Wales 3-4 June Rosebush, Manorbier

We  left Rye at 8am and arrived at Rosebush 7 hours later.  David’s GPS took us to the village  and our cabin within 60m after many false twists because we had to use the ‘don’t follow road’ option (the GPS only knows major roads).  So many of the roads we travelled, apart from the motorways, were very narrow with high hedgerows, giving little warning of a signpost to the road we wanted.  Detours were common. 

Our hosts were very welcoming and the cabin is better than expected, once we got used to the tiny bedroom, just as wide as the bed, on to which you have to launch yourself.  David had problems moving the bed to retrieve a lost pencil.  The property is 6 acres of lovely garden and wild ‘bush’ which we are free to roam.  The cabin is totally private with views over wildflowers and shrubs down to a nearby reservoir.

We asked for ideas re a restaurant to celebrate our 50^th wedding anniversary that night and ended up at the only local hotel, Tafarn Sinc (=Tavern Zinc as built from corrugated iron).

 

This was an interesting choice as an introduction to Wales – the hotel was a popular place on a Friday night and half the people were speaking in Welsh.  We have since found that everyone in Pembrokeshire knows about Tafarn Sinc.  The original owner was quite a character and the place used to feature settees. The food was OK and we had a nice surprise when the publican said our hosts had

already paid for the wine we drank. 

  The pub floor was scattered with wood shavings, the walls were covered in old posters, paintings and photos; the ceiling was hung with memorabilia. 

  In the 1950s the local rail line adjacent to the hotel was closed but not forgotten.

Has sound effects too!

Saturday 4 June

Because we cannot get internet access here unless I sit outside our hosts' kitchen, we drove south to Haverfordwest to buy a SIM and to shop to stock our kitchen.  No luck re a SIM.  Decided to explore southern parts so drove to Tenby via Pembroke.  The most interesting part of this trip was Manorbier, a tiny village on the south coast which features a beach (pay to park), popular on the sunny day we arrived. 

 

It also has a castle, early 12th C, which looked quite impressive to a surveyor for Henry VIII, who described it as “the most perfect model of an old Norman baron’s residence.”