Laugharne Literary and Music Festival 15th - 17th April 2011 Weekend, Carmarthenshire, West Wales.

 The Boat House, Laugharne Dylan and Caitlin Thomas House

This timeless, mild, beguiling island of a town with its seven public houses, one chapel in action, one church, one factory, two billiard tables, one St. Bernard (without brandy), one policeman, three rivers, a visiting sea, one Rolls-Royce selling fish and chips, one cannon (cast-iron), one chancellor (flesh and blood), one portreeve, one Danny Raye, and a multitude of mixed birds, here we just are, and there is nowhere like it anywhere at all.'   Dylan Thomas.


Hi Everyone,

 Laugharne is a beautiful town situated on the Taf river with a Castle that dates back to 12th Century but the main street has a number of elegant Georgian houses.On a really foul, miserable day last week I went to Laugharne in order to see where this year's literary and music festival  is going to be held.  Brown's Hotel was looking very sorry for itself which is a great shame as it was a favourite haunt of Dylan and Caitlin Thomas.

I then decided to go for a ramble towards Dylan Thomas's Boat House and his studio/garage.  Having not been there for a while I had forgotten that the house had not got a similar front window view  to his  writing garage. I thought i would take a photograph from the shoreline looking up to this non existent front window at the Boat House.  In pursuit of this picture I then waded through estuary mud in swede baseball boots only to discover it was not how i had imagined and had to abandon the idea squelching back to the footpath!!!  All is okay with the boots they had a quick wash at home!

It is not Caitlin's ghost in the reflection but yours truly sorry to disappoint you all!   I thought it was a very atmospheric writing shed, a little gem of a place.    Onto the main topic I slightly digressed from, the Laugharne Literary Festival a small little intimate festival gaining a great following from those in the know!!!  Here are just a few highlights for this year's festival John Cooper Clark, Owen Sheers and Carol Ann Duffy will be performing poetry.   The actor Micheal Sheen,  Dom Jolly,  the painter Molly Parkin and Howard Marks will be holding talks.  Mark Billington who writes crime fiction and the young author Rachel Trezise will be discussing books.  I have actually heard Rachel Trezise discuss her acclaimed short story book "Fresh Apples" about life in the valleys which she won the prestigious Dylan Thomas Award for in 2005 when i went to the Winter Festival at Hay on Wye in 2006.  It was great to hear her read from her short stories which were a combination of bitter sweet and funny.
There will the Laugharne players performing "Under Milk Wood", by Dylan Thomas in the Tin Shed.

There is a great music line up which to highlight a few includes Cate Le Bon, Sweet Baboo, and  the acclaimed Fernhill who  have played at Womad and internationally, with their blend of folk and welsh traditional music.  It will be a memorable weekend to be a part of so book your tickets and hope for fine weather to put the final icing on the cake!!! http://thelaugharneweekend.com/

The 12th Century Castle at Laugharne.

West Wales National Association of Decorative Fine Art Society(WWNADFAS)Pembrokeshire.

Hi everyone,
On Tuesday it was the monthly  West Wales NADFAS lecture in Narbeth " The Duke of Wellington and the Treasures of Apsley House".  The Queen's Hall was packed out with eager people.  For those that read my blog last month you will know I had to miss most of the lecture on Irish country Houses to come to the aid of a gentleman who became extremely ill.   Good news he was at this months lecture very much alive, and true to form asked the first question as usual!!  Still it was not without what could have proved a major technical computer glitch.  The computer and power point did not want to talk to the slide projector.  We were on the verge of having a lecture without being able to see paintings and his treasures but at the eleventh hour a lady came forward with her laptop and all was rectified!!
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/apsley-house/
It seemed to me that as grateful thanks from his time in India, Spain and Portugal he received endless exquisite dinner services.  The Portuguese gave him an 1000 piece silver dinner service as grateful thanks for driving the french out of their country during the Peninsula Campaign.  Somehow he ended up having eighty eight masterpieces from the Spanish Royal collection which he offered to return.  The present British Embassy in Paris belonged to Bonaparte's sister and was given to the Duke of Wellington as well as a rare Sevres china  Egyptian Service  which he gave to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  The Austrians gave him Meisen china Vienna dinner service and following the Battle of Waterloo the King of Prussia amongst other gifts gave him the Prussian dinner service.
I had no idea  that Waterloo was a village close to the Belgium border or that he was called the Iron Duke because of the iron shutters at Apsley House.  It was an extremely interesting and stimulating lecture.

