St. Davids Head | a global affair

By Lakshmi:

A few months back, my husband excitedly passed on a suggestion from a colleague – Why don’t you consider taking a ferry from Pembroke to Ireland? As we mentioned about a year ago, we fell in love with the Pembrokeshire coast. https://aglobalaffair.com/2013/07/29/the-ny-times-a-physician-and-christian-bale-all-point-to-pembrokeshire-wales/

An excuse to return and take a journey from there required no convincing. Soon, our plans were laid. It would entail

Driving from our home in Abergavenny to Pembroke
Visiting St. Davids Head and spending the night
Taking a Ferry from Pembroke to Ireland
Spending time in Dublin
Spending time in Belfast
Taking a ferry from Belfast to Scotland
Spending time in Edinburgh
Driving home to Abergavenny from Edinburgh

This time, we were excited to be able to spend a night in Pembrokeshire and picked “One of ten hotels with the world’s best views” – Warpool Court Hotel http://www.warpoolcourthotel.com/. This was one of those rare promises which was even better in person. As we approached the private driveway and walked across the on site restaurant, we were immediately met with the most beautifully landscaped gardens with a spectacular view of the sea. Our room located on the top floor faced the garden and had the charm of a beautiful bed and breakfast. With a car show in town, we spent time gazing lovingly at the many vintage cars that dotted the driveway.

We spent our day walking through town, pausing at many a small shop, eating a bite at local places and of course doing one of our absolute favorite walks on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path – from Whitesands Beach to St. David’s head.

Take a look at these pictures and you will agree that this is one of those precious spots that always holds a special place in your heart!

In our next posts, we will take you along the rest of the journey, starting with our very interesting ferry ride from Fishguard.

Entry to Warpool Court Hotel

Private Driveway

Entrance to Hotel

The View From The Garden

Our Room

Walking to St. Davids Head

Views Along The Way

At St. Davids Head

By Lakshmi:

Authors, travelers and adventurers have waxed eloquence about the beauty of Pembrokeshire, Wales. Is it our new home in Wales or is it the beauty of the rugged coastline that keeps pulling me towards stories about Pembrokeshire?

A few months ago, the NY Times travel section had this to say about walking the Welsh coastline. “…….I could no longer resist. Particularly alluring was the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in southern Wales, with those cliffs tumbling down to heaving seas.” The recommendation was to slow walk and take a multi-day walking adventure. A casual conversation with a doctor who had studied in Wales ended with a passionate urge to visit Pembrokeshire. And then, of course, came the discovery that one of our favorite actors Christian Bale was from there!

With a day at our disposal and armed with maps of the area, we decided to make the 2.5 hr drive from our home to Pembrokeshire. Our target for the day was to head to St. Davids, Britain’s smallest city, and take one of many recommended hikes.

After a quick lunch at the visitor center, off we headed in the direction on the map. After feeling utterly lost a couple of times, we discovered the path that would take us from the town to St. Davids Head. I could write volumes of prose on the oohs and aahs that echoed as we took each twist and turn on the journey, but this is a perfect example of where a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at the beauty that greeted us and you will know why returning back to Pembrokeshire and doing all the walks recommended below by The Guardian has propelled this destination to the top of our list!