Days 3 and 4 Neyland, Pendine, St. Ishmaels, Marloes and Dale

Friday and our first order of business for the day was to meet with family in Neyland at the marina for coffee and catch up.  Eddie H, a brother-in-law, had travelled down from the midlands to visit his son, Peter, and his wife, Debbie, who relocated from the midlands of England to Wales a few years ago.  We enjoyed coffee together while talking over old times.

Capturing the reflections
Milford Haven Marina

After our visit we headed off to Pendine Sands, a beach on Carmarthen Bay on the south coast of Wales with 7 miles of firm sand. Pendine, in years gone by, was the preferred site for attempting world land speed records. On several occasions the records were attained.  See the following pictures.  Today the beach is still used for racing but now it appears to be mostly hotrods.

Off to Pendine

Mini 'roundabout' on the road.  Do you see it?

Cars are parked in a 2-lane road almost occupying one lane so you have to drive in the oncoming lane to pass.

Our first glimpse of Pendine Sands as we approach from above

The history of the Land speed records set on these sands

This reference is to the hotel below

The Beach Hotel

Pendine

From Pendine, we drove 45 minutes or so to St. Ishmaels with the hope of meeting up with Des’ childhood friend whom he hasn’t seen for probably 60 years.  After some enquiries in the village, we were able to find his house and spent a couple of hours with Mel, his wife Pat, and their son Steven. This once again provided an opportunity to recall the mischief Des and Mel had gotten up to since Grammar School.

Day 5

Saturday, we began the day having coffee with Des’ nephew Terry S and his wife Lynn.  Terry is now retired from teaching and living in Neyland, Pembrokeshire. We had a wonderful visit sharing news since our last visit about 10 years ago.

After breakfast, we returned to Marloes, Des’ home village, and walked through the village then along the road west to the viewpoints which provided a panoramic view of St Brides Bay and most of the peninsula.  It certainly provided stunning 360-degree views of the land, coves, bays and islands.

An interesting cottage entrance in Marloes

Stairway to access the cottage

St. Brides Bay.  St. David's in the distance

Capturing the wayward sheep

 We stopped for lunch in the Lobster Pot, the pub in the village, where we shared a Ploughman’s lunch, maybe the best meal we’ve had in Wales other than Lynne’s homecooked meals. We then moved on to revisit old churches that have special memories for Des. We saw the church where his parents were married and another where he was married. We also visited cemeteries where his grand-parents and mother are buried.

Windsurfing along Dale beach at high tide

St James Church Dale - Des' parents were married here in around 1923

Interior of St James Church, Dale

All Saints Church Walton where Des was married in 1963

The interior of All Saints Church

Eloise at Little Haven

From Little Haven Point

Little Haven beach from the point.

This trip to Wales was intended to be for Des to renew acquaintances and revisit childhood haunts. In the four days we’ve had touring the Pembrokeshire Coast, winding in and out of the narrow roads between the villages, we have accomplished that in spades. These busy days will not soon be forgotten.

This concludes our blogging from Croatia and Pembrokeshire, South Wales.  We hope those of you who have travelled along with us have enjoyed the journey.