit the 250,000 visitors and members of the congregation annually. [Source: Western Telegraph].

Since the introduction of (just two) choirboys during the reign of Richard II, music remains an integral – and enjoyable – feature of life at St Davids. The choir has been broadcast on radio, recorded several CDs and also successfully toured Ireland, America, Australia, Holland and Spain.

Current and future service lists are available through the website. You can even view the history of the organ used in services!!

Details of daily services can be found here.

The ruins of the medieval Bishops Palace

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a maritime county, washed by the sea on all sides except in the northeast where it is bounded by Cardiganshire and in the east where it is bounded by Carmarthenshire.

Its population is 112,000. The highest point is at Foel Cwmcerwyn (1759ft/536m).

The county boasts 170 miles (≈275 km) of magnificent coastline comprising important seabird breeding sites and numerous bays and sandy beaches.

Almost all of the coast is included in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. In the north are the Preseli Mountains (Mynyddoedd Preseli), a wide stretch of high moorland with many prehistoric monuments.

Elsewhere the county is relatively flat, most of the land being used for lowland farming.

Oil tankers dock in the deep estuarine waters of Milford Haven.

The chief rivers are the Eastern Cleddau, the Western Cleddau and the Solva. The main industries are tourism, agriculture and oil refining. The county town is Haverfordwest.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Wikipedia
• Pembrokeshire Coast

aboutpembrokeshire.com

Welcome to aboutpembrokeshire.com!

This site is intended to be a fluid resource to everything within Pembrokeshire: cultural events, general areas of interest, tourist attractions etc.

Development of aboutpembrokeshire.com will, undoubtably, be ongoing. Any feedback, and contributions would be gratefully appreciated!