Star Jumps to express my enjoyment of Pembrokeshire (pics attached!)

After an amazingly relaxing day at the Bluestone Well Spa and The Yard Takeway (whilst the world was being hammered by the rain & wind) I was pleasantly surprised to wake up the following day to blue skies in lovely Pembrokeshire - OK, it was quite windy but a whole lot better than it had been the couple of days previously! 

View of the beautiful blue skies from the back of the lodge - Prescelly valley

Armed with my waterproof jacket and walking boots, we headed to the car to go on a little adventure around South Pembrokeshire.  (One of the things I do like about Bluestone is that it is a car free zone - just lots of golf buggies!!!) See the end of the blog for a summary of places I reckon are a good shout for us 'thirty somethings in Wales' to visit!!!


Now, although I visit Pembs monthly to visit one of my clients in Tenby I'm slightly lacking on the tourist information - HOWEVER, as I thankfully subscribe to the updates from Katherine at Manorbier Bed & Breakfast I felt Manorbier Beach & Castle was an area we just had to visit!  

All set for my Pembrokeshire adventure!

You may not be aware of where Manorbier is so here is a little map - in short, it's inbetween Tenby & Stackpole, possibly somewhere you might not typically think of visiting.  Def worth a visit and rest assured it is bloody lovely!

Map of Manorbier, Pembrokeshire

None of the following pictures begin to explain how windy it was down on Manorbier beach, which made it so much fun!  I honestly felt like a kid again - and it's been a while!  And if I was a surfer I would have been in my element as the waves were HUGE!!

Attempting to show how windy it was on Manorbier Beach!

Having not been on a beach for quite some time I got a little carried away, lost my inhibitions and demanded that my other half took pictures of me doing some star jumps!!!  For any adults reading this I highly recommend this as a way of relieving stress!

A star jump that went well....

...one that didn't go so well as I ended up on my arse!  But laughing nonetheless! 

Testing the panoramic setting on the camera!  Spectacular views up to Manorbier Castle!

It seemed that the Manorbier Castle wasn't open and doesn't open until the spring so I've officially put the castle on my 'Places to visit' list for the spring/summer. And a little word of warning to fellow 'Geeks' out there - Manorbier is seriously lacking in signal so no texts coming in or going out and certainly no checking in on Foursquare for me!  It was like being being on a deserted island - cut off from reality (and what I mean by reality is the virtual world!!! but I suppose this can be taken as a  very positive thing!

My attempt at being arty by shooting the castle through the reeds on the beach!

Now completely wind swept our next adventure was to find a coffee shop on the way back to warm up!  Unfortunately, Celtic Haven (who I've been following avidly on Facebook) were not open for coffees :-s Recognised their sign on the way there and noted the 'Cliff Top Bar' with 'seaside views'. On a positive note - picked up a brochure for my next potential spa day!  Another on my 'Places to Visit' list!  Watch this space for another blog!

I have to say though, the lady on the Spa reception was really helpful as she signposted me to a place up the road that might have been doing coffee or advised that the nearest place would be Tenby - so off we set to one of my favourite Pembrokeshire places!

A few people had mentioned about the new development on South Beach (just down the esplanade from my favourite Tenby Hotel - Giltar Hotel) so we decided to check it out.  One thing that was a little disappointing (and a potential missed opportunity) there didn't seem to be any signage off the Esplanade to indicate the firstly that it was even there or if it was open.  We took the risk and discovered not only was it open but they were serving Costa Coffee!


A very good find at South Beach Bar Grill great views looking over the beach to Caldey Island, good coffee and it certainly looked like a fab restaurant menu.  From what I could see it was a Brains pub and if I'm ever staying in Tenby again I'll certainly be looking to book in!  That'll make it the 3rd place to visit on my list just from one day!!!!  Plenty to keep me busy this year! 

Lots of development work being done on apartments, but great inside!

So, to end this very exciting day we ended it with a bit of pub grub back at Bluestone as part of our amazing Inclusive deal!  Lamb Burger & chips all around! Finished off with a rather lovely, and somewhat large ice cream sundae!

Lamb Burger & Chips at the Knights Tafern, Bluestone

And for all of you wondering what other delicious items were on the menu, I snapped the menu!

So, if you're visiting Pembrokeshire I recommend the following places to visit:

Manorbier - Fab beach, lots of open space, good waves for surfers and add a historical visit of the castle.  If B&B's are a preference, then give Katherine a call to check in for a night or 2 - fantastic views of the castle! Check out the Facebook Page:  www.facebook.com/ManorbierBedandBreakfast  

Celtic Haven - (even though I've not been) Cliff Top Bar that is open to the public - although I'd recommend calling before hand - or make the effort to check into the spa for a full day of it (watch this space for a blog about that one)

South Beach Bar Grill - A modern place to either chill with a cuppa & a cake (as I did) or treat yourself to a meal (although it doesn't look like a budget restaurant so be prepared to break into the piggy bank!)

Tenby, South Beach - the beach is huge and is spectacular no matter what time of year it is - and if you want views overlooking the beach then I highly recommend staying at the Giltar Hotel too! And of course the walled town has lots of little bars & shops - a blog on Tenby is well overdue!!!

And of course, as I'm a big fan of Social Media, the above links take you to everyone's Facebook pages - let's just hope they are all up to date ;-)

Thanks for reading and please let me know if you've tried out any of my recommendations or if indeed you have any recommendations for me to visit!