Talking of dinner services anyone interested in fine china and old patterns from Wedgewood, Royal Worcester, Crown Derby etc. should go along to the closing down sale of the fine china shop at the top end of Kings Street, Carmarthen as everything is half price.  The gentleman who runs the shop is giving up after fifty years in the business.  Sadly the Royal Worcester set I use at home which belonged to my mother was an extremely popular pattern but I did spot another design I liked so the man that runs it is going to track down some odd pieces from his Lampeter Shop.  Sadly very few people use fine bone china nowadays and it was fascinating listening to him and the care he took checking for cracks in the china a close friend bought.

On the topic of museums, paintings and artefact's you can now armchair travel your way into many of the main art galleries in the world by using google art project.  No airport queues, crowds, jet lag just sit down in the comfort of you own sitting room or office and off you go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York with a click of a button.  How good is that in reducing the carbon foot print and gaining green miles!!!!
http://www.googleartproject.com/

Pembrokeshire and Art

Hi Everyone,

Tomorrow night on BBC 2 Wales there is going to be a programme about Pembrokeshire and Pembrokeshire Art
.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007hzbc

I hope you all enjoy it I will certainly watch it or record it!  There is a gallery on Milford Marina called Pure Art that promotes welsh art.  There is an exhibition of Stan Rosenthal  paintings at present.  They have a number of original paintings and reasonably priced prints for sale by leading welsh artists.  It is a bright airy gallery with a nice coffee shop nearby on the marina.  It is well worth a visit!
http://www.artpure.co.uk/

Tenby Museum also has a number of excellent artists exhibiting this year and it is well worth a visit particularly since they have now completed the new extension for there permanent collection of Augustus and Gwen John work.  Funnily enough I actually worked in Hampshire and lived in a house where Augustus John had worked in a studio in the garden.

Lawrenny Quay, Pembrokeshire. The Guardian's Top Ten UK Winter Walks

Crocus Bank, Lawrenny Quay.

 Hi Everyone

Last weekend Daisy and I thought we would do the circular route around Lawrenny Quay and round Garron Pill along the Daugleddau estuary.  I was amazed to find that the Guardian had rated it as one of the top ten winter walks in the UK.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/dec/22/national-trust-uk-winter-walks-lawrenny.

I had never done this walk so we set of with the dogs minus a picnic as I half thought that the excellent Lawrenny Quay Tearoom may have opened, sadly we will have to wait a few more months.   You start off from the boat yard and then enter the four hundred year old ancient broad- leafed, mostly oak woodland.   It must look spectacular when the bluebells come out, or in the autumn when the rare service trees become a russet/red colour. A  service tree may also be called a chequer tree or a maple tree and apparently the berries were used as a treatment for dysentery hundreds of years ago. The views across the estuary are fantastic allow this stretch of the path.

Ancient Oak Woods, Lawrenny

You have walk for about a mile and a half and then join the walk along the estuary at Garron Pill.  The tide was out but there were plenty of curlew, oystercatcher's and shelduck on the water.  You get an excellent view across to Llangwym from  the Pill.  The dogs had an excellent time running across the mud but both Daisy and I did not share their enthusiasm in case we had to rescue one of them and we might have sunk into the mud which would have been no joke. Our combined outward bound skills would have been put to the test  and neither of us had retractable leads or rope.  Anyhow none of them got stuck so that was a big relief!

Garron Pill

Once you have returned to Lawrenny village you can then have different estuary views from the old site of Lawrenny Castle which was demolished in 1952.  During the second world war Lawrenny Quay was the home of 764 Squadron and its fleet of seaplanes.  These were moored on the river between Lawrenny and Coedcanlas and the officers stayed at Lawrenny Castle.

