On our drive west we stopped in Abergavenny, another small market town with a history back to Roman times.
It was a lovely day and it was also a market day, so the town was buzzing.
The roads we traveled were mostly quiet, as the M4 motorway takes most of the heavy traffic that used to plague the them.
Though, occasionally you get to follow large tractors on their way to another field.
Wales has a large sheep population and we saw them covering mountain sides throughout our travels.
Our accommodation was this converted stable on quite a large farm, lovely and quiet, though down a very rough lane which bounced us around quite a lot as we drove in and out.
We were very close to the village of Carew, which, of course, had a castle! This site also has a tidal mill which was used to grind local grain into flour.
This is the mill which stands on a wall that is used to hold the area at the front of the photo full of water when the tide comes in from the sea. The trapped water was then released back through the water wheels in the mill, that then turned the grinding stones.
As I said earlier, one of our goals was to take walks on the coastal path. Walking these paths is made quite easy with bus routes that stop at many of the access points, making it easy to leave your car at one end of a section and take a bus back.
Our first walk started in Saundersfoot and ended in Tenby, a distance of about 4 miles. It was a great walk, though with a lot of hills and steep slopes to navigate. In many ways it reminded us of walks along the Oregon coast.
It was quite a strenuous walk but there were families out for the day as well.
The cliffs we walked along.
Great swaths of foxgloves everywhere.
And eventually we walked into Tenby where, after tea and snacks, we caught the bus back to the car we had left in Saundersfoot.
Another view of Tenby.
We saw that the local lifeboat had been out, exercises we hoped, and saw how they winched the boat back into the boathouse at the top of the ramp.
Saint David's is a very small city in the west of Pembrokshire, home to this cathedral. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales and within this cathedral is a shrine to commemorate his existence, since there is no record of where he is buried.
The church is quite magnificent and was the first I encountered that requested you buy a photographer's permit, cost about $3.50. A way of getting funding, as none is provided by the State.
Details of some of the vaulted roofs.
Wonderful floor tiles.
There was another section of the coastal path, near Saint David's, that we walked, out a headland, which had the remains of an Iron Age fort.
The walk is spectacular with views down into small bays with very clear water.
We made it to the headland and found a friendly New Zealander to take our photo.
Diane taking a break next to a cromlech or ancient burial site, some 5,000 years old.
We also walked yet another section of the coastal path that intersected with this beach near the village of Angle.
A pretty deserted beach!
Lots of free roaming horses.
The village of Laugharne, where Dylan Thomas lived at the end of his life, was close to where we were staying, so a visit was in order.
His writing shed, viewed through the window, as it is not open to the public.
The "Boathouse", the home of Dylan and Caitlan Thomas.
Tea on the terrace of the house. We really enjoyed Laugharne, it has that small town feeling that we like.
The hotel bar where he used to hang out.
A simple marker for Dylan and Caitlin's last resting place.
Laugharne does, of course, have it's own castle.
We had a wonderful time in Pembrokeshire and were blessed with mostly good weather, which made our walks very enjoyable. It was difficult to cull a few photos from the 600 plus to show in this post, many more memorable ones will have to wait their turn.
North Wales next stop!
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