Vicky Kaderbhai travels to the Pembrokeshire coast where she finds what sounds like her ‘forever home’, with everything she could want.
The Cornerstone
Musselwick Farm on the St Brides and Marloes Peninsula in Pembrokeshire has got to be one of the most peaceful places I have ever stayed. The farm, set on 232 acres, has five holiday cottages ranging from The Cowshed which sleeps two, all the way up to The Millhouse which can accommodate 12 people. We stayed in The Cornstore, which sleeps six and looked straight out over the fields to the sea. The dogs were keen to explore the moment we got there and our hosts, Nick and Sue, who live and work on the farm in their own renovated farmhouse actively encourage it. While they roamed around we got to meet Storm, the resident dog, an Alaskan Malamut who was just such a gentle giant. Getting Buddy and Rory to come in for dinner was trickier than usual as they were happily sat outside enjoying the sunset, but the welcome pack that Nick and Sue had supplied containing a whole range of doggy treats, included ‘bark burgers’ eventually enticed them inside and we were ready to settle in for the evening. With the dogs nicely tuckered out after all their exploring, we took the chance to head out onto the back deck and get into the hot tub. It was a clear night and we were able to sit back and watch the stars as they came out. Being so close to the sea and with so little light pollution we had a great view. After a restful night’s sleep, we were ready to start exploring.
Tan A mor Restaurant
My husband started the day with what I thought would be a quick walk with the dogs and our daughter. Well, when it’s this easy to get around, I underestimated how far they could get. One hour later he called me to tell me to look out the window at the back of the cottage to the white dot in the distance, it turns out they had driven to Deer Park and the white dot they were standing next to was the NCI Wooltack Point. It had only been a nine-minute drive and now they were looking out over towards Skomer Island. To say that I was jealous would be an understatement and I asked if they might come back and get me before they had anymore adventures. When he returned we all headed out to Marloes Sands, another journey that took less than 10 minutes. We parked at the Marloes Sands National Trust car park and took about a 10-minute walk down to the beach. Buddy was beside himself; this boy loves the water and being able to splash about in the rock pools kept him entertained for ages. Rory, who is a bit more of a princess and has spent this winter protesting against the horror of being taken for walks int he rain, also turned out to be in her element; she skipped across the rocks and happily followed Buddy around. We ended up staying there for longer than we had expected as we were all enjoying being outside without a plan. The scenery is stunning and I got some absolutely beautiful photos of the cliffs. Our thoughts did eventually turn to food as we had worked up quite an appetite, so we followed a suggestion from Nick and Sue and headed over to Dale (yep, you guessed it, another sub–10 minute drive) where we ate at Tân A Môr at Dale Yacht Club. All of the ingredients are sourced locally, and the food was absolutely delicious. It’s the best lasagne I’ve had in a long time. We wandered back to the car park along the beach, before setting off in search of milk and coming across Nolton Cross Farm Shop where we were not only able to grab some milk but also a bottle of whisky for my husband, a delicious millionaire shortbread for me, a flapjack for our daughter and some tasty treats for the dogs. It was such a fun surprise to come across.
Deer Park
The next day the weather wasn’t looking quite so sunny, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. Picton Castle and Gardens is beautiful, even in the rain. Like many other castles, dogs aren’t allowed inside the actual castle, but this isn’t a problem at Picton, as the grounds are so fun to explore; they have a play area, a maze and there is even one section that feels like stepping into The Lord of The Rings. It got bonus points for being undercover and Rory loved trying to climb as high as possible in the trees with low hanging branches. Once we decided we had become as damp as we could handle, we headed to the dog friendly Courtyard Restaurant, which was lovely, warm and welcoming. Maria who runs the restaurant is from Spain and has managed to combine the warmth and comfort of Spanish food with local Pembrokeshire produce. Our daughter was able to get a lunch pack, which included a freshly made sandwich, fruit and a little chocolate bar. The cakes on display looked amazing but I didn’t have any more room. I highly suspect they were as delicious as they looked .Pembrokeshire has so many great places to visit; Tenby, St David’s (Britain’s smallest city), Blue Lagoon, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and the great thing about Musselwick Farm is that they are all less than an hour away.
Picton Castle and Gardens
You are also well placed to get across to Skomer Island, where you can visit the puffins. The ferry runs from April, so we just missed out paying a visit, but we all agreed that we’ll be back. The ferries are dog friendly but dogs aren’t allowed on the island itself, so if you still want to take your furryfriends to see the puffins you can choose one of the ferries that tours around the island instead of hopping off. Musselwick Farm is such a great place to get away and relax and it’s well-positioned for getting to explore everything that Pembrokeshire has to offer.
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Musselwick Farm
Fact File
Property – Musselwick Farm, St Brides, Haverfordwest, SA62 3AW
Contact – seaside@musselwickfarm.co.uk
Price -Three nights from £900, Seven nights from £1350 in April/May
Website – musselwickfarm.co.uk