View from the site of Lawrenny Castle towards Coedcanlas and Cresselly

View from the site of Lawrenny Castle

Talking of ancient topics the debate is still going on as to whether the bluestone at Stonehenge came from the Presceli mountains or further north towards Cardigan.  It seems an incredible achievement to have somehow created various forms of  transport to take these huge stones to Salisbury and create Stonehenge.  Most people driving by on the A303 would have no idea these stones had travelled all the way from Pembrokeshire/Cardiganshire.   When they tried to recreate this journey many years ago the bluestone sank in the estuary I seem to remember.

http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/archaeology/megaliths+and+prehistoric+archaeology/art348594

St.Davids Day and Pembrokeshire Food Festivals 2011

Hi everyone

Happy St.David's Day.  What a beautiful day it is spring is here after a truly miserable half term week.  Wales won against Italy at the weekend and so there is a lot of happy welsh people.  This weekend it is the St.David's Food Festival in Saundersfoot which has now turned into quite a big event with the annual challenge of who can cook the best welsh cawl.  Which for those who are not familiar with the name is a lamb and vegetable soup.  Angela Grey will be doing cookery demonstrations I quite liked the sound of her Patagonia Cake.
The big food festival of the year is Pembrokeshire Fish Week June 25th - July 23rd.  It won Gold at the True Taste Awards 2009/2010 for Best Food Tourism Destination.  I plan to go to two events, a seafood foraging day in Newport and the top chefs master class at the Torch Theatre.  I am a great fan of Mark Hix as a Saturday Independent reader and an admirer of his cook books.  He has no television cookery show but  is very well regarded within his industry.  Anyone interested in attending the fish evening should rush and book a ticket to avoid disappointment!  The only trouble is that the Torch has not released the date as yet so keep trying all those of you that are interested.  I have enclosed two links so you will know who is also cooking that night and  the events going on during fish week around the county.

http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=&parent_directory_id=646&id=21871&Language=

http://www.fishweek.co.uk/pembrokeshire_fish_week_brochure.asp


The Really Wild Food Festival has moved from September to Friday29th - 30th July this year, presumably that is down to Iron Man Wales coming to Pembrokeshire.  I will leave Iron Man for another blog lets get back to the Really Wild Festival at St.David's.  It is a celebration of wild food, foraging, music, guided food walks put it in your diary its great!http://www.reallywildfestival.co.uk/.

Narbeth Food Festival is another thoroughly enjoyable festival which is taking place on the 24th - 25th September.  The Narbeth Plant Sale on 1st May is also excellent but you need to get there early to avoid disappointment!  Talking of Narbeth in this weekend's Sunday Independent Simon Calder wrote an article on Wales.  The Pembrokeshire Coast  Path got a mention but there was a whole paragraph entitled "Top Shops"  highlighting Narbeth as the place to visit and I quote"....Once a rural backwater, Narbeth is now buzzing with upscale shops selling homeware, high fashion, art and craft."  It also said that Andrew Rees is probably the best butcher in Wales.

The Rococo Gardens,Painswick, Gloucestershire

Hi Everyone,
I went to Gloucestershire a few weekends ago and visited the Rococo Gardens,Painswick.  I went with a friend on rather a cold, dull day to do the famous snowdrop walk.  If it had been fine and warm there would have been masses of people!!!  Despite the weather the snowdrops were fantastic and there were not too many people.  It is a masterpiece in naturalistic planting.  They divide up the clumps every few years and it is stunning the effect in the woodland area.

There are a number of folly's throughout the garden.  One I felt was similar in design to a similar one at Portmeirion and it created the feeling of an Italien garden.

My absolute favourite snowdrop was  Galanthus Nivalis 'Flore Pleno'.  I purchased several pots of them and brought them  back to Pembrokeshire for my own garden.  Unfortunately they will take ages to develop the wonderful drifts of snowdrops at the Rococo Gardens.  So I think I will have to put in a bulk order!  I decided I would follow planting instructions to the letter and put in bonemeal and fertiliser and oh joy my dogs smelled the bone meal from  inside the house and proceeded to dig them up to get at the bone meal so the flower that was looking lovely is now looking extremely battered and sorry for itself!!!

Galanthus nivalus 'Flore Pleno'

There were beautiful cyclamen and aconites and all in all it was a lovely place to visit. I hope you have enjoyed a little armchair view of it in the comfort of your own homes!

http://www.rococogarden.org.uk/SeasonalJoys/SnowdropsatRococoGarden.aspx

The National Geographic Magazine and Pembrokeshire

A view from Lydstep Headland of  the Caverns.

 Hi Everyone,
Pembrokeshire was once again this week featured  in National Geographic Traveller Magazine about Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Pembrokeshire.  It was featured last November for being second in the top 99 Coastal Destinations in the World voted by a panel of 340 independent experts in the field of sustainable tourism and destination stewardship.

