Drive from home (Peterborough) to Carmarthenshire – approx. 4hr30
(follow [SA19 6EN] to get you to the hotel carpark – you can use this car park as your base for Llandelio town as it’s very central)
Info: The pretty market town of Llandeilo, with its narrow streets, painted Georgian houses and selection of boutiques, coffee shops and galleries is where farming feet meets country chic. And for a relatively compact area, the surrounding Tywi Valley packs in a number of heritage and cultural attractions, set in some of the most breath-taking scenery in Wales.
Suggestions of places to visit in the Tywi Valley:
Carreg Cennen [SA19 6UA] – dominating the skyline for miles, the castle dates back to the 13th century.
Open 9:30am-6pm – entry cost is £5.50pp
Dinefwr Estate and Castle [SA19 6RT] - a stunning 800-acre estate just outside Llandeilo, it occupies an important place in Welsh history. The fortress, perched on a hilltop overlooking the Tywi Valley, was where the Lord Rhys once held court and influenced decisions about Wales.
Open 10am – 4pm
Aberglasney Gardens [SA32 8QH] - these formal walled gardens date from Elizabethan times with a unique cloister garden at its heart, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered onto the set of a period drama here.
Open 10am – 6pm (last entry 5pm)
Overnight @ The Cawdor, Llandelio
(2 x double en suite rooms)
Address: Rhosmaen St, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire SA19 6EN
Info: The Cawdor has a private car park, situated at the rear of the hotel. You may pull up outside to leave your luggage at reception, and we will direct you to our parking facilities. Please be advised that The Cawdor is a listed building and does not have a lift. *Please wear a mask in all shared areas.
Breakfast is included and dinner will be charged back to us once you’ve checked out
Check-in is available from 3pm
Check-out is by 11am
Dinner @ The Cawdor: Reservation for 2 at 7:30pm
AM – drive to Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire – approx. 1hr30
12pm - Boat trip to Skomer and Stokholm islands. This has been pre-booked and paid for.
Info: You will be meeting Gareth – 07969552006
Address: Dale Princess & Dale Sea Safaris - Dale, Haverfordwest SA62 3RB
The boat will be departing from the pontoon. *This pickup point is weather dependent – if this changes I will give you updated information on Monday.
Parking is available at the Dale Beach car park – the postcode will take you here - cash only pay and display.
Skomer, Skokholm and Grassholm are a trio of neighbouring islands grouped together as a Site of Special Scientific Interest – it’s currently seal breeding season around Skomer so plenty of seal spotting opportunities, as well as getting brilliant views of the islands.
Lunch suggestion: The Griffin – next to the Dale Beach car park.
Regional winner of the National Pub Awards 2019.
*Note, the kitchen closes as 2:30 so this is dependent on when you get back from the boat trip.
Optional: Visit a section of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path from the car park at Dale
Or: Marloes Sands and take the half mile cliff walk down to the beach
(follow [SA62 3BH] to get you there – National Trust car park, you will need change)
Info: You’ll be greeted by 1.5km of uncrowded sweeping sand, dotted with sandstone towers standing in low-tide pools shimmering with tiny fish and shrimps, plus views of Skokholm and Gateholm islands.
Overnight @ Slebech Park, Narbeth
(2 x double en suite rooms)
Address: Slebech Park Estate, The Rhos, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA62 4AX
Breakfast and a dinner allowance are included – anything over that amount, I have asked the hotel to invoice back to us. You don’t need to pay this when you leave.
Check-in is available from 3pm
Check-out is by 11am
Dinner @ Slebech Park: Reservation for 2 at 6:30pm
AM
Optional: Visit Cenarth Falls (on the way to New Quay from Pembrokeshire) – approx. 50mins from Haverfordwest
(follow [SA38 9JL] to get you to the harbour carpark – paid parking, you will need change here)
Info: On the borders of three counties – Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire – is the charming village of Cenarth. Its main attraction since Victorian times is the cascade of waterfalls on the River Teifi.
In autumn, visitors come from far and wide to watch the fascinating spectacle of leaping salmon. This natural phenomenon sees migrating salmon fighting to clear the falls and get upstream to spawn.
PM
Visit New Quay for dolphin spotting
(follow [SA45 9NR] to get you to the harbour carpark – paid parking, this car park does have a card machine if you don’t have change)
Info: Cardigan Bay is famous for its bottlenose dolphins, with a population of around 250. They’re drawn here by the abundant feeding grounds, the undisturbed habitat and the clean waters. It’s possible to see bottlenose dolphins all year round and New Quay is pretty much dolphin central, where there’s a good chance you’ll spot them from the harbour wall.
*Tip – from experience, the dolphins are best spotted late afternoon into the evening.
Stay overnight @ The Falcondale, Lampeter, Ceredigion
(2 x double en suite rooms)
Address: Falcondale Drive, Lampeter SA48 7SB
Breakfast and dinner are included
Check-in is available from 3pm
Check-out is by 11am
Dinner @ The Falcondale: Reservation for 2 at 7:30pm (3 courses from set dinner menu has been pre-paid)
Check out by 11am
Optional: Visit Strata Florida Abbey (follow [SY25 6ES] to get you to the Abbey – on route home)
Info: The abbey of Strata Florida, Latin for ‘Vale of Flowers’, or ‘Ystrad Fflur’, as the locals call it, has stood in monastic tranquillity on the banks of the River Teifi since 1201. Established by Cistercian monks, it soon became the most famous church in Wales after St Davids and a keystone of Welsh culture. The abbey has been called the ‘Westminster Abbey of Wales’.
Drive home
Please keep receipts for any activities (including entry to castles etc), parking (where possible), petrol receipts and a note of total mileage and you will be reimbursed.