We had our first post covid-19 lockdown holiday in Pembrokeshire in April 2021. It was the perfect toddler friendly holiday with our nearly 2 year old, and I would recommend it to anyone with little ones looking for a staycation in the UK!
Accommodation
We stayed in Clydey Cottages which comprises 10 self-catering cottages in a beautiful rural setting, with farm animals that you can feed, an indoor heated swimming pool, hot tubs, play areas and other organised children’s activities e.g. a woodland adventure. When we visited only a couple of things were unavailable due to covid-19. Clydey’s covid safety policy meant we got the swimming pool and animal feeding sessions to ourselves! See Day 3 in the below itinerary for the organised activities we did here. It was great having lots to do on site, and it has a handy shop with essentials, Cook meals and ice cream. It was the perfect base for exploring Pembrokeshire. We would love to return!
Prices vary depending on the size of the cottage and time of year. The whole place felt very luxurious with all the facilities and activities included, so the prices reflect that. We got a great deal staying in Lavender Cottage outside of school holidays, which was a comparable cost to Center Parcs at this time of year.
Itinerary
Day 1 – Tenby
Tenby is one of the most picturesque seaside towns I have ever been to! It has beautiful pastel coloured houses to admire, lots of little independent shops to mooch around and three lovely beaches. After wandering the streets we ended up going to Castle Beach. We had a lovely lunch with a view at The Dennis Cafe which has limited outdoor seating overlooking the beach, so book in advance.
Another special thing about Tenby is the local celebrity Wally the walrus who likes to sunbathe on the lifeboat slipway. We went in search of him and were lucky enough to see him! We were some distance away so I didn’t get a good photo, but the below image of him is from a local photographer. It was amazing to see an arctic walrus in the wild (and in Wales)! There is plenty of Wally merchandise available in the local gift shops which would make a fab souvenir if you manage to see him.
Day 2 – Poppit Sands beach day
We were spoilt for choice over where to have a beach day as there are so many beaches that look stunning. We chose Poppit Sands which was approx 30 mins from our accommodation. It is a big sandy beach with sand dunes and rockpools. Local cafe and bakery Crwst has recently opened here and they had THE most delicious ice cream (as good as we had in Italy!), coffee, doughnuts and other treats. We made multiple visits over the day! The beach also has toilets so it ticked all the boxes. No regrets! We had a great day even with it being a bit blustery (being British this is not a problem!). There were two pubs nearby – Teifi Waterside Hotel & The Ferry Inn, both of which have outdoor seating overlooking the river which looked lovely. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to either due to the weather!
Day 3 – Stayed at Clydey for Animal Feeding, Forest School and Swimming
In the morning we were taken around by Farmer Malcolm to help feed all the farm animals and collect eggs. Normally animal feeding is open to all guests 7 days a week, but due to covid safety precautions we had one private animal feeding session during our stay. Ada loved it and I think it is the perfect activity for her age (nearly 2)! She even got a young farmer certificate at the end.
In the afternoon we went to an outdoor adventure/forest school session where we did a scavenger hunt in the woods, baked bread on a campfire, had a story and played with clay. The woodland adventure was one of Ada’s highlights and she has been talking about “bread in fire” since then! I think you can tell from the smile on her face how much she loved doing this. Her bread had turned to charcoal by the end, but we ate the others with butter and honey!
Aftewards we enjoyed one of our swimming sessions at Clydey. With the covid safety precautions it was one household at a time so we had it to ourselves! The pool room also has a hot tub which my partner enjoyed, whilst my pregnant self and Ada looked on enviously. I can imagine it being gorgeous hanging out at the pool in the summer with the bifold doors open and laying out on the sun loungers.
Day 4 – Dyfed Shire Horse Farm
Dyfed Shire Horse Farm is a small family run farm tourist attraction that was about 20 minutes from our accommodation. There were a number of timed activities on across the day such as a land train ride, horse and carriage ride, donkey grooming and talks about shire horses. The owners were really friendly and as it is quite a small farm, we felt they were really accommodating. There were some farm animals to look at, a play area and a small retro crazy golf. They have a really nice cafe with plenty of options and toilets available. We spent a fun few hours here!
Pricing: Adult £7.95, Child £6.95, Under 3s Free. Open 10.45-4.45pm. Check on their website which days they are open as these differ throughout the year. It is a good idea to book your places in advance to avoid the risk of being turned away on the day.
Day 5 – Folly Farm, near Tenby
Before heading home we visited Folly Farm for a few hours. This is an adventure park with lots of zoo and farm animals, a fair ground, so many different play areas and ride-ons. There are many different food outlets around the park. There is plenty to do for a whole day! We would definitely go back as we didn’t get around everything. If there are a few of you the entry fee could end up being quite hefty, so I would recommend dedicating a whole day here to get the most for your money.
Pricing: Adult £19.95, Child (3-15 years) £17.95, Toddler (2 years) £12.95. Under 2s free. You must pre-book your time slot on eventbrite with the current covid rules. Open 10am – 4 or 5pm most days of the year.
Map
Next time we would look at visiting:
- Skomer Island boat tour to see the puffins
- Dinosaur Park, Tenby
- A castle
- Manor Wildlife Park
Thank you for reading
I love reading other people’s itineraries when I’m planning holidays, so I hope this helps someone else. Enjoy Pembrokeshire! We have also visited Bluestone Resort more recently in Pembrokeshire if you would like to read about that.
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