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/parks/pembrokeshire-coast-wales/

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/coastal-destinations-rated/top-rated

The Daily Telegraph online also featured Pembrokeshire in its Travel Section on  recommended walks by the National Trust, which featured a walk around the headland at Solva and the likelihood of seeing choughs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/walkingholidays/8328407/The-Gribin-Solva-Pembrokeshire-Walk-of-the-week.html

I can also report that I saw a pair of choughs while walking on Lydstep Headland with my dogs the other day.  It is a wonderful walk with spectacular views from Lydstep point of Caldey Island.   This area of land was acquired by the National Trust in 1936.  The headland has a number of climbing routes, and the Black Rock is a favourite location used by fishermen hoping to catch a bass, pollock and mackerel.  Below Lydstep Headland is the Lydstep Caverns where it is possible on spring tides in the summer months to catch prawns.  I have taken take my prawn and shrimp net there but so far have failed miserably to catch a thing .  I obviously am doing a number of  things wrong.  I am either going at the wrong time of year, or the wrong tides or I do not have the right feramones for this activity.!!! I have on the other hand, caught plenty of shrimps and flounders at Angle Bay so I will not give up hope of catching something at  Lydstep Caverns this year!!!  I will keep you informed.

Gorse in flower on Lydstep Headland

Caroline Grove, Stackpole Estate,Pembrokeshire.

View from the Hidden Bridge, Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire.

We took a walk today at Caroline Grove, Stackpole Estate to see the renovation work undertaken by the National Trust and Forestry Commission.  The aim is to clear away alders and fringe willow which are silting up the reed bed.  It has made the whole area around the hidden bridge much more open and increased the vista and it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk.

A Photographic Walk from Stackpole Quay to Barafundle Beach, Pembrokeshire.

The Elizabeth Jane Lobster Boat Stackpole Quay, Pembrokeshire.

  Hi Everyone,

I had a walk last weekend to Barafundle Beach, for those that do not know this beach it has been consistently voted as one of the best beaches in the UK by various newspapers over the years.  It was extremely wild and windy but completely deserted except for me and my dogs.  Sadly the Stackpole Tearooms were not open so that I could have a large hot chocolate that would have been a highlight after the walk having managed to loose my mittens with my enthusiasm to take some photographs!!!

Entrance to Barafundle Bay

View towards Broadhaven South Headland

Breaking Wave Barafundle Beach

A Windy Day at Barafundle Bay

Rebus and Murphy on the way home.

serials online

Chinese New Year Celebration

Year of the Rabbit

Hi Everyone,
Happy Chinese New Year.  Last weekend my close friend Daisy, dressed head to foot in red, her daughter and yours truly entered into the spirit of celebrating the Chinese New Year by going to a local Chinese restaurant.  Sadly there was no dragon parade in the restaurant. That parade took place on Boxing Day at Tenby in freezing temperatures and snow on the beach!

Boxing Day Swim 2011

 Luckily we booked  because it was packed out and we had to abandon the car blocking several people in not that anyone seemed to be bothered by that issue.  No knives and forks for us who wanted to enter into the whole spirit of the experience with gay abandon, unlike the other surrounding dinners, chopsticks all the way was our motto for the night. Eating rice with them was a challenge!!!
It is the year of the Rabbit so apparently there is likely to be some calmness restored in the Chinese Calender this year following the Tiger last year.  Apparently characteristic's of people born in the year of the Rabbit is that they are admired, tactful, talented, kind and financially lucky!!  Well guess who is a Tiger me,oh joy!!  Daisy my slightly dizzy friend is a Rat, I think I prefer being a Tiger.  Apparently we are completely honest and expect the same from others, charming personalities, always welcoming, have the ability to lift spirits, are well liked and enjoy a challenge!!!  Thank goodness for that running a bed and breakfast!!  Apparently I am a Water Tiger therefore they are  a bit more tranquil than other tigers who can be short tempered in the Chinese Calender.

So I thought why not tie this in with the whole theme of today's blog and show you a photograph of a Tigers I took not in a safari park in the UK but in Kanha National Park in India where I worked many moons ago.

Tiger photographed from an Elephant Kanha National Park, India

Tiger looking for her cubs, Kanha National Park, India

A Wild Windy Day in Pembrokeshire

A Wild and Windy Day at Manorbier.

Hi Everyone.

