Wednesday 27 July 2016

The Appeal of Sir Benfro

You like Cornwall, but not its summer crowds? Well the great news is there's a solution just across the Bristol Channel -  Pembrokeshire.

Like Cornwall, Pembrokeshire - Sir Benfro in Welsh - is a county of surfing beaches:



Quaint creeks like Solva:



A rugged coast:



Moorland walks with Marilyns and prehistoric remains (Mynydd Carningli):



A county town with a cathedral (atmospheric sea fog in St Davids):



Lurid summer flora:



And like Cornwall with the South West Coastal Path - and the main attraction for us - Pembrokeshire has its own coastal path girdling the county. Over and above that, there are some very interesting islands to explore, something Cornwall can't boast.

Given the vast popularity of Cornwall, it's a mystery to me why Pembrokeshire isn't hoaching with more tourists...

Whitesands Bay gloaming:




3 comments:

Linda said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

blueskyscotland said...

It's a lovely coastline that. Another thing that P****** me off about Cornwall was the horrendous parking problems and having to pay heavily to visit any beauty spots... and that was 30 years ago... can't imagine how bad it must be now. As ever it's probably a fashion thing and half the Greater London area traditionally having second homes there so there's a stronger culture of visiting Devon and Cornwall. On any rock climbing visits to Wales in the past they would be speaking in English together until we appeared(in chip shops, garages, etc) then switch into Welsh until we left again. Not exactly a warm welcome in certain areas :o)

Robert Craig said...

There's a fair bit of pay to park in Pembrokeshire as well - anywhere owned by the National Trust (i.e. a large proportion of the nice bits) will have a parking attendant. Worth joining the NTS for a year and having a campaign to see all their interesting places before your sub runs out, though that takes a commitment to planning and money saving that most people don't have... when in Wales, a little bore da goes a long way to resolving any unfriendliness!