Saundersfoot

Given the chances of a week in Wales in mid-October being a complete washout, I think I did pretty well with two fantastically bright sunny days, two grey-but-dry days and two days of rain. I stayed in a quirky beachhouse overlooking the beach and harbour at Saundersfoot on the Pembrokeshire coast. The style was 'shabby chic' with some very stylish touches and some that struck me as erring towards 'jumble sale', but definitely not bland and with the most spectacular view. I could've spent the whole week just gazing out across the beach and ever-changing seascape.

Day One

A bright sunny day and a long walk along the coastal path to Tenby. Too many layers that were soon stuffed in my bag along with a heavy camera left me with a painful shoulder and trying to carry the camera in my left hand. Frustrated and unbalanced, I battled my way along the muddy, slippery coastal path with its steep ups and downs feeling pretty wretched. 

Tenby harbour

Day Two

Another sunny day and a slightly gentler walk along the coast in the other direction to Amroth, then inland to Colby Woodland Garden. A good lunch in the cafe and a fascinating collection of hydrangeas. I freestyled the walk back along inland footpaths using my OS app - mostly successfully apart from an especially boggy corner of one field that left me with mud splashed right up to my bum!

 

 

Days Three & Four

A Monday morning bus to Narbeth, a mooch around the shops and lunch in a pub. Then a mini-adventure to the National Botanic Garden of Wales that involved a 2-mile walk, a train to Carmarthen and the once-a-day bus to the gardens. The 5-hour gap been the arrival and return of the bus was a tad over-generous and perhaps a grey day in October didn't show the gardens at their best. I filled the time though with a bit of ambling, a long lunch (some rather good cawl) and a couple of coffee stops. The return bus turned up bang on time - with the same, chatty driver and me as the only passenger. When I got to Carmarthen though, my train had been cancelled. I waited an hour for the replacement bus, which finally turned out to be a taxi for the half dozen passengers, stopping off at various points en route and taking another hour to get me back.

 

Days Five & Six

With storms forecast, I'd planned to stay indoors. In the end, it was more on-off showers, although some of them were pretty torrential. I booked an afternoon spa session at the hotel nextdoor. Quite cool sitting in an outdoor infinity pool heated to body temperature looking out across the windswept beach, watching the dog walkers and a lone windsurfer. 

 

On my final day, I booked lunch at a fancy restaurant along the coast. I got caught out in a downpour en route though and sat over lunch in completely soaked and increasingly cold jeans. I think I styled it out, but was ready to get home and dry out!