Pembrokeshire Wildlife News
We seem to have gone from -14C in some areas of Pembrokeshire to now gale force conditions at the end of the week what has happened to the sunshine we were promised?
Hot off the presses is that for us wildlife enthusiasts red squirrels maybe introduced by the monks on Caldey Island as they have no predators to contend with like foxes, badgers,grey squirrels and rats.  I have seen some in a garden in Scotland and compared to the grey ones they are beautiful.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-12360377.
I am not going to talk about the black panther/puma sighting at Treffgarne as it has been well documented in the media both locally and nationally except to say if you are interested to see how many recorded sightings in the United Kingdom there have been of wild animals you should look at this link which dates back to 2009. .http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109165751156961337979.0004618a779cd5835130f&ll=52.348537,-1.465648&spn=4.712047,9.84375&z=7

The West Wales Decorative and Fine Art Society
 We had our first lecture of the New Year last Tuesday which judging by the amount of people that were there it would appear that everyone wanted to know about "Sleeping Beauties - The Irish Country House".  I had no idea that the Vikings created the ports of Dublin, Cork and Waterford.  It was only during Henry VIII reign  for well over the next sixty years that he tried to become King of Ireland and claim  it for the English monarchy and nobility.  The Irish lecturer was in full swing ten minutes into the talk and then alas I cannot really fill you as I had hoped too, because an elderly gentleman collapsed and suddenly a medical person was requested.  I sat there wondering whether I should offer my assistance and at that point no doctor stood up so I came to this gentleman and his wife's aid.  Luckily I was then assisted by two retired doctors and we managed to get him to another room where his condition greatly improved .  The poor man could not understand  why he was not suddenly listening to the exciting lecture with his wife.

I would like to have given you a brief account of  the great houses of Ireland but I only returned to lecture ten minutes before the end when we were shown a wide variety of styles in the 19th and 20th Centuries.  I particularly liked what was an extremely grand cowshed which was timbered building in the style of a Tudor House except with some Arts and Crafts Architecture thrown in for good measure!!   It must be the smartest cowshed in Ireland, the United Kingdom if not the world.  The cows were kept down below and then the upstairs was where the Lord of the estate entertained his lady friends.  I wish I could show you a photograph but I am still on the hunt for one!  Next month is a lecture is on The Duke of Wellington and the Treasures of Apsley House.  Hopefully it will not be quite be as eventful  as this last one. I do not think the charismatic Irish lecturer will ever forget his trip to West Wales NADFAS!

Here is a little something to make you feel warm when the wind is howling outside!!!

Pembrokeshire Whale Watching and The Milky Way Galaxy Photographs taken at FreshWater West.

Sunset over Manorbier Headland from Manorbier Bed and Breakfast.

Hi everyone,

Pembrokeshire has had some spectacular sunsets recently and clear skies at night to view the stars. I thought you might like to read this little news item with beautiful pictures of the Milky Way Galaxy at Freshwater West at from the Seaweed.  It is hot off the Daily Mail presses!! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350338/.  His camera is far more expensive than my small Fujifilm but I still enjoyed his magnificent photographs and taking my sunset photograph the other night.

On the wildlife topic there has been some more whales spotted in the Irish Sea just off the Pembrokeshire Coast which I thought might be of interest to any of you who enjoy wildlife.
 http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/01/25/whale-watchers-thrilled-by-the-mighty-fin-91466-28047175/.

The Sea Trust are running a number of different trips whale and dolphin watching around the Islands of Ramsey, Skokholm, Grassholm and Skomer during the summer months leaving from Neyland Marina.  No trip is the same and they can only take a group of twelve people.  The first one is on April 26th for further details, prices, dates and information with regard to booking a trip please click on the following link http://www.seatrust.org.uk/.  I am definitely planning on going on some of their trips!

Manorbier Book Club Evening and a trip to the Apollo Cinema, Camarthen.

