A Weekend in Pembrokeshire – Day 2
Happy Birthday Anna!! Not a bad room to wake up to on your birthday after a good nights sleep at Boulston Manor.
We had a lazy start as we had said we’d have breakfast at 8:30am – that’s late for us, but we were on a mini-break so why not take it easy! I was feeling a little better after some sleep and had a coffee and some biscuits to keep me going before breakfast! Anna opened her presents and seemed a little more excited than I had expected about the strange shiny plug-shaped thing she had asked me to get her!!
I don’t really know what the differences are between them all but Anna seemed pleased with it and couldn’t wait to try it out! Fortunately for the other guests of Boulston Manor she didn’t have her cornet with her!!! The new one on the left does at least look nice and shiny.
Breakfast
Breakfast was good, in the dining room of Boulston Manor, warmed by the Aga and with a few other guests. It was all very much in keeping with the Georgian style of the house. The food was good, there was plenty of it and just what we’d ordered. I still wasn’t quite feeling 100% but did at least manage to eat my breakfast, even if I didn’t eat quite as much as I would normally.
After breakfast we got ready to head out for the day. Next on the agenda was a meal at the nearby Grove hotel. Although, after a breakfast like that we weren’t in the least bit hungry. We therefore headed off to the coast at Broad Haven. hoping to work up an appetite.
Broad Haven
In many ways, with me ill and unable to to any strenuous activities, we were just whiling away the time at Broad Haven. It was a lovely day though so we strolled along the seafront and people watched for a while. It wasn’t busy but there were people sun-bathing, swimming, surfing, stand-up Paddle Boarding and kayaking. There were children building sand castles and people playing with frisbees. All the usual seaside activities along with the lifeguards diligently moving the flags to keep pace with the rapidly receding tide.
After a short time sat on the prom we headed up onto the cliffs along the coast path a little way. There were signs to look out for oil beetles but I don’t think we saw any. I was still struggling with a chest infection and general lurgy so partway up the hill we stopped for a rest on a bench and never quite got around to going any further towards the top. Instead we sat here for a while chatting and watching the world go by.
We then headed back into the village, wandered along the prom again and popped into Haven Sports for a browse. They had some nice things but we didn’t buy anything. We then headed back to the car, put on some smarter shoes and started heading towards The Grove
The Grove
We had looked at staying in The Grove for the weekend, but it was a little too expensive. We therefore thought that a nice birthday treat for Anna would be lunch at The Grove instead. We headed back past Haverfordwest and on towards Narberth, looking for brown signs to tourist attractions that we could visit after lunch. It didn’t take too long to get to The Grove and we arrived at another electric gate and entered the well-kept grounds.
We pulled into the car park alongside a nice looking Porsche and strolled towards the impressive looking buildings. Outside was a lovely little seating area overlooking the pond.
It was fairly posh inside too as we were led to our table by a smartly dressed waiter. In addition to serving lunches and dinners, The Grove has some impressive rooms and various cottages that you can stay in and they do a tasting menu too. We were just here for lunch though and skipped starters so that we might have a chance of fitting in a pudding.
Anna went for a Risotto while I had a vegan burger. It was all very nice, in nice surroundings too – even if the doors opening onto a courtyard full of apple trees meant that there were a few too many wasps.
Suitably filled and having had delicious puddings and coffees too it was time to head off once again and find something to do for the afternoon. I was still feeling ill and with full stomachs, it wasn’t going to be anything too strenuous!
Melin Black Pool
On the way to The Grove, we’d spotted a brown tourist sign to Melin Black Pool that had symbols for a picnic area and a woodland that we thought might be a nice place for a stroll. What we found when we got there was another fine dining restaurant in another impressive house. We didn’t think we needed another meal quite yet, so we headed back and decided to go to the Llys-y-Frân visitor centre instead.
However, the fact that I hadn’t managed to do any coast path running whilst on this trip meant that we’d have to come back soon to set that straight. Having looked at the menu at Black Pool Mill we might just have to combine some coast path running with another nice meal!
Llys-y-Frân
The drive to Llys-y-Frân took us through loads of winding country roads until we finally looped around the end of the reservoir and found a much larger visitor centre than we were expecting. Better still, there were EV charge points that were free of charge. We weren’t in desperate need of a charge and would have made it back home without one. However, when it’s free of charge and we were parking up anyway, it made sense to plug in for a little top-up that would give us some additional range should we need it.
We then strolled towards the reservoir and sat there watching the swallows feeding and drinking from the water. There were loads of them. The visitor centre was home to a shop, a cafe and across the way an activity centre that catered for watersports such as paddle-boarding, kayaking, canoeing and open-water swimming. There was bike hire, fishing, walking, a climbing wall, archery and many other activities on offer and even a campsite.
It was late afternoon when we got there though and everything had wound down for the day so it was very peaceful looking out over the calm waters. Anna had a little beauty-snooze on a picnic bench. Snoozing is one of her favourite things to do and it was her birthday so I left her to it. It did the trick though as she woke up looking lovely!
We didn’t ‘do’ anything here just sat and watched the world go by then headed back towards Boulston Manor for the night. I was feeling pretty poorly again and we’d already had a massive breakfast and lunch so we weren’t going out for dinner. We did stop off at a supermarket in Haverfordwest for a few evening supplies should we need them. We then spent the evening at the Manor House where I watched the Grand Prix qualifying and Anna tried out the luxury bath.
I was feeling much worse again so we had an early night and hoped I’d feel better again in the morning.
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Surely Anna always looks lovely with ot without a beauty sleep !
Sounds a perfect weekend apart from you not feeling well x