Hi Everyone,
For those people who are interested in books we had a meeting of our book club a couple of nights ago at my house.  Manorbier has two book clubs!!!  The original one was started over thirteen years ago and because it was quite a large group various other people thought we should form another one about five years ago.  Each group does not tend to read the same book for the month.  In our book club we take it in turns to choose the book and then when we meet up the following month not only to discuss it but then each of us has to give a score for  the book depending on whether you enjoyed it or not.  Unfortunately my book choice this month will definitely win the prize for the worst choice this year but that is okay with me.  I was due to choose either The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, or Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga.  Goodness knows what came over me before Christmas because I suddenly decided to choose a Collection of Short Stories by V.S.Pritchett having read The Saturday Independents 50 Best Books.  I supposed I was swayed suddenly to change my book choice on the basis that I had never read a collection of short stories and neither had we read any as a book club group.  They were all quite dark and tragic in some ways. My favourite was " The Girl Who Came Home".  I can assure you that my choice was extremely unpopular!!!  Anyhow we are now reading Rohinton Mistry Family Matters.  His book A Fine Balance was very popular with our group a few years ago and certainly I have found the first few pages really enjoyable although I am the slowest reader in the entire universe so I hope I finish it by the 22nd February!
A friend and I went to the marvellous Apollo Cinema in Camarthen  to see" The Black Swan" last night. Goodness gracious we were both exhausted watching this very dark and intense film but I can assure you that Natalie Portman thoroughly deserved the Golden Globe for her performance.  Not a feel good movie that is for sure!
I was going to take you on a photographic walk round Lydstep Headland tonight from the comfort of your armchairs but it is so cold and grey I am not going to go out.  Instead you can enjoy the view from where Stackpole House was built originally before it was demolished with panoramic views across the lake. Apparently the Forestry Commission is working with the National Trust over the next five years to manage the woodland and the silted up areas of the lakes by invasive species of shrubs.

View over the lake at Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire, Wales. 

Pembrokeshire and Welsh Castles News

Manorbier Castle,Pembrokeshire,Wales.

Well everyone,
Do not say I do not keep you all informed!!!  I notice that Visit Pembrokeshire has just announced Cyclosportive, Tour of Pembrokeshire so I am ahead of the game!!  For any further information the excellent Pembrokeshire Bike Shop in Fishguard will be able to help with any queries connected to bikes, cycling and events.www.pembrokeshirebikes.co.uk.  There will be a cycling event on the 1st May at the National Trust Stackpole Estate.
I was due to go to the St.Brides Hotel which has magnificent views over Saundersfoot yesterday to meet some friends for coffee and Petit Fours but had to fore go the experience sadly.  St. Brides Hotel won an award in 2010 in Coast Magazine for the best Coastal Hotel.  Readers also voted the Pembrokeshire Coast Path their favourite long distance path in the UK.
My news snippet of the day is that Visit Britain did a survey of more than 10,000 foreign tourists in 2010, giving them a list of eighteen things that could only be done in Britain and guess what came top of the list going on a tour of Welsh Castles at 34%, followed by Buckingham Palace 32%, and thirdly spending a night in a Scottish Castle 29.1%.  Apparently touring Welsh Castles was extremely popular with Polish, Russian, Italian and German Tourists.  So that is good news for me at Manorbier Bed and Breakfast because from their bedroom they will have panoramic views of Manorbier's Medieval Castle.  Apparently the South Koreans want to visit anywhere connected to locations for Harry Potter Films watch out Freshwater West Beach!!   So this year I will be brushing up my foreign language skills ready for an invasion of foreign tourists!www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12175173
If anyone fancies relaxing and enjoying different Pembrokeshire Walks from the comfort of your armchair go to paulmanorbier on You Tube.  He showcases Pembrokeshire at its best, plus the picnics he has look delicious!

Manorbier Castle Winter 2010

Pembrokeshire Sportive Bike Tour 2011

Hi everyone,

Pembrokeshire CycloSportive Event will take place on the 12th June this year with Sabbath Light weight titanium bikes being the main sponsors of the event. Last year saw an entry of 600 participants and more people are expected to take part this year. There are three race routes starting from Saundersfoot, a 62, 83 or 117 mile circular route which will provide cyclists with some challenging hill climbs in the Presceli Mountains but also taking in some wonderful Coastal Scenery. Those of us who will not be taking part can go along and view and test a range of Sabbath and Bianchi Bicycles at the Regency Hall, Saundersfoot on the 11th June.http://www.tourofpembrokeshire.co.uk/

Manorbier, Pembrokeshire

Manorbier Castle,Pembrokeshire,Wales.

Hi and welcome to Poppy's Pembrokeshire Blog.  Hopefully I will be keeping you all  informed  about  things that interest me in Pembrokeshire that might interest you.  For example an Orca was seen in the channel between St.Anne's Head and Skokholm over the New Year. .http://pembrokeshirewildlife.blogspot.com/ 

 Did you know that Pembrokeshire has been featured in an article in Canada's Globe and Mail in January on the Best Spots for Adventure Travel in 2011.  So welcome to all our Canadian visitors, although they did suggest any visitors  should base themselves in Cardiff allowing them to have easy access to all of South